Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism April 30, 2019 Business activity growth in the UK technology sector has recovered to its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2018, while optimism fell to a 10-year low. The strength of business activity rose to 54.4 in the first three months of 2019, up from 52.3 at the end of last year, according to data from [...]
Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism April 30, 2019 Business activity growth in the UK technology sector has recovered to its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2018, while optimism fell to a 10-year low. The strength of business activity rose to 54.4 in the first three months of 2019, up from 52.3 at the end of last year, according to data from [...]
What women want? Fairness and flexibility at work April 30, 2019 Gender inequality across UK businesses remains rife. According to a recent KPMG survey, more working women than men primarily choose their jobs due to locality and flexibility of working hours. In an age of tech-enabled agile working, there is no justifiable rationale for these factors to be more of a concern for women than men. [...]
Why FinTechs are barking up the wrong tree April 30, 2019 While fintechs wave the flag of disruption and chant ‘financial inclusion for all’, the knights that promise to save the masses from the vagaries of traditional financial services have a more pressing agenda – profit. Both nascent and established players in consumer-facing financial service industries are searching for the holy grail that delivers droves of [...]
Wealth management apps could ‘eclipse’ traditional channels, EY finds April 30, 2019 Digital wealth management apps could “eclipse” traditional channels as clients move towards new technology faster than previously anticipated, new research shows. The popularity of mobile apps among wealth management clients has increased faster than predicted, with 41 per cent of clients saying they would prefer to use a mobile app over websites, face-to-face interaction and [...]
Londoners are bolstering the latest fintech generation April 30, 2019 Have you ever thought about the role of Londoners in guaranteeing the UK as the fintech capital of the world? Our capital is currently hosting UK Fintech Week, an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the businesses transforming our best export: financial services. On Crowdcube, the crowdfunding platform I work for, there are now over 67,000 [...]
Government moves to take UK fintech startups global April 29, 2019 The UK’s fintech startups are set to get a boost from the government towards expansion across borders, international trade secretary Liam Fox announced yesterday. Building on the so-called fintech bridge agreements signed by the UK and other nations in recent years, a cohort of startups have been selected for two pilot programmes that will provide [...]
Top banks inject $9m into London fintech startup Mosaic Smart Data April 29, 2019 The venture capital arm of Commerzbank and London investor Octopus Ventures have co-led a $9m (£7m) funding round into fintech startup Mosaic Smart Data. Existing backer and client JP Morgan also participated in the round, adding to its minority stake in the startup. The bank signed a multi-year deal to use Mosaic’s technology – which [...]
Softbank to invest €900m for stake in digital payments firm Wirecard April 24, 2019 Softbank has agreed to invest €900m (£781m) in German fintech firm Wirecard as part of a digital payments partnership in Asia. The Japanese investment giant has signed a deal to buy five-year convertible bonds in Wirecard, equating to roughly 5.6 per cent of the firm’s stock, at €130 per share. Read more: Wirecard shares soar [...]
Tandem Bank scales up to Russell Square HQ April 23, 2019 Fast-growing digital bank Tandem has snapped up a new Bloomsbury HQ as it looks to double in size. Moving from King’s Cross, which has welcomed in the likes of tech giants such as Facebook and Sony over the last 12 months, Tandem is relocating to a 16,000 square foot (sq ft) office in Russell Square. Read [...]