Peer-to-peer finance firm Folk2Folk launches new branch in Harrogate
Folk2Folk, the peer-to-peer business lending firm, has launched a new branch in Harrogate. The company’s new branch is aiming to introduce over £20m in finance to an estimated 100 businesses in its first year in the region. Folk2Folk’s move into North Yorkshire is part of its national expansion plan having already established a local demand for its finance services. Harrogate was chosen based on its strong rural business network and geographic importance to other local towns and areas. This new branch will be the fourth opening from Folk2Folk, which launched in 2013. The new Folk2Folk branch is situated in the centre of Harrogate, making it easy for business owners and […]
A fintech veteran spent 3 years and ‘a huge amount of money’ secretly building a new bank
ClearBank the UK’s first new, purpose-built clearing bank in 250 years after 3 years secretly working on the multi-million-pound project.
Ireland and Germany will battle for fintech crown post-Brexit: VC founder
Ireland and Germany are poised to step up to fill a void as leader of Europe’s fintech scene once the U.K. leaves the European Union (EU), according to the co-founder of a global venture capital firm backed by The Boston Consulting Group. While it’s difficult to tell exactly what it will be, Brexit, which will mean the U.K. will lose its easy access to Europe’s financial industry, is certainly going to have an impact on the fintech industry, says Raj Ganguly, co-founder and partner at B Capital Group. “It seems like London is going in the direction of a hard Brexit. And with the the passporting rules potentially going away, […]
Zopa to move into secured lending
ZOPA is looking to expand into the secured auto finance space, where it sees an opportunity to grow its borrower base. The peer-to-peer lending platform, which usually specialises in unsecured consumer loans, said it sees strong potential in the secured car finance sector as there are healthy levels of demand but typically a poor customer experience. “People are getting poor deals in that area and end up paying significantly higher annual percentage rates (APRs) than they would if they arranged their financing before going into a dealership,” said Amy Miller, Zopa’s chief marketing officer. Consumers looking to borrow money to buy a car tend to sign up to dealer-arranged loans, […]
P2P Bitcoin lender Bitbond raises $1.2 million in new funding
Peer-to-peer bitcoin loan market Bitbond has raised $1.2m in new funding. The web platform, which connects lenders and borrowers to facilitate the distribution of loans denominated in bitcoin, received the new funding largely from a group of angel investors, some of whom already have stakes in the startup. The round was led by Şekip Can Gökalp, founder of Mobilike, a Turkey-based mobile ad network formed in 2009, and that was acquired last year. Other investors include Janis Zech and Andreas Bodczek, who founded ad tech startup Fyber, and Alexander Graubner-Müller, co-founder and CEO of Germany-based online lender Kreditech. According to Bitbond representative Chris Grundy, most of the funding will be […]
Plum announces partnership with Ratesetter
Plum, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered Facebook chatbot which allows consumers to start saving and investing without any effort, today announces its partnership with RateSetter. Plum’s smart algorithm understands spending patterns and identifies income and bills to create a unique profile for its users. It calculates the amount to save or invest and automatically transfers it to a Plum account to put that money to work. Plum’s partnership with RateSetter means that people who are comfortable putting capital at risk can use the peer-to-peer lending platform to earn a higher rate of interest. The average return earned by RateSetter investors to date is 4.7 per cent. Victor Trokoudes, co-founder at […]
Zopa named Best Personal Loan Provider & Best Alternative Finance Provider at the 2017 British Bank Awards
Zopa, the UK’s very first peer to peer lending platform, announced on Monday it was named Best Personal Loan Provider & Best Alternative Finance Provider at the 2017 British Bank Awards. The online lender revealed in a blog post: “We’re excited to announce we’ve been named both the Best Personal Loan Provider and the Best Alternative Finance Provider at the British Bank Awards. These awards are special to us because they are voted for by you, our customers, in a survey at the start of the year. Our goal is to provide people with great value products and excellent service, so it’s fantastic to know our customers believe we’re achieving […]
Thousands use LV’s robo advice service
Almost 6,000 people have used LV’s full automated financial advice service since it was launched in summer 2015, in an early indication that there is a significant market for comprehensive robo advice. The friendly society also revealed that 24,000 people had used its less comprehensive “automated guidance” service. However, LV was “unable” to reveal how many of the 6,000 customers who paid the £199 for a full statement of advice went on to pay £499 to execute the statement of advice. A spokesperson added that “a number of clients” who initially engaged online had gone on to call LV’s telephone advice service. “[This] suggests that there is demand for online […]
