Shoreditch meets the City: RBS, Lloyds and American Express challenge startups to create FinTech of the future March 9, 2015 Leading financial firms are laying down the gauntlet and challenging startups to come up with the next financial technologies of the future. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds and American Express are just three of the finance firms putting their weight behind the search to find digital innovations which will address areas such as [...]
Britain’s quiet FinTech revolution has begun – and we’re determined to back it March 9, 2015 Whisper it, but there is a quiet revolution going on in British banking. If you don’t work in the financial world, you may never even have heard of the UK’s burgeoning financial technology or “fintech” sector. And you almost certainly won’t know about the opportunities it offers. So what is fintech? For me, it is [...]
The non-bank of Facebook, AliBay, and AI: The future of global fintech March 5, 2015 The global fintech industry has seen some remarkable developments since we launched Level39 two years ago. But what of the future? I’d like to suggest two possibilities for what might happen, and challenge one that, contrary to some current thinking, I don’t think will. FACEBOOK: THE NON-BANK BANK More than any other social media platform, [...]
London FinTech startup WorldRemit raises $100m from Silicon Valley investors TVC and Accel Partners valuing firm at $500m February 18, 2015 WorldRemit, the London-based FinTech startup, has bagged a $100m (£65m) investment from Silicon Valley investors, valuing the firm at $500m. The series B funding round, from US venture firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), along with existing backer Accel Partners, is the latest investment in financial technology firms emerging from the capital. The $100m backing from [...]
The City and Silicon Roundabout lead Britain’s economic recovery February 16, 2015 London’s buoyant recovery is driving Britain’s economy forward, a study from RBS showed today. Inner-east London was the fastest growing locality in the country last year, expanding by 5.2 per cent. Next up was Milton Keynes at 4.9 per cent, followed by Aberdeen at 4.8 per cent. “Top of the class last year was London, driven [...]
US investments in London’s tech sector soar to $795m February 10, 2015 Mayor Boris Johnson will reveal how US investors poured a record $795.2m (£521.7m) into the London technology sector last year, while speaking as part of a trade mission in New York this afternoon. The mayor will also reveal that one of the capital’s rising FinTech stars, Digital Shadows, has closed an $8m funding round led [...]
Finovate Europe: Global FinTech stars meet up at London’s Old Billingsgate February 10, 2015 London played host to a financial technology (FinTech) showcase yesterday as over 70 startups from around the world met at Old Billingsgate market for a showcase of their latest wares. Each presenting company at Finovate Europe was given seven minutes on stage to wow an audience of over 1,000 executives, venture capitalists, journalists, analysts, and [...]
Why FinTech is the key to a much-needed makeover in African aid February 10, 2015 Aid in Africa is big business, but one that is often mired in scepticism. Global companies pour money in through corporate responsibility programmes, alongside government aid, which can be accused of supporting private sector ambitions too closely. Some estimate that every £1 in aid costs the same to administer. This means that the sector is [...]
London FinTech startup Kantox flies past $1bn forex transfers thanks to currency woes and economic uncertainty February 9, 2015 Businesses hit by currency volatility and worried by economic uncertainty are increasingly turning to alternative finance services, helping one London FinTech startup fly. Kantox, a peer-to-peer forex platform for business, has flown past $1bn (£657bn) in currency transfers since setting up shop in the capital in 2011 with an astonishing 20 per cent of that- [...]
UK becoming a tech nation led by London boom February 4, 2015 Brits working in the digital and technology sectors now account for 7.5 per cent of the entire UK workforce, some 1.46m people. Tech is the country’s fastest-growing occupation category. Of this growth, London’s tech cluster, which itself has seen an explosive 92 per cent growth in the number of new digital companies since 2010, is the [...]