Monitise losses narrow as fintech firm’s transformation plan shows results February 23, 2017 Monitise revealed this morning it had crept further out of the red during the last six months of the year. The figures The fintech firm's interim results revealed a loss before tax of £7.5m for the six months to the end of December, a 96 per cent improvement on the £210.5m loss it announced for [...]
Regulators welcome fintech but aren’t sure what to do with it February 23, 2017 | City Talk Regulators have a 'wait and see' attitude about regulating fintech. Two governmental organisations recently released reports on regulatory approaches to fintech advances, including blockchain. First, the US Federal Reserve Board released its report on distributed ledger technology (i.e., blockchain) in payments, clearing, and settlement. Following that release, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) — a joint [...]
Digital challenger bank Monzo’s just raised millions more and plans fresh crowdfunding February 23, 2017 Digital challenger bank Monzo has landed a new multimillion pound round of funding from fresh investors valuing it at £65m. The startup, which is seeking to disrupt traditional banking with online-only services, will combine the investment with a fresh round of crowdfunding following huge demand from private investors last year, totaling £22m. The round was [...]
Horizon Dark Zero review: A vast and exhilarating post-apocalyptic adventure February 22, 2017 Horizon Zero Dawn is the best looking console game ever made. Set centuries after the collapse of human civilisation, you play as Aloy, an outcast in a beautifully overgrown post apocalyptic world inhabited by futuristic machines. With tonnes of quests, a lengthy story and a huge open world, Horizon is rich with things to do [...]
Nasa has discovered a new solar system, where life could exist on three separate planets February 22, 2017 The boffins at Nasa have discovered three habitable planets in a newly discovered solar system a mere 39 light years away from Earth. In an announcement today, astronomers said they had found seven planets, all roughly the same size as Earth, orbiting a dwarf star, catchily named TRAPPIST-ONE. The six planets closest to the star all lie in [...]
Apple just announced when its futuristic new $5bn campus will launch February 22, 2017 It's been years in the making – but today Apple said its shiny, new $5bn campus in Cupertino will finally open in April. The 175-acre campus features a giant donut-shaped building designed by Foster + Partners, which will be clad in the world's largest panels of curved glass. As well as the 2.8m sq ft building, Apple [...]
Bring on the robots: We should welcome the demise of the human machine February 22, 2017 In decades to come, people will reflect on the present day with bewilderment and say: “they had humans doing what?” In the blizzard of noise around a looming acceleration in technological unemployment we need to balance our fears of the rise of the robots with excitement around the impending demise of the human machine. The [...]
Toshiba’s shares are finally making gains as its chip business reels in suitors February 22, 2017 Toshiba's shares closed more than 22 per cent higher after Japanese trading today on news rivals are interested in its chip business. A Nikkei Business Daily report suggested the troubled Japanese conglomerate has asked potential bidders to value its prized memory chip business at 2 trillion yen (£14.1bn) in a bid to maximise income from the sale. [...]
Meet 26 of the hottest UK startups about to become household names as part of Tech City UK’s Future Fifty February 22, 2017 An innovative flower delivery startup, an online money transfer service and a recipe subscription service are among 26 of the hottest startups in the UK which have been identified as having the potential to become household names and globally recognised companies. Bloom & Wild, Azimo and Gousto are among the up-and-coming names joining the likes of fintech unicorn [...]
Step inside: Visa opens doors to its biggest ever innovation centre in London February 21, 2017 Visa has launched a fresh bid to boost its reputation for innovation with the launch of a new centre in London to "build the future of payments" – from banking via voice assistant to shopping in virtual reality. The 1,000 sq ft centre at its headquarters in Paddington will foster collaboration between Visa and its clients, partners and [...]