Regulator steps up scrutiny of fintech banks June 26, 2019 Applications to become the next Monzo or Revolut are falling under greater scrutiny, as regulators act on concerns about risk management. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) only approved four applications for banking licences in the 12 months to the end of February, down from 14 in the previous year. However the number of applications remained [...]
Freetrade to close £7m in second crowdfunding round June 25, 2019 Fintech startup Freetrade is set to raise £5m in a crowdfunding round this week, after its last funding attempt got cut short due to excessive demand from investors. The commission-free stock-trading app last headed to the crowd in April. It raised £2m within a matter of minutes, before investment platform Crowdcube crashed due to too [...]
Regulators place heightened check on Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency June 25, 2019 Authorities in the UK and worldwide have ramped up calls for increased scrutiny on new digital currencies and financial disruption, in the wake of Facebook attempting to enter the space. G20 regulatory group the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said today the trend set by Facebook’s libra coin will cause regulators to take a deeper look [...]
Apple says Spotify exaggerated user fee claims June 25, 2019 Apple has responded to a complaint by Spotify to the EU commission, stating it only collects a fee on less than one per cent of the music streaming platform’s userbase. Apple said in a filing Spotify pays a 15 per cent fee on about 680,000 of its 100m premium customers. It follows a complaint by [...]
When is Amazon Prime Day 2019? Everything you need to know June 25, 2019 Amazon is preparing to launch its longest Prime Day ever, forming a 48-hour sales event starting at midnight on 15 July. The two day event on 15 and 16 July, similar to a Black Friday sale, offers Prime subscribers the chance to buy products from the retailer at cut prices for a limited period. Amazon [...]
BMW to hit electric vehicles target two years early June 25, 2019 BMW is set to meet its target to create 25 electric vehicle models by 2025 two years ahead of schedule. The German car maker announced this morning it will reach the quota by 2023, with more than half of those models being fully-electric compared to hybrid or combustion engine. “We are moving up a gear [...]
Monzo smashes past £2bn valuation in fresh round from Silicon fund June 25, 2019 Just six months on from its last capital plug, digital bank Monzo has raised £113m from major US tech investor Y Combinator in a round that values the startup at more than £2bn. Through its Continuity fund, Y Combinator joined the round alongside other investors including Latitude, General Catalyst, Stripe, Passion Capital, Thrive, Goodwater, Accel [...]
City Moves for 24 June – Who’s switching jobs at Relendex, Societe Generale and IQGeo Group? June 24, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Relendex, Societe Generale and IQGeo Group. Relendex Relendex has announced the appointment of Claire Newman as head of lending operations. Claire has joined Relendex from Masthaven Bank, where she was head of underwriting in the short-term lending department. Claire was responsible for a large department whose principle role was to underwrite [...]
Nanoco loses £17m contract as Apple abandons iPhone project June 23, 2019 Apple’s about-face on an iPhone camera project caused UK tech firm Nanoco to lose three quarters of its value, as the California giant cancelled a contract worth £17.1m. Nanoco told investors on Friday a major “US customer” had not renewed a contract with the firm, leading shares to fall 74 per cent in its worst [...]
Slack surges on public debut at $25bn valuation June 21, 2019 Shares of workplace messaging app Slack soared in its first session as a publicly-traded company today, rising nearly 60 per cent to value the firm above $25bn (£19.7bn). The tech firm had used a direct listing model to go public on Wall Street, opting to not raise any additional capital after several large funding rounds [...]
