Alternative finance lender Oakam is trying to help the unbanked November 30, 2018 Payday loan companies get a bad rap. And it’s easy to see why, considering the predatory businesses practices and extortionate interest rates charged by lenders like Wonga, which collapsed into administration this year. High-interest, short-term loans were back in the news this week, with the announcement that the fintech startup Monzo is considering offering such [...]
Revolut to launch in Japan and Singapore, as US expansion experiences further delays November 29, 2018 Fintech startup Revolut has received authorisation from regulators in Japan and Singapore, operating under a licence similar to its UK business through partnerships with local banks. The banking app hopes to launch in the Asia Pacific region in the first quarter of next year, with over 50,000 users already on its waiting list. The news comes [...]
Monzo confirms record-breaking UK fintech crowdfunding round November 26, 2018 Digital bank Monzo has today announced it will be heading back to the crowd for the last chunk of its series E fundraising round, with a target of up to £20m. The raise, first reported exclusively by City PM in August, will be the largest fintech crowdfunding round in the UK to date. Going live [...]
Fresh funding for regtech startup Steeleye led by venture capital firm brings total raised to £5.7m November 22, 2018 Compliance technology startup Steeleye has announced the completion of a £5.7m seed fundraising led by venture capital firm Illuminate Financial. A £2.9m fundraising extension by Illuminate rounded off the money which will help the firm launched in October last year expand its products in the regulatory tech space. Clients employ Steeleye to comply with a [...]
Deal or no deal, fintech will remain the jewel in the UK’s economic crown November 22, 2018 In some ways, the causes of both globalisation and the fintech boom have much in common. Both phenomena have been driven by previously unthought-of technological advances, innovation, and increasingly open markets. So if, as has been argued, the UK referendum was the first case of a major democracy voting against the impact of globalisation, does [...]
Monzo teams up with Paypoint to allow users to deposit cash in shops November 21, 2018 Digital bank Monzo has today announced a strategic partnership with Paypoint, enabling its users to deposit cash into their Monzo account at any of Paypoint's 28,000-strong network of corner shops and local stores across the UK. Deposits can range from £5 to £300, with a fee of £1 per deposit and a cap of £1,000 every [...]
Moneyfarm expands into Germany with acquisition of digital wealth manager Vaamo November 20, 2018 Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm has expanded into Germany with the acquisition of Vaamo, the UK-based company announced today. The deal – the value of which was not disclosed – marks Moneyfarm’s entrance into its third European market, after establishing a presence in the UK and Italy. Vaamo co-founders and chief executives Thomas Bloch and Oliver [...]
Tandem Bank takes in £15m from Convoy in Hong Kong expansion November 20, 2018 Fintech challenger bank Tandem has today closed a strategic partnership with Convoy Global Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial services group which will make the London startup one of the first digital banks to launch in the city. Convoy is investing an initial £15m into Tandem Bank as part of the deal, which will provide Tandem with [...]
Banks should watch out – the fintech era has barely begun November 20, 2018 The fintech sector makes a lot of noise in London. There’s an endless stream of news about open banking and challenger banks, while the traditional finance sector watches on with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. Banks have come under attack, not only from the hype-machine, but more meaningfully from startups. Traditional finance providers that assumed [...]
Draper Esprit and Barclays back London fintech Form3 in $13m funding round November 20, 2018 Payments technology fintech startup Form3 will today reveal the close of a $13m (£10.1m) series B fundraising round, led by Graze and Perkbox-backer Draper Esprit. Existing investors Barclays Bank, Angel Cofund and several other individual backers also participated in the round. Established in 2016, the Monument-based startup builds payments-processing technology for banks and fintech firms [...]
