Robo Advice: Better Than No Advice?
The proliferation of Robo-Advisors bringing low priced financial services out into the market has received significant buzz over the past few years. As is customary with all new things, one must ask questions before buying into it. As a Certified Financial Planner, my question is: Does Robo Advice have true value to the average consumer? My answer: A definitive “maybe.” The road to good advice lies in a tangle of issues that can easily sway the answer from a strong “avoid at all costs” to “yes, there’s value there.” According to Wikipedia, “Robo-advisors are a class of financial advisers that provide financial advice or portfolio management online with minimal human […]
Humaniq to use blockchain for social good
A London/Luxembourg start-up is planning to use the blockchain to create a new kind of bank that will help tackle global poverty. It will enable people to use its cryptocurrency to donate or lend money, and bring banking services and income generation opportunities to “the last billion”. Humaniq has been developed by a group of people, many with experience in cryptocurrencies, who have seen the potential of biometrics, blockchain and mobile to help solve a number of social and economic problems. The challenge they aim to tackle is considerable. “Over 2 billion people in the world don’t have bank accounts. About 1.5 billion people don’t have any identification documents. They […]
P2P platform hits £50m lending milestone
Peer-to-peer (P2P) platform Lending Works has celebrated providing more than £50m worth of loans since its launch in January 2014. The achievement follows a record-breaking first quarter of 2017, with nearly £5m lent via the platform in March alone. Nick Harding, CEO of Lending Works, said: “It’s incredibly rewarding to have come as far as we have since launching just over three years ago. “It is at times like this that I want to thank our extraordinary team for their hard work and determination. “That said, we prefer to look forward rather than back, and with many exciting and ambitious new initiatives in the pipeline, we expect to breach the […]
Total Market Cap of Digital Currencies nears $30 Billion
Digital currencies reached a new high today, surpassing $28 billion, a more than doubling from their previous all-time high of around $12 billion back in 2013. Indicating an increasing interest in digital currencies and the wider blockchain space. The main driver is, of course, bitcoin, which is nearing $20 billion once more after rising for much of the week from around $1,000 to approximately $1,200. The currency, however, has lost market share, falling below 70%, as other coins gain attention. At first it was monero after being added to some drug markets, then dash suddenly and puzzlingly incredibly shoot up above $100, but now has nearly halved, standing around $60 […]
UK looks to strengthen FinTech ties with India
A UK envoy that includes politicians, central bank officials, and prominent FinTech executives are in India to discuss trade relations that will deepen industry ties between the two nations as the UK prepares for the separation from the European Union. A UK-delegation led by Chancellor Philip Hammond that includes Her Majesty’s Treasury FinTech envoy Eileen Burbidge and Bank of England governor Mark Carney along with a number of leaders from banking and financial technology firms are currently in India as a part of a two-day visit as a part of the 9th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD). Hosted by Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, the trade envoy will see […]
Europe wants to hear more ideas about Fintech
Europe wants to learn more about fintech and how to develop it. That’s why the European Commission’s Task Force on Financial Technology will seek feedback on fintech from consumers and companies involved in the sector. The effort involves an online survey whose findings will help the commission “create an enabling environment where innovative financial service solutions take off at a brisk pace all over the EU, while ensuring financial stability, financial integrity and safety for consumers, firms and investors alike,” the commission said. The commission’s task force also plans to work with companies on such projects as better ways to confirm the identities of financial customers, and to potentially revise […]
Peer-to-peer lending bosses split on whether to become a bank
UK’s largest peer-to-peer/marketplace lender CEOs outline two very different visions of the future. Funding Circle and Zopa don’t disagree on much. But when it comes to whether or not to launch a bank, CEOs Samir Desai and Jaidev Janardana have reached a divergence point. Both delivered keynote speeches at last week’s AltFi Europe Summit. Desai’s – which was entitled: “To be or not to be a bank” – left the audience in little doubt as to Funding Circle’s intentions. “We at Funding Circle have no plans to launch a bank,” said Desai. He went on to identify the three types of bank collaboration that have sprung up across the marketplace […]
Funding Circle close further funding round, valued at $1 billion
Investor interest in the peer-to-peer lending industry shows no sign of slowing; British site Funding Circle have just closed another round of funding, taking their total raise to $380 million. Funding Circle recently closed another round of venture capital funding to the tune of $100 million, valuing the company at $1 billion. The new round was led by DST Global, BlackRock, and Temasek, a fund backed by the Singaporean government. Since its conception in 2010, Funding Circle have become ones of the world’s leading marketplaces exclusively focused on small businesses. The platform has raised approximately £300 million in equity capital, lending more than £2.5 billion to 25,000 businesses in the […]
