Digital wallet services gain growing acceptance
Money and wallets simply aren’t what they used to be. Tech giants’ card-less payment services — including Apple Pay, Android Pay from Google and Samsung Pay — aim to ease the path to the truly digital wallet, and