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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Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) has launched its Crypto app in the European Union (EU), allowing eligible customers to engage in crypto trading with the added incentive of earning Bitcoin rewards. Customers stand to receive up to 1 BTC as a reward when signing up and can earn an additional 1 BTC for each successful referral. The platform claims to be the sole custodial crypto platform in the EU offering customers a percentage of their trading volume back every month, paid in Bitcoin.
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Finmason Clocks Analysis Of 10 Million Portfolios
U.S. based fintech FinMason is the world’s largest independent investment analytics engine for financial services platforms. FinMason announced this week that it had analyzed over 10 million portfolios for clients. The investment analytics provider launched its analytics API service in 2017. The firm directs its service towards WealthTech and FinTech firms. The FinMason API puts…
Ripple’s Blockchain to Support Finastra’s Cross-Border Payments
Enterprise blockchain provider and payment network Ripple has tied-up with giant fintech Finastra.
The latter’s users can utilize Ripple’s blockchain based network and its RippleNet partners for cross-border payments.
RippleNet, a global blockchain payments network, has over 200 financial institutions as its global partners. These entities will also have access to Finastra’s massive global network of banks.
Here’s What Negative Interest Rates Would Do to the Community Banking Industry
Negative interest rates have generated a lot of noise in Europe and Asia. What would happen if the Federal Reserve adopted negative interest rates? That was the subject of a report released this week by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
#Fuelherfuture: Crowdfunding Platform Kiva Hits $1 Billion In Lending to Female Entrepreneurs
Crowdfunding loans platform Kiva celebrates the $1 billion mark in lending to women entrepreneurs with a tie-up with Pepsi.
Kiva, the crowdfunding loans platform, created a new initiative, #FuelHerFuture with Pepsi. From October 7 to October 13, 2019, Pepsi will provide a credit of $25 to anyone who makes a loan on the Kiva platform. The credit must be utilized to lend to a female borrower of their choice.
UBS: Fintech Darling Robinhood’s Business Model in Serious Jeopardy
Robinhood has a $7.6 billion valuation thanks to its strong support from Millennials. Launched in 2013, the Fintech startup undercut discount brokerages with free trades and a sleek look that attracted first-time investors.
Vista Equity Partners May Sell Partial Stake in Fintech Giant Finastra
Vista Equity Partners may look to sell up to 50% of its stake in Fintech firm Finastra. The private equity shop could reach a deal worth more than $10 billion, including debt. Reports indicate that Vista Equity Partners is working with Goldman Sachs to locate potential buyers.
Mutual Fund Giant Vanguard to Test P2P FX Trading with Blockchain
Mutual fund giant Vanguard Group has started testing a peer-to-peer FX trading platform. The experiment is part of a partnership with Symbiont.
Finablr And Samsung Pay Announce New Fintech Money Transfer Service
For the first time in the US, a Samsung Pay user can transfer money internationally to 47 countries using their mobile.
Finablr, a UK-based and listed fintech, has partnered with Samsung Electronics to offer secure cross-border payments within Samsung Pay, the native mobile wallet. The consumer simply initiates the Money Transfer tool inside the app.
Cloud And Saas Banking Startup nCino Raises $80M
nCino, the startup known for its cloud-based, SaaS solution for banking operating systems, raised $80 million.
nCino’s cloud-based, banking operating system runs off the Salesforce platform. Existing investor Salesforce Ventures participated in the funding round, which was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
Scared Of Falling Into Student Loan Debt? Try Cleo To Help Yourself Budget
Cleo is the fastest-growing fintech app in history. It’s a money management tool with a sense of humor and “zero-tolerance policy for bullsh*t.”
Barnaby Hussey-Yeo, a data scientist, founded AI-powered Cleo out of London. It was intended to be a fun-filled budgeting tool for “Gen-Zennials” – a friend in the pocket that speaks their lingo to help them save money.
It soon turned into a money-management revolution. Hitting the US market in summer 2018, Cleo now has 2 million consumers.
Challenger Bank Revolut’s Losses Double As Costs Surge
Revolut, the challenger bank and famed European unicorn, lost £32.8 million ($40.3 million) in 2018. The UK-based fintech reported a 247% jump in its cost of sales attributable to user acquisition costs, card scheme charges, and aggressive global expansion. However, revenue surged 354%.
