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.
Top Story
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.
Get Daily Updates
Subscribe to DailyAlts Today to get Alternative Investment news, insight, and commentary delivered straight to your inbox every day.
More Stories on FinTech
Look Ma, No Banks. Small Business Bernal Cutlery Shop Issues SMBX Bonds Instead
Small businesses getting the go-round from banks now have an alternative: Issue bonds on the SMBX platform
Bernal Cutlery, a well-known cutlery shop in San Francisco, raised $130,000 within two weeks by floating a small business bond on SMBX, in what is claimed to be the world’s first such issue.
Small Business Debt Funding Platform Now Available on Your iPhone
Apple has approved the SMBX app, a crowdfunding debt financing platform for small business
Small businesses now have an alternative to their banks on their iPhones. SMBX, an app recently approved by Apple, has come to the rescue of small businesses that are unable to access financing from banks because of their insufficient credit history.
Accenture: Global Fintech Investments Plunge in H1 of 2019
The US-China trade war took a toll on global fintech investments, which slumped 29% in the first half of the year.
According to a report from consulting firm Accenture, fintech deals across the globe in the first half of 2019 amounted to $22 billion, sharply lower than $31.2 billion in the same period in 2018.
The number of deals was higher by 2% to 1,561 this year, however.
Listed Lending Platform Funding Circle Hits $10 Billion in Funds Issued
Listed lending P2P platform Funding Circle, headquartered in London, has surpassed the magic figure of $10 billion in funds loaned
Launched in 2010, Funding Circle is the first P2P platform to be listed in the UK.
Softbank-Backed Brazilian Fintech Looks to Boost Resources and Innovation
São Paulo-based secured lending platform Creditas announced a $231 million funding round on July 10 that values the fintech at $750 million.
The funding round is led by SoftBank Group. Existing investors Vostok Emerging Finance, Santander InnoVentures and Amadeus Capital will also participate.
P2P lending platform Mintos Clocks Over €3 Billion in Loans Given
Mintos is stepping up the pace on its lending activities with over €1 billion in loans advanced since April of this year
The platform provides a large cross-section of loans through 65 loan originators. Most of these loans are in the consumer category, though loan types such as agro, business, and invoice financing are also available.
Gerardus Vos Leaves Barclays to Run BAML Fintech Team
Bank of America Merrill Lynch continues its global expansion Fintech analyst Gerardus Vos is heading to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The U.S. bank has hired Vos to lead head a financial technology investment banking team for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Once he starts in September, Vos will report to Giorgio Cocini…
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.
Revolut Valuation: Is $10 billion on tap?
Revolut, the digital challenger bank, and fintech poster child may soon amass a worth of $10 billion, according to Simon Cook, investor, and board member.
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?