Banks team up with their FinTech competitors
These are challenging times for the incumbent heavyweights of the financial services sector. Beset by regulatory, governance, technological, capital, and investment issues, they are increasingly facing competition for business from a whole host of new players, primarily from ‘FinTechs’. Growth of marketplace lending In the case of online lenders, this trend began in the UK in the mid-2000s when Zopa, the world’s first digital and now Europe’s largest peer-to-peer (now called marketplace) provider, launched, quickly followed by the likes of Prosper, Lending Club, and OnDeck in the US. Eleven years on, Zopa has lent around 1.8 billion pounds to more than 150,000 borrowers funded by 63,000 investors of whom 53,000 […]
XERO CEO: London’s fintech scene is ‘world class’ and will stay that way post-Brexit
The CEO of £1.4 billion accountancy software giant Xero says London is a world leader in fintech — financial technology — and will remain that way post-Brexit. Rod Drury, founder and CEO of Xero, told Business Insider during a recent interview in London: “We love the fintech innovation happening in London, it’s absolutely world-class. When you see the apps that are being built here, they will go global. We’re really impressed by the quality of the finch thinking that goes on here.” London has become a European hub for financial technology — fintech — companies since the 2008 financial crisis. London boasts both a global finance hub in the City […]
Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined
We’ve entered the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers and ATMs. No firm is immune from the coming disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the new financial technology (“fintech”) revolution. The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes: […]
WorldRemit achieves key volume milestone underpinned by strong user growth
WorldRemit achieves key volume milestone underpinned by strong user growth, with Australian market a key driver WorldRemit now processing over 500,000 transactions per month 100,000 transfers sent from users in Australia alone 160,000 transfers received directly on mobile phones Signalling rapid and accelerating global growth, online money transfer service WorldRemit announced it had processed more than half a million transfers in a month for the first time ever in September, with more than 100,000 transfers sent from users in Australia alone. The milestone continues WorldRemit’s record for consistent transaction volume growth, showcasing strong fundamentals – consistent, growing revenues streams and a clear path to profitability. Global turnover is […]
An overview of digital currencies
By now you may have heard about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin being used to trade and purchase goods and services, but here’s a fact you may not be aware of. As of 2016 the United Nations recognises 180 different currencies, everything from the Abkhazian Apsar to the US dollar, however does not recognise a single crypto-currency as legal tender. Despite not receiving official recognition as a currency, the various crypto-currencies are being used around the world in order to carry out trade for goods and services. The most popular of crypto-currencies, Bitcoin, has a market cap of over US$10 billion. Currently there are 654 crypto-currencies in circulation, a trend that […]
6 Things You Should Do to Avoid Fake Bitcoin Wallet App Scams
It is now apparent that a fake wallet app is the newest Bitcoin theft risk you should score. You’ve probably heard that Apple Store and Google Play have very stringent app review processes. That they only allow apps that won’t harm you to access through their platforms. If that gave you a sense of security, I am sorry to tell you it is a false one. Members of the bitcoin community have just discovered about eight fake bitcoin wallet apps in the Apple Store. They were all imitations of some the most used Bitcoin wallet apps, including Coinbase, BreadWallet, BitGo, Armory and Green Address. If you, unfortunately, happened to download […]
Banks to develop new digital cash unit for settlement
Four of the world’s biggest banks have teamed up to develop a new form of digital cash they believe will become an industry standard to clear and settle financial trades using blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin. UBS, the Swiss bank, pioneered the “utility settlement coin” and has now joined forces with Deutsche Bank, Santander and BNY Mellon – as well as the broker ICAP – to pitch the idea to central banks, aiming for its commercial launch by early 2018. The move is the first example of a group of leading banks coming together to co-operate on a specific blockchain technology to harness the power of decentralised computer networks and […]
The Pulse of Fintech
‘ The Pulse of Fintech ’ is a quarterly report created by KPMG along with KPMG Enterprise’s Global Network for Innovative Startups and CB Insights (the ‘go to’ name for insights related to venture capital investment) which launched on August 17th, 2016. The series analyses the latest global trends in venture capital investment data on the fintech sector. Given the significant interest in fintech globally, and its ongoing evolution in terms of market drivers, technologies and potential use-cases, KPMG and CB Insights are partnering to bring you the pulse on fintech investment globally. Each quarter, we’ll highlight key fintech deals, issues and challenges around the world, in addition to key […]