Revolut Taps Visa to Expand Its Global Market Reach
European fintech giant Revolut has announced a deal with Visa to expand its global reach. In a statement, the firm said it will leverage Visa’s brand, scale, and global acceptance footprint to bring its product offerings to five new regions.
U.N.’s Interim Report on Harnessing Digitalization in Financing of Sustainable Development Goals
On November 29, 2018, the Secretary-General constituted a 17-member task force on Digital Financing of Sustainable Development Goals.
Paying Off Student Loan Debt Most Significant Life Milestone for 35% of Millennials
Millennials valued paying off their student loans even more than buying a house or starting a family. That’s a finding on student loan debt from a survey by personal finance company SoFi of over 1,000 Americans aged from 22 to 35.
Australian Watchdog Orders Audit of Paypal for Lapses in Money Transfers
Austrac suspects that Paypal had not met reporting obligations regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. An external auditor will conduct Austrac’s audit of Paypal and report to Austrac within 120 days. However, Paypal will pay for the audit.
Stripe Valued at $35 billion in Latest Funding Round
Payments start-up Stripe raised $250 million in additional funding at a new pre-money valuation of $35 billion.
Investors in the latest funding round of payments start-up Stripe included General Catalyst, Sequoia, and Andreessen Horowitz, among others. The latest valuation makes it one of the most highly valued start-ups in the world.
EquityMultiple: A Platform for Investors In Opportunity Zones
The EquityMultiple platform facilitates real estate investments in Opportunity Zones that come with tax breaks. Investors fed up with the measly returns in the current environment may consider real estate in Opportunity Zones. Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) bring capital to low-income areas while rewarding investors via tax breaks. The investments can trigger economic development in these areas leading to higher employment.
Swiss Private Bank Launches Digital Asset Services Including for Bitcoin And Ethereum
Arab Bank Switzerland, a leading Swiss private bank, will provide custody and brokerage services for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The bank will target high net worth clients for the services. It will become one of the first private banks in Europe to offer such facilities for digital assets.
Research: High net worth millennials will dump banks and take to fintechs
Pricing strategy specialists Simon-Kucher & Partners find 60% of millennials are not happy with current wealth management services
Banks and wealth managers should find ample cause for concern in the latest research by Simon-Kucher & Partners on millennials.
Frantic Bidding War for Australian Fintech GBST Holdings
Tumultuous week sees SS&C Technologies and FNZ locked in battle to acquire GBST
UK-based FNZ had the last word in the sequence of bid and counter-bid that unfolded last week between SS&C and FNZ over Australian fintech GBST Holdings.
Challenger bank Revolut launches 3-D secure payments for online transactions
Revolut launched earlier this week a new 3-D Secure payment feature that could protect its users from online fraud
The 3-D Secure payment feature applies only to e-commerce payments, that is those made online, and not to a physical card swipe in a shop.
Credijusto, the Mexican SME lending platform, Raises $42 Million
Point 72 Ventures and Goldman Sachs led Credijusto’s Series B funding round
Participating investors included Thomvest Ventures, Wolfson Group, Third Lake Capital and Argo Ventures, as well as existing investors Kaszek Ventures, QED Investors, Broadhaven Capital Partners, John J. Mack, and Supernode Ventures.
Only six months ago it arranged a credit facility of up to $100 million with Goldman Sachs.
With this round of funding, has raised a total of $153 million in venture and debt capital.
RegTech Revenues Climb in Step with Startup Activity, Says CCAF Benchmarking Report
RegTech revenues in 2018 top $5 billion following a sharp pickup in startup activity
The above statistic is a finding of the “Global RegTech Benchmarking Report,” published by The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and sponsored by EY Japan.
Baton Systems Raises $12 Million in Series A Round
Trinity Ventures leads round with participation from Alsop Louie and Commerce Ventures Baton Systems has raised more than $12 million. The provider of high-speed, blockchain-inspired, bank-to-bank payments infrastructure, aims to increase processing times in the $2 trillion payments market. “This investment provides us with the strategic support and firepower to scale our bank-to-bank payment solution…