Douugh Rises to Challenge with AI-Powered Banking
Banking challenger Douugh has unveiled its artificial intelligence-powered financial platform, guided by “Sophie”—a 24/7 personal assistant for finances.
Start-up
Dubai’s FinTech Hive accelerator kicks off
Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) inaugural FinTech Hive accelerator programme has started with the first batch of 11 finalists. As reported in April, DIFC called for applications for its FinTech Hive. The 12-week programme is designed to help early and growth-stage firms accelerate product and business development by gaining exposure to financial institution executives. Raja […]
Fintech funding round-up: 21 August 2017
A short time ago, in a round-up near here (i.e. 18 August) we covered the lively world of fintech funding. Yet again, we have more cash action. Featuring Xinja, Capital Float and Prodigy Finance. Australia-based Xinja, which recently emerged from the shadows to unveil its plans for a mobile-only digital bank, is in the news […]
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Revolut
Last month, we asked Paybefore.com visitors to vote for the Best Challenger Banks—the ones shaking up the status quo with a legit chance to become consumers’ preferred accounts, not just a stepping stone to the big banks. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing our spotlight articles on these challengers. First up is Revolut.
Top fintech stories this week – 18 August 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
BBVA warns of “dangerous bubble” for blockchain ICOs
BBVA reckons the fever for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is facing a “dangerous bubble” driven by speculation. ICOs are a common story in fintech at present and they allow small businesses to reach a large audience via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. (And BBVA has its own interest in […]
Industry bullish on promise of fintech – Opimas research
Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.
Is this the end of fintech as we know it?
In the age of the internet, fintech dominates finance. In the UK, the sector is currently worth £7 billion, employing around 60,000 people with figures set to increase. The industry is definitely awe-inspiring, but as the lines between traditional banking services and fintech blur, fintech could disappear entirely.
Where top US banks are investing in fintech – CB Insights
Since 2012, the top ten US banks (by assets under management) have participated in 72 rounds totaling $3.6 billion to 56 fintech companies, according to CB Insights. While investment activity dropped on a quarterly basis in Q1 2017, four of the last five quarters have seen over $1 billion invested into fintech start-ups in the US backed by venture capital firms.
Morgan Stanley’s diversity-focused innovation lab welcomes first cohort
Morgan Stanley’s new innovation lab, which aims to support multiculturalism and diversity in financial services, has onboarded five start-ups for its three-month accelerator programme.
The Monday mindset: 14 August 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! This week, Banking Technology’s editor Tanya Andreasyan muses about the growing trend of celebrity endorsement in the fintech world.
£3.6m emergency cash injection pumped into Tandem
UK-based challenger bank Tandem received an emergency cash injection of £3.6 million from its existing investors earlier this year when a major funding deal with House of Fraser collapsed.
PayPal launches two innovation labs in India
PayPal has set up two innovation labs in India – based out of the company’s tech centres in Chennai and Bangalore – to help the country’s fintech start-ups grow.
Abu Dhabi Global Market and UAE Exchange partner for “vibrant fintech ecosystem”
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi and UAE Exchange have teamed up “to support, develop and promote the fintech” ecosystem in the country.
HoneyDue tackles major PFM challenge: collaborative spending
Managing a relationship is stressful enough without introducing unnecessary miscommunications about day-to-day spending. This is one reason why many couples maintain separate spending accounts with pre-defined responsibilities (e.g. you pay the rent, I’ll pay the utilities, etc).
Coinbase joins unicorn club with $100m funding, partners with Fidelity
Digital currency wallet Coinbase has taken the leap to become a unicorn. The San Francisco-based company announced it has received $100 million in Series D funding led by IVP.
Top fintech stories this week – 11 August 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Socure raises $14m in new funding
In a Series B round led by Commerce Ventures, digital identity verification specialist Socure raised $13.9 million in new funding. The investment, which also featured the participation of Flint Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Synchrony Financial, Two Sigma Ventures, and Workbench, takes Socure’s total funding to $27.5 million.
BML Istisharat gains two new takers of ICBS core banking system
BML Istisharat, a Lebanon-based banking software provider, has gained two new takers of its ICBS core banking system. These are Peterhouse Securities, a financial services firm in London, and Liberty International Bank in Abu Dhabi.
StreetShares raises $10.3m for “Shark Tank meets eBay” approach to P2P lending
Alternative lending platform StreetShares raised $10.3 million in a venture round this week. The funds come from an undisclosed investor and bring the Virginia-based company’s total funding to almost $20 million since it was founded in 2013.
Yandex and Sberbank plot joint venture for e-commerce
Russia’s tech heavyweight Yandex and the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, are planning a joint venture to “boost e-commerce development”. The new venture will be based on the Yandex.Market platform.
Kantox pulls in $6m from existing investors
Currency and risk management solutions company Kantox recently reeled in $6 million in funding.
