ID Finance secures £1.5m within minutes on Crowdcube
ID Finance, the fintech company operating in Europe and Latin America, has raised over £1.5m crowdfunding target within minutes of its campaign going live on Crowdcube amid strong demand from investors. The data science, credit scoring and digital finance company has a crowdfunding target of £2m and is inviting interested parties to invest at https://www.crowdcube.com/idfinance. ID Finance’s proprietary risk management system uses machine learning and advanced data science techniques to provide competitive financial services to the underbanked and help customers build their credit profile. Anyone with a smartphone in Spain, Brazil and Mexico can apply online for a loan via its Moneyman and Plazo brands, regardless of their credit history. […]
Softbank pumps £510m into finance firm Greensill that could kill off payday lenders
Japanese conglomerate Softbank is set to inject another £510million into British online finance firm Greensill as part of plan to launch a new service that aims to wipe out controversial payday loans. City sources said Greensill, set up by former Morgan Stanley banker Lex Greensill, is in advanced talks to buy FreeUp, a technology company that should enable the firm to offer ordinary workers early payment of their wages. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, led by maverick entrepreneur Masayoshi Son, is pouring in more than half a billion pounds to support the expansion strategy. Sources said the deals could be announced as soon as this week. To read more, please click on […]
TransferWise expands in Middle East with Abu Dhabi license
TransferWise, the $3.5 billion financial technology start-up backed by investors including Peter Thiel and Richard Branson, is expanding its money transfer service in the Middle East. The company announced Tuesday it obtained a license as a Money Services Provider in Abu Dhabi. The license will allow users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to transfer funds in the local dirham currency, also referred to as AED, into accounts around the world through TransferWise’s platform. “Money transfers from AED have long been one of our most wished for currencies, so we always knew we’d begin our expansion into the Middle East in the Emirates,” Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of TransferWise, […]
Fintech Revolut to launch in the U.S. by year-end with Mastercard deal
Digital banking app Revolut is set to begin issuing its cards in the United States by the end of this year via a partnership with payments company Mastercard Inc MA.N, the two companies said on Tuesday. The announcement follows a similar deal last month where Mastercard rival Visa Inc V.N partnered with Revolut as part of its global expansion plans. Revolut, one of the world’s fastest-growing bank account providers, aims to undercut established players such as Bank of America BAC.N and JPMorgan Chase JPM.N on everything from foreign exchange to current accounts and remittances. “We’re going to ensure our product is better value for customers, most U.S. banks charge $10 […]
The recipe behind the UK’s Fintech success
Until now, the UK has been way ahead of the game in terms of fintech innovation. Indeed, the UK is apparently the fifth most innovative country in the world and was named as a leading European tech innovator in KPMG’s Global Technology Innovation report. The fact that we were first to introduce open banking has certainly played a part here but, with less than a month to go until the PSD2 implementation date (and other countries soon to be snapping at our heels), what exactly is behind this success? We believe there are a number of ingredients: Rapidly growing open banking ecosystem – over 135 entities are now approved by […]
Utrecht-based Rabo Frontier Ventures invests in UK fintech and banking company Tide
Rabo Frontier Ventures, Utrecht-based strategic investment venture fund, has invested in the mobile business platform Tide in a Series B investment round. This investment round was led by SBI Group and Augment. Notably, the RFV deal was structured through an SPV that is managed by Anthemis Group, a major early-stage investor in Tide and one of the most active fintech investors. Jeroen van Doornik, Partner at RFV, said: This investment in Tide will generate valuable insights regarding innovation and development in SME banking and further allows us to work together with Anthemis and alongside existing investors such as LocalGlobe. The funding will help Tide substantially increase its share of the […]
Canadian FinTech firms set sights on the UK
12 Canadian FinTech firms visit Edinburgh and London as part of a trade mission lead by the Department for International Trade. At the London Stock Exchange on October 21, 12 Canadian FinTech companies begin an exciting 5-day trade mission across the UK as they look to set-up operations in the UK market. The trade mission marks another successful year so far for the UK FinTech industry, which recorded a record level of investment into the sector in the first half of the year. The delegation of companies visiting the UK led by the Department for International Trade (DIT), have collectively raised over half a billion dollars in venture capital and […]
How Crowdfunding is becoming regular investing
A decade ago, an entrepreneur wanting to raise cash pretty much had to have rich relatives or pals, or gain entry into the clubby world of venture capital. Sure, that entrepreneur could take it to the web, asking people to make their own relatively small investments, but that was considered less than respectable – the digital version, perhaps, of panhandling. My, how much has changed since 2009. Now crowdsourcing is not only the hip way to raise money, but is pretty much expected to be part of the overall fundraising process. And one person who has helped in that shift is Jeff Kelisky, CEO of Seedrs, a crowdsourcing platform where new businesses […]
