Airbnb’s hired blockchain technology experts April 13, 2016 The home rental startup superstar Airbnb is the latest business eyeing up blockchain technology. Just weeks after Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczy spoke to City A.M about the potential blockchain technology might have in its business, than the company has made several hires of experts in the technology. Several staff from US-based ChangeCoin, a startup which created micro-payments platform ChangeTip, have been snapped up by Airbnb. [...]
Fintech collaborators gain ground on disrupters as global investment rockets by 67 per cent in first quarter of 2016 April 13, 2016 It pays to be kind in fintech. Or, at least, it shows how mature you are. A new report has suggested collaborative fintech ventures, which target financial institutions as customers, are gaining ground on disrupters, which aim to compete with them. Globally, collaborative ventures accounted for 38 per cent of all fintech investment in 2010. In [...]
Blockchain: The president of the San Francisco Fed tells City A.M. why he’s excited about the distributed ledger technology April 12, 2016 RSCoin is the bitcoin alternative the Bank of England proposed to launch last month. Having its own digital currency would give the central bank a faster payments system, and more of an idea of what’s happening when and where within that system. Speaking to the president of the San Francisco Fed, John C Williams, at [...]
EU referendum: One way Brexit could actually be good for UK fintech April 11, 2016 The UK's prospering fintech sector has been urged to speak up in favour of remaining in Europe ahead of June's referendum and largely backs staying. But, there could be one serious advantage to leaving the union, some experts suggest If Britain were to leave, there would be a greater opportunity for innovative technology startups to disrupt the world of [...]
Britain’s financial regulator is the first to launch a fintech accelerator April 11, 2016 The FCA is getting experimental with fintech. The financial regulator is launching an experimental scheme which will allow new financial technology companies to test out innovations which are as yet unregulated to foster innovation in the market. The so-called sandbox project is the first of its kind to be directly led by a financial regulator [...]
Digital mortgage broker aims to bring market into “21st century” and save consumers £29bn after securing £1.55m in seed funding April 11, 2016 A digital mortgage broker aiming to save consumers up to £29bn a year launched today after securing £1.55m in seed funding. Habito said it was “taking aim at the £95bn mortgage broking market, one of the only pillars of the consumer finance sector yet to benefit from technological disruption”. The startup uses technology to analyse every [...]
What’s the future of finance? Here’s what those in the know say April 11, 2016 We asked those in the know – from challenger banks and traditional banks to fintech startup stars – what's future of financial services? As the Innovate Finance Global Summit kicks off, here's what the experts had to say. Taavet Hinrikus, chief executive and co-founder, TransferWise "In five years’ time, some parts of the sector will be almost universally controlled by [...]
Now Nationwide is testing behavioural biometrics instead of pins and passwords for logging on to online banking April 10, 2016 Pins and passwords are so passe. Nationwide is the latest financial institution to explore new ways of verification and authentication, testing out a new method of accessing your bank account based on how you use your phone – from the way you hold it to the speed you type. And with 70 per cent of us [...]
EU referendum: City of London Corporation chief in Brexit warning to the capital’s fintech sector April 8, 2016 London's multi-billion pound fintech sector is being urged by the City of London Corporation to speak up in favour of Britain staying in the European Union. In a speech to be delivered on Monday, the Corporation's policy chairman Mark Boleat will say: “It is far better to have ‘entrepreneurs for Europe’ than ‘bankers for Brussels’ [...]
Bank worries over fintech and an approaching “Uber moment” are subsiding, new research finds April 7, 2016 Bank worries over fintech and an approaching "Uber moment" are subsiding, a new study suggests. A survey of 127 finance industry professionals by Autonomous Research found that while fintech is seen to matter more, the perceived “Uber risk” is receding. Read more: Fintech is coming to take your banking job Nine per cent of those surveyed said [...]