Fintech funding on the rebound as Irish start-ups play part
Global fintech investment more than doubled from the first to the second quarter on the back of a sharp rise in European funding deals. Ireland played its part, recording fintech investments of more than $230 million (€194 million) in the three-month period, led by Plynk which raised €25 million in a Series A round from Swiss Privée in June. Total global funding to fintech firms rose to $8.4 billion (€7.1 billion) from $3.6 billion (€3 billion) with European fintech investment jumping to over $2 billion (€1.7 billion). This is well below the peak investment high of $5.8 billion (€4.9 billion) seen in the fourth quarter of 2015, but up on […]
Global VC fintech investment attracts $6.5 Billion in H1 2017
Global VC investment for FinTech in H1 2017 attracted $6.5 billion of VC investment with 787 deals, a 45% decrease year on year, according to statistics compiled through Pitchbook by Innovate Finance, the not-for-profit membership association for global FinTech. While total global investment dropped, UK VC investment for FinTech firms increased by 37% to $564 million, despite Brexit and the future uncertainty between European markets and the UK’s financial services sector. Both Q1 17 and Q2 17 were higher than Q1 16 and Q2 16 by 45% and 22% respectively. The US attracted the most investment both in deal value, which topped $3.3 billion, and deal volume, with 357 investments […]
Investment in UK Fintech tops pre-Brexit levels in First Half of 2017
Over half a billion dollars were poured into British financial technology companies in the first half of 2017, over a third more than the same period last year, trade body Innovate Finance said on Wednesday, in the latest sign the fast-growing sector is so far weathering Brexit. UK-based fintech startups pulled in $564 million of venture capital investment in the first six months of the year, more than half of which came from outside Britain. That was up 37 percent from the first half of 2016, and put Britain in third place globally for fintech investment, behind the United States and China. Some had worried that Britain’s vote last June […]
UK fintech start-up Revolut raises $66 million, adds bitcoin
The “global banking alternative” Revolut has raised $66 million in a fund-raising round, the start-up said on Wednesday, in the latest sign that London is so far weathering Brexit to remain a global financial-technology center. Led by Europe- and San Francisco-based venture capital fund Index Ventures, the fund-raising round was one of the biggest ever Series B rounds in Europe. It should provide some comfort to the British capitol as it jostles to hold onto its reputation as Europe’s leading hub for the nascent fintech sector. The investment dwarfs the 19.5 million pounds ($25 million) raised by London-based rival Monzo in its Series B round earlier this year. Revolut, which […]
London fintech Curve closing in on $10M Series A
Curve, the London fintech startup that offers a platform that lets you consolidate all your bank cards into a single Curve card and manage your money, is on the verge of closing $10 million in Series A funding. According to sources, the round, which could be announced as soon as this week, is being led by Connect Ventures, with participation from Santander Ventures, the venture arm of Spain-headquartered bank Santander Group. A number of other investors from the fintech and banking world are also participating, although I haven’t been able to pin down who they are. It is also not clear if this Series A includes an earlier bridge round […]
Vantiv offers Worldpay a deal valued at $10 Billion
Worldpay Group, the British payment processing company, said on Wednesday that it had agreed in principle to be acquired by Vantiv, an American rival, for 7.7 billion pounds. The transaction, valued at about $10 billion, is one of the most significant in the field since the financial crisis. Payment processing has become increasingly important for financial institutions as more people shop online and move money using cellphones or other digital devices. Worldpay disclosed on Tuesday that it had received takeover approaches from both Vantiv and JPMorgan Chase, an announcement that sent its shares 23 percent higher. Shortly after the deal was announced on Wednesday, JPMorgan said it did not intend […]
London ‘defends title as Europe’s tech hub with record investment so far in 2017’
London appears to be defending its title as Europe’s tech hub – at least for now. According to figures published by London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional agency, venture capital firms pumped more than £1.1bn into the city’s technology sector over the last six months. London’s tech sector attracted more venture capital investment over that period than any other European city since the Brexit vote, including Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam. More than four times the amount of investment was recorded than at the same stage during 2013 and more than during any other six-month time period in the last decade. Investment across the whole of the UK topped […]
Fintech startup Tide got a $14 million boost
Banking startup Tide raised $US14 million in one of the largest Series A funding rounds closed by a fintech company this year. Tide, a digital-only banking app aimed at small businesses, has also partnered with online lender iwoca, in a move to allow small companies access to loans of up to £100,000. The funding round was led by specialist fintech investor Anthemis, along with Passion Capital, LocalGlobe and Creandum, the company that backed Spotify. Tide plans to almost double its London team by the end of the year, and develop more features to make online banking for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) more efficient. Some of these features, says […]
