Commerzbank ploughs more cash into London fintech startup Iwoca October 4, 2016 Commerzbank has ploughed more cash into London fintech startup Iwoca as part of a new multi-million pound round of funding for the lending platform. The German bank's venture capital arm CommerzVentures are among investors in the £21m series C round after participating in last year's £15.7m series B. New investor Prime Ventures led the latest round which [...]
Pay by selfie: Mastercard brings biometric technology to the UK October 4, 2016 Paying for things simply by taking a photo of yourself is now a step closer to reality as Mastercard brings its new biometric technology to the UK. So called selfie pay will let customers verify their identity with a snap of their smartphone camera when doing online shopping, or with fingerprints, doing away with passwords and pins -welcome relief [...]
Everyone’s massively underestimating fintech in capital markets October 3, 2016 The application of fintech in capital markets is being vastly underestimated by both banks and startups as other areas of banking steal the spotlight – and funding – new research reveals. Venture capital cash is failing to flow into fintech specialising in capital markets, according to the new report from Boston Consulting Group, adding that only a minority of startups are working [...]
Bullhorn’s Art Papas explains why a good deal isn’t all about the money October 3, 2016 Four years ago I was approached by several private equity (PE) firms intent on investing in my company. Bullhorn’s valuation was higher than it had ever been. However, the decision to partner with a financial sponsor was more about enabling our strategic vision for the business than realising a financial goal. As companies get bigger, [...]
Meet the five startups joining London’s newest corporate fintech lab September 29, 2016 Five up-and-coming startups have been chosen by a London investment firm to join its newly created fintech lab. The new cohort joining Octopus Labs' 12 week programme include companies working on artificial intelligence powered financial news and financial management platforms aimed at investors and financial advisors. The director of the accelerator run by Octopus Investments, the group behind the venture capital firm [...]
Treasury committee chairman seeking assurances from high street bank bosses on IT health September 29, 2016 The chairman of the influential Treasury Select Committee (TSC) Andrew Tyrie has written to the chief executives of two of the UK's biggest banks over recent IT failures. City A.M. understands Tyrie will publish letters to the bosses of Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC tomorrow morning. Tyrie has also written to the heads of the financial regulators the Financial Conduct [...]
The majority of banks plan to use blockchain in the next three years September 28, 2016 The majority of banks plan on using blockchain technology in the next three years, adopting it "dramatically faster than expected", but regulation was named as the biggest barrier by global institutions. Nearly two thirds expect to have blockchain solutions by 2019, while 15 per cent of the 200 banks surveyed by IBM and the Economist Intelligence Unit expect to have something up [...]
Bitcoin still “currency of choice” for cybercriminals… for now September 28, 2016 Bitcoin remains the "currency of choice" for cyber criminals, but they may soon turn to newer digital currencies, Europe's top police agency has said, and even start targeting blockchain, the technology beneath it. The most well-known cryptocurrency is being used across a range of cybercrimes, including as payment on the darknet, and in DDos, phising and ransomware attacks, extorting money [...]
London’s the best place in the world for fostering fintech as industry eyes new success measures September 27, 2016 London is the best city in the world for fostering fintech, ahead of New York, Silicon Valley and Hong Kong – but it faces a run for its money from Singapore – as the industry pushes for better measures for assessing its contribution to the economy and the government's new industrial strategy. The two cities were ranked highest based [...]
The US is looking to formalise policy around blockchain technology September 26, 2016 The UK faces competition from across the pond in positioning itself as a world leader in blockchain technology. The fledgling technology that underpins bitcoin, but has far wider implications beyond digital currencies, is hitting the agenda of the US government with the creation of a cross-party working group to look at policies surrounding the technology as well as digital currencies such [...]