
FinTech
Digital payments alone could become a $100 trillion industry, according to PwC. And that’s just one component of the global Fintech industry. This channel tackles the lenders and buyers, the obstacles and achievements, and the trends and trend makers leading the ongoing technological evolution in global finance.
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Swedish fintech company Klarna achieved a significant improvement in its financial performance during the first quarter, as it halved its net loss compared to the same period last year. The company reported a net loss of 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($120.7 million), down 50% from the previous year’s loss of 2.6 billion krona.
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More Stories on FinTech
Fintech 2020: Reflections from Fortune’s Brainstorm Finance conference
A summary of the fintech soundbites from the event on the foggy shores of Montauk
Key trends: Facebook’s Libra, bank fortunes, Amazon, and millennials’ wallets.
IBM Unveils “Trust Your Provider” Blockchain Project
The new project aims to reduce time-consuming manual processes The new IBM blockchain project “Trust Your Supplier” (TYS) debuted this week. In a press release, IBM said TYS is “designed to eliminate manual time-consuming processes and help reduce the risk of fraud and errors, ultimately creating frictionless connectivity across supply chains.” The project is part…
Klarna payments platform hits $5.5 billion valuation
The darling of Scandanavia just became the largest private fintech startup in Europe. It didn’t take long for the Klarna payments platform to hit a valuation of $5.5 billion. Ahead of a possible IPO, the Swedish payments firm just raised $460 million in equity from a number of investors. Founded in 2005, Klarna says it…
Challenger bank Monzo boosts valuation north of £2B after funding round
A recent £113 million investment by Y Combinator in digital challenger bank Monzo has ratcheted up the latter’s valuation to over £2 billion, double what it was just eight months ago.
German Fintech and Digital Bank N26 Gets a $3.5 Billion Valuation
The kind of valuations European fintechs are getting these days is calling into question the belief that Silicon Valley alone is the birthplace of the most promising startups.
The recent raising of $170 million by challenger German bank N26 Gmbh gives it a valuation of $3.5 billion. That valuation puts N26 in the top echelons of European fintechs.
Marquee Private Equity Investor Henry Kravis invests in alternative fund
Henry Kravis is said to have invested in San Francisco-based ParaFi, an alternative investment fund with a special focus on the fintech and blockchain ecosystem.
ParaFi is led by founder and CIO Ben Forman, an investor with over 10 years of experience across public and private markets at KKR and TPG.
Moody’s Acquires RiskFirst, a Fintech that Analyzes Risk
Moody’s is looking to enhance the product portfolio of its Moody Analytics unit by acquiring risk analysis fintech RiskFirst.
RiskFirst’s offerings are geared towards institutional investors such as asset managers, pension funds and endowments.
Canadian watchdog FINTRAC: Fintechs Vulnerable to Money Laundering
Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail reveal that fintechs in sectors such as alternative lending, electronic payments, online gambling and digital currencies are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the menace of money laundering.
British Fintech Transferwise Eyes U.S. Customers
British-born Netflix star Tan France will endorse the debit card from Transferwise soon to be launched in the US.
Launched in the UK and Europe in 2018, the card has already made waves with 15 million transactions, and over $10 billion deposited.
JPMorgan Chase May Buy Stake in UK FinTech 10x Future Technologies
Former Barclays chief Antony Jenkins, founder of 10X, believes the banking industry’s “Uber moment” is here
According to a report in Financial Times, JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, is in discussions to invest in banking fintech 10x Future Technologies.
SPAC and fintech to raise $220 million
Netfin Acquisition Corp filed with the SEC to raise $220 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
Based in New York, Netfin is a SPAC and fintech.
The Revolut unicorn, a disruptive force in banking
Revolut, the UK-based digital “challenger” bank, wants to become the Amazon of banking.
Started in July 2015 by two bank ex-employees, Revolut has a set a torrid pace towards its aim to become a global financial player.
Decade-old Dutch payments startup raises €25 million
Amsterdam-based payment service Mollie finally avails funding
A group of technology and payment entrepreneurs has seized the opportunity to invest in a pioneering online payments service that was founded over a decade ago.
How Brex, the fintech unicorn, made its young founders very wealthy
Henrique Dubugras, 23, and Pedro Franceschi, 22, are (you guessed it…) Stanford dropouts
Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi have a net worth of $460 million each. They founded Brex, a fintech startup in 2017.
IMF fintech survey: Central banks testing crypto waters
An IMF survey on global adoption of fintech shows a fifth of central banks are weighing the issue of cryptocurrencies
Are fintech’s stated benefits of financial inclusion and a fillip to growth visible on the ground?
Fintech bank backed by Leonardo DiCaprio: pay fees only if you wish to
Aspiration, an online bank, advertises itself as the Wells Fargo alternative
Looking for a cheaper, cleaner alternative to Wells Fargo, the mainstream US bank which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons?
Fintech Opens Shale Plays to Investors
Shale investing is no longer an exclusive club open only to industry insiders. EnergyFunders, which claims to make direct energy investing easy, presents selected and vetted oil projects on a transparent, data-driven platform.
P2P Lending Platform YieldStreet – A Balance of Risk and Reward
Strict project vetting. Collateral as security for lenders. SEC-regulated. Pick from projects or loans in real estate, litigation finance, marine finance, commercial or art.
That’s YieldStreet for investors seeking higher returns from opportunities in P2P lending.