The rush for Tech Nation visas is misguided — why limit recruitment by geography? November 30, 2020 Earlier this month, it was reported that applications for the Tech Nation visa into the UK spiked almost 50 per cent this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, Britain’s tech sector continues to attract talent from around the world. In the last two years alone, almost 2,000 people have applied for the visa, which grants tech [...]
UK banks are yet to maximise the full benefits of the cloud November 24, 2020 | City Talk In a year that demonstrated the importance of operational resilience, major UK banks have migrated less than 10% of business infrastructure onto the public cloud. The move to the cloud also requires a mindset shift for many. In the banking sector, AI and Blockchain have long been regarded as the technologies set to change the [...]
Auditor independence rules prompt PwC to sell data software to private equity house November 16, 2020 Big four auditor PwC has sold its in-house data capture software to private equity house Souter Investments as auditor independent rules mean the firm cannot effectively grow the business. The software enables PwC to digitalise and search large volumes of complex legal derivative contracts for clients. It takes contracts from clients and converts them into [...]
London fintechs secure billions from US investors despite virus and Brexit uncertainty October 16, 2020 London fintechs have secured $3.6bn in venture capital investment this year with more than half coming from US investors. Fintechs received $2.2bn, more than 60 per cent of overall investment, through funding rounds with at least one US investor, according to data from Dealroom and London & Partners. It is nearly double the US funding [...]
The City View: LMAX CEO urges City to ‘support young talent’ amid Covid October 15, 2020 In this episode Christian talks to David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, the fast-growing fintech firm and FX and institutional crypto exchange that clocked up $56m (£43m) in gross profit in 2019, with trading volumes of $3.5tn. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS LMAX Group is listed in the Deloitte Fast 50 and The Sunday Times [...]
Technology has changed our minds — now it’s time for brands to catch up October 12, 2020 Let’s begin with the pretty bold claim: that digital technology has altered us forever. Over the past decade, an enormous amount of research and literature has been produced on the subject — from the American writer Nicholas Carr, to MIT professor of social psychology Sherry Turkle, to the eminent British neuroscientist Susan Greenfield. Each in [...]
London-based digital lender for the wealthy gets UK banking licence October 8, 2020 A London-based digital lender targeting Britain’s affluent savings market, has received a restricted banking licence from UK regulators. Monument, which is targeting professionals, entrepreneurs and investors with a net worth of £250,000 to £5m, received an “authorisation with restriction” licence this week. The fintech, which is planning to launch in 2021, said it will offer [...]
How can businesses empower women in technology in a post Covid-19 world? October 5, 2020 Everyone has felt the wrath of Covid-19. The pandemic blindsided businesses earlier this year and has forced organisations to rapidly step into the unknown. But what have we learnt? And can we apply these learnings to tackle existing issues in technology, like diversity and inclusion? Research from McKinsey Global Institute estimates that women make up [...]
Why Klarna — not Revolut or Monzo — represents the winning fintech strategy in a pandemic October 2, 2020 Last month, a new funding round gave buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech Klarna a headline valuation of $10.65bn. At a stroke, Klarna became the most valuable fintech in Europe – more than double the value of Revolut and almost 10 times more than Monzo. Why, in the middle of a pandemic, has Klarna inspired such investor confidence? [...]
Accountancy and finance teams must learn to embrace analytics September 29, 2020 The global pandemic has cast a new light on priorities across many different industries. Suddenly, the most important asset a pub can have is a large open garden. Low wooden beams and small rooms seem dangerous rather than charming and characterful. Public transport systems that offered efficient mass transit across cities are being shunned by [...]