CFTE brings fintech education initiative to Asia with MAS
UK-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) is looking to expand to Asia and plans to set up its first international hub in Singapore. The newly launched organisation says it “has been working closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to formalise plans to expand CFTE’s education initiative to ASEAN”.
Bank of Lithuania to offer regulatory sandboxes for fintechs, calls for public feedback
Fintech companies will soon be able to test their products in Lithuania by creating customised regulatory sandboxes under the supervision of Bank of Lithuania.
Abu Dhabi Launches its First Fintech Innovation Challenge for Startups
Abu Dhabi Global Market and KPMG are launching the first Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge—a five-week program for “innovative and mature startups across the globe,” with a chance to win $15,000 in prize money.
Banking Technology Awards: how to write a winning entry?
With less than one month left to nominate for the Banking Technology Awards, now is the time to polish up on your entry. The question we get asked often is how to write a winning entry. Well wonder no more, we have a few tips for you on what to include. The more detail the better! Dates […]
Abu Dhabi’s first fintech innovation challenge for start-ups launched
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and KPMG are launching the first Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge – a five-week programme for “innovative and mature start-ups across the globe”.
Top fintech stories this week – 4 August 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
SME lender Kabbage collects $250m investment from Softbank
Online small business lender Kabbage has raised $250 million in funding from Japan’s SoftBank Group. The capital, which takes Kabbage’s total funding to more than $488 million, will be used to support new lending products for small businesses, as well as “exploring non-lending products and services” for its customers, the company says.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 3 August 2017
Following on from Tuesday’s (1 August) round-up, here’s more action from the busy blockchain and Bitcoin scene. Features Gwyneth Paltrow (yes, really), Abra, Gibraltar Stock Exchange and WannaCry. Actress and food writer Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Abra, a Bitcoin-based digital wallet app, as an advisor. In an episode of American reality show “Planet of the […]
Barclays Africa looks for innovation heads-up with nine start-ups
Barclays Africa will collaborate with nine firms to explore new technology-based solutions to improve its banking services. The nifty nine are not just fintech but include Abe.ai and Kapitalwise from the US; FOMO Group and Byte Money from South Africa; and FlexPay, Spatialedge, Sun Exchange and Avenews-GT. Details below if you want the full show. […]
Personal Capital extends Series E funding round by $40m
Wealth management company Personal Capital has scored $40 million in additional funding. The money comes from existing investors as an add-on to the $75 million Series E the firm received from IGM Financial in May 2016, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). This brings Personal Capital’s total funding to $215 million since it was founded in 2009 […]
Banking Technology Awards: celebrating people that make things happen
This year’s Banking Technology Awards will be taking place on 13 December in London and once again we will be celebrating people that make things happen! The Leadership Awards will recognise individuals and teams that made a considerable contribution to our industry. What are the categories you can nominate in? Woman in Technology (W.I.T.) Award, in partnership with FemTechGlobal, will […]
Mobile identity firm Juvo scores with $40m in new funding
In a round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Wing Venture Capital, mobile identity scoring specialist Juvo has raised $40 million in new funding, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The Series B, which featured participation from SignalFire and other existing investors, takes the company’s total funding to $54 million. Juvo will use the […]
xPressTap wants to eliminate payment card readers
With the launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot programme, xPressTap is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication. The California-based start-up says its patented technology turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet […]
Digital asset start-up NextBlock out of the blocks with $20m funding
Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]
Lendico and SolarisBank team up for SME lending
The Berlin-based duo of peer-to-peer lending provider Lendico and fintech firm SolarisBank are working together on a long-term collaboration for financing SME loans. To begin with, SolarisBank is providing an “eight-digit sum” for financing loans via Lendico – with unspecified plans to expand this commitment in the medium-term. Dr. Clemens Paschke, co-founder and managing director […]
Kakao Bank attracts 820,000+ clients in four days since launch
Kakao Bank, one of South Korea’s first digital only banks, says it has attracted KRW 535 billion ($477 million) worth of business in deposits and loans in just four days since its launch.
UK fintech start-up DueCourse goes into administration
UK-based DueCourse, a cloud-based invoice financing start-up, has run its course with the revelation that it has gone into administration. The bad news comes less than a year after it received £6.25 million in funding from investors, including the founders of TransferWise, and non-fintech firms such as LinkedIn, Zoopla and Lovefilm. According to online publication […]
Fintech funding round-up: 28 July 2017
The riches rounded up. Following on from the brief report on 26 July, here’s our latest fintech funding round-up. Features Brolly, Callsign and Aquiline Capital Partners. Insurtech start-up Brolly has got itself some lolly – with the closing of a £1 million seed round. The round, led by Valar Ventures, Pi Labs and Entrepreneur First, […]
