No Amigos: Controversial credit shop Amigo struggling to raise cash, firm says January 16, 2023 Beleaguered credit firm Amigo said it was struggling to raise cash from investors today as it scrambles to boost its balance sheet ahead of a planned full return to lending this year.
Cashed-up banks ready to buy UK fintech firms on the cheap in 2023, says VC chief January 15, 2023 The UK’s fintech sector will see a wave of acquisitions this year as cashed-up banks and investment firms will swoop in to buy struggling firms on the cheap, a top venture capital chief has predicted. Tim Levene, chief of London-listed venture vehicle Augmentum Fintech, said that banks had failed to properly digitally transform over the [...]
Exclusive: CybSafe’s CEO on tackling VC pattern matching as a black business founder January 14, 2023 When CybSafe CEO Oz Alashe MBE raised his Series B funding round last year, the ambitious London entrepreneur was one of only ten black British founders to have ever done so, or so he was told. While Alashe has not been able to validate that claim, it gives an insight into the stark reality of [...]
Financial Services and Markets Bill is now with the House of Lords, and its potential is extraordinary January 12, 2023 Lord Holmes of Richmond walks through the Financial Services and Markets Bill currently being debated in the House of Lords.
Open banking enters ‘new phase’ after CMA rules six major banks fulfil requirements January 12, 2023 Open banking has entered a “new phase” after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) determined that the six largest banks in the UK have implemented the requirements of the open banking roadmap. The open banking trustee advised the CMA on Monday that Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander had implemented the remaining roadmap items. [...]
FTX: Crypto exchange’s bankruptcy team recovers over £4bn in boost for burnt customers January 12, 2023 Collapsed crypto exchange FTX has recovered more than £4.1bn ($5bn) in assets, its bankruptcy team said yesterday, as the firm scrambles for cash to cover the billions of dollars lost by customers and investors. FTX, founded by disgraced former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, was valued at $32bn just over a year ago but imploded in early [...]
London beats Euro rivals to retain tech investment crown (yes, despite Brexit) January 12, 2023 London sailed past European rivals to retain its crown as the top destination for tech investment last year as nearly $20bn was pumped into the capital’s start-ups, new data has revealed.
Cost-of-living crisis will fuel tsunami of cyber attacks in 2023, warns industry insider January 11, 2023 The cost-of-living crisis is fuelling a surge in cyber attacks on UK businesses, a leading fraud expert has warned. Leigham Martin, group head of infrastructure and security at Connectus Business Solutions, shared with City A.M. that cutting costs on security will spell disaster for businesses. “There is increasing evidence that some businesses are looking to [...]
BNPL: Usage of buy-now pay-later with firms like Klarna rockets – but does it ease shoppers’ cost-of-living burden? January 11, 2023 Buy-now pay-later usage rocketed last year as over four million new shoppers took to the products in a bid to shield their wallets from the soaring cost of living, new data shows.
UK Treasury under fire for delays to buy-now pay-later regulations January 11, 2023 The Treasury has come under fire from a Tory peer today after more delays to the rollout of buy-now pay-later regulation, amid concerns fintechs have been left in limbo and shoppers are landing themselves in unmanageable piles of debt. Buy-now pay-later (BNPL) firms like Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy, which allow shoppers to defer and split [...]