Investing in FinTech

Feb
06

Amazon Launchpad now operating in the US, Canada, India, Germany, France, the UK & Japan

Amazon is not only one of the world’s largest retailers and marketplace, it is also a market for emerging products having raised capital online and from early stage investors. Amazon Launchpad has expanded its platform from just the US to now operating in Canada, India, Germany, France, the UK and Japan. The list of partners is impressive engaging both venture capitalists and crowdfunding platforms. The roster includes: 500 Startups Accel Partners Andreessen Horowitz betaworks Balderton Capital CircleUp Crowdcube Crowdfunder (US) Crowdfunder (UK) Index Ventures Indiegogo Kickstarter Lending Club MicroVentures OurCrowd SeedInvest Seedmatch Seedrs StartEngine ulule and more… Amazon explains that their Launchpad has been designed to meet the needs of […]

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Feb
03

Bitcoin is back above $1,000

Bitcoin is is back above $1,000 for the first time since January 5. The cryptocurrency was higher by 1.5% at $1,000.10 a coin as of 11:39 a.m. ET. It’s been a wild year for bitcoin. It began 2017 with a 20% rally during the first five days of the year before crashing 35% on concerns of a crackdown on trading in China. Thursday’s gains have extended bitcoin’s winning streak to a sixth straight session as trade appears to be benefitting from uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency. The cryptocurrency has gained nearly 10% since Trump was inaugurated on January 20.   To read more, please click on the link below… Source: […]

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Silicon Valley giant grows stake in UK fintech star TransferWise

One of the early backers of Facebook is increasing its stake in TransferWise, a British financial technology pioneer, in a move that will be hailed as a vote of confidence in UK start-ups. Sky News has learnt that Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent name in Silicon Valley, has agreed to buy a chunk of shares held by TransferWise’s initial ‘angel’ investors. Andreessen is said to have agreed to the purchases in recent weeks at a valuation broadly consistent with TransferWise’s last major fundraising in May 2016, according to people close to the situation. Founded by two former Skype employees, TransferWise has grown rapidly since its launch, and now acts as a […]

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Fintech startup Squirrel is crowdfunding fresh investment on SyndicateRoom

A fintech startup whose app helps people better manage their money is seeking fresh funding via crowdfunding. Squirrel is seeking to raise £400,000 on equity crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom, with £100,000 of that already promised by angel investor Jos Evans. The two-year-old startup offers users a bank account and budgeting features and already has more than 5,000 users and £2.9m managed through the app. It will use the new funds to expand its service, particularly focusing on the students and pensioners. “Engaging online investors in a fundraise has been a route that we’ve been considering for some time,” said founder and chief executive Mutaz Qubbaj. “However, it was crucial to reach […]

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Jan
16

Funding Circle: A $100m vote of confidence in the UK’s Peer-to-Peer Lending industry

The news that Funding Circle has raised another $100m from a group of well-respected institutional investors is welcome news for the peer-to-peer lending sector, which has been showing signs of vulnerability of late. The funding round, led by Accel, and supported by investors including Baillie Gifford, DST Global, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Rocket Internet, Sands Capital Ventures, Temasek and Union Square Ventures, cements Funding Circle’s position as the leading online peer-to-peer marketplace in Europe. To coincide with the announcement, Funding Circle also said yesterday that its total lending to small businesses globally has now reached £2.5bn – including £1.1bn of advances made last year alone. The latest equity investment takes […]

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UK robo-advisor Munnypot goes live

Munnypot, a new service offering clear, affordable online financial advice to all is live from today. Munnypot’s founders aim to help close Britain’s financial advice gap, which affects 16 million people1, by making high quality advice available to everyone. Munnypot is an online savings and investment service giving anyone straightforward automated financial advice in a language they can understand, at a fraction of the cost of most financial advisers. The service requires a minimum investment of £25 per month and/or a £250 single investment amount. It provides an intuitive WhatsApp style ‘chat-based’ user-interface that advises people on their savings and investment decisions. Conversational and jargon-free questions, coupled with state of […]

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LandlordInvest gains ISA manager status from HMRC

LandlordInvest has been approved by HMRC as an ISA manager, paving the way for the launch of its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), Peer-to-Peer Finance News has learnt. The peer-to-peer lender, which specialises in buy-to-let mortgages, gained full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority in early December, following a 24-month application process. The platform will be making an official announcement regarding its HMRC approval later today. The IFISA is a tax-free wrapper around P2P investments heralded as a game-changer for the industry. It is hoped that the ISA brand will open the sector up to a wider range of retail investors, who might have not considered P2P before. At present, just […]

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Octopus gets FCA authorisation

OCTOPUS Choice is the latest peer-to-peer lending platform to be granted full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), just nine months after launch. The property lender has attracted almost £45m from lenders and funded 75 deals since it launched last April. Richard Wazacz, head of Octopus Choice, said authorisation now opens the door for the firm to launch its Innovative Finance ISA later this year. “The incredible demand we’ve witnessed in the nine months since launch underlines the level of interest for this sort of investment – and the authorisation that the FCA has now granted us will no doubt give renewed confidence to our fast-growing base of investors,” […]

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