Rakuten-backed digital money transfer service Azimo raises £15m Series C May 29, 2018 Azimo, a digital money transfer service based in London and Krakow, has raised a $20m (£15m) Series C financing round, led by Rakuten Capital, the investment arm of Japanese innovation giant Rakuten Inc. Other investors participating in the round included e.ventures, Frog Capital, GR Capital Partners, Greycroft Partners, MCI, Quona Capital and Silicon Valley Bank, [...]
Tandem Bank hits 100,000 user milestone, after troubled year comes to an end May 29, 2018 It seems another digital bank is on the rise, as Tandem has today announced hitting 100,000 customers just three months after launching its first product. Though the number represents just registered users and not active customers of the banking app, Tandem has said that it sees approximately 82 per cent of that number using their [...]
Contactless payments for London buskers to be launched by Izettle and Sadiq Khan May 28, 2018 In what is posed as a world-first, a contactless payments scheme for busking performers is to be rolled out across the streets of London. Backed by the Mayor of London’s office and powered by fintech commerce firm Izettle, performers in London will soon to be able to receive tips and payments for merchandise via contactless [...]
Micro Focus bosses buy shares after price collapse March 25, 2018 Five Micro Focus board members bought nearly £700,000 worth of shares in the technology company following a steep drop in its share price last week. Stock market filings show that Micro Focus board members bought £694,342 worth of shares in the company on Wednesday and Thursday last week following a dip in its share price. [...]
AI research company is making a plan for how Mayor of London Sadiq Khan can promote AI in London March 22, 2018 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hired London-based artificial intelligence research group CognitionX to plan how the city can best harness AI. Khan said he believes that London is already in a strong position in the data economy, so he wants CognitionX to produce a report that outlines how AI can positively progress the city’s policies [...]
The Bank of England is setting up its own fintech hub March 22, 2018 The Bank of England (BoE) will set up a fintech hub to monitor developments that could help boost the UK's weak productivity levels. "We have set up a new fintech hub that will sit at the heart of the Bank, to consider both how the Bank understands and how it applies fintech, relevant to its [...]
Britain’s fintech firms are expecting growth to rocket over the next three years March 21, 2018 UK fintech firms expect higher than average growth over the next few years as London remains a top destination for business. UK-based financial technology firms expect 88 per cent growth over the next three years, topping the average country's expectations, according to a global fintech survey by theLondon Stock Exchange Group and TheCityUK. Only Germany [...]
Samsung Galaxy S9+ review: A slew of minor upgrades leaves Samsung’s latest handset feeling a little too familiar March 14, 2018 There’s nothing quite like an extremely powerful slow-motion camera to make you realise how few interesting things are happening very quickly around you at any given time. It’s too early in the year to capture the magnificence of a water balloon gradually exploding across the yielding facial features of an elderly relative. I don’t [...]
Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy at the Tate Modern: Exhibition focusing on a single year in the life of the great artist shows the sheer audacity of genius March 9, 2018 By the age of 50, Picasso’s days as a starving artist were long behind him. His paintings sold for fortunes despite the gathering economic gloom; he and his former-ballerina wife were courted by politicians and socialites; he was preparing to be celebrated by a major Paris retrospective, a rarity then for a living artist. [...]
Startup tackling fake news with artificial intelligence Factmata nets funding to expand March 8, 2018 A startup using artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the proliferation of fake news and extremist content online will expand after closing a $1m (£720,000) seed funding round that attracted major US backers. London-based Factmata’s funding round was led by tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban, but also attracted high-profile investors such as Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, internet [...]