Billionaire Icap founder Michael Spencer backs £100m fintech fund January 20, 2020 Michael Spencer, City grandee and founder of interdealer broker Icap, has become the cornerstone investor of a new UK fintech fund that is aiming to raise up to £100m. Spencer will contribute at least £25m to the new fund, Element Ventures, via his investment vehicle IPGL. The fintech fund will focus on emerging firms that [...]
Fintech can be the silver bullet to banking the UK’s unbanked January 15, 2020 Can new technology help the 1.23m people in the UK who don’t have a bank account? And could it improve the lives of the 10–12m who still struggle to access affordable loans? New research suggests that the answer to both those questions is yes. It is all thanks to London’s booming fintech sector — one [...]
Too much regulation on bitcoin and cryptocurrency could scare away future tech innovators December 9, 2019 Back in October, the FCA closed its consultation on banning the sale of cryptocurrency derivatives to retail investors. A consultation that I hope will start a collaborative discussion, bringing crypto and its regulatory framework up to speed with the rapid growth of the industry. Thankfully, the FCA’s approach so far has been inclusive and forward-thinking. [...]
London’s fintechs are magnets for venture capital investment December 9, 2019 The outcome of Thursday’s election will be of significant interest to our partners on the other side of the Atlantic. I am confident, however, that both our US and Mexican partners will recognise the huge, long-term opportunities for closer collaboration as technology opens up a new chapter in our trading relationship. The rapidly increasing digitisation [...]
RBS under fire over fake reviews for new app December 8, 2019 Natwest-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has come under fire for writing fake reviews of its new online banking app Bó. Eagle-eyed users noted that a string of five-star reviews, some of which were published months before Bó’s 27 November launch, praised the app for features including design and notifications system. Read more: RBS launches [...]
Equiniti shares slump as earnings set for bottom end of guidance November 19, 2019 Equiniti, the British-based financial services business, saw it shares fall over 10 per cent this morning after it announced that its full year earnings would be towards the lower end of market expectations. Read more: FTSE 100 rallies on trader optimism over US China deal In a trading update, the company said earnings for the [...]
Softbank-backed fintech Oneconnect chooses New York over Hong Kong for IPO November 14, 2019 Oneconnect, the fintech arm of Chinese financial conglomerate Ping An, has chosen New York over Hong Kong for the launch of its initial public offering (IPO). The company, which is backed by Softbank, filed a prospectus for an IPO on Wednesday and plans to list its shares on NASDAQ. Read more: Alibaba poised to launch [...]
Revolut’s information security chief has left the firm after just two months in the job November 6, 2019 Revolut’s chief information security officer (CISO) Dinis Cruz has quit less than two months after he joined the firm. Cruz announced last week that he will leave the challenger bank this month, in a move described as being “by mutual agreement”. Read more: Martin Gilbert to step down from Stand Life and join Revolut He said [...]
How can online-only banks win over cautious consumers? September 27, 2019 The direction of travel for banking is clear – we’re moving away from highstreets and onto smartphones. But tech should not outpace consumer confidence, and lessons on how to do that can be drawn from the payments industry. This week Which? reported that a third of UK bank branches have closed in the last five [...]
Wealth manager Moneyfarm raises £36m in funding round led by Poste Italiane September 26, 2019 Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm has raised £36m in a series C funding round led by Poste Italiane, and has launched a strategic partnership with the Italian postal and financial services firm. The partnership will integrate Moneyfarm’s services with Poste Italiane’s digital platform. The Italian company currently manages over €514 billion across its financial and insurance [...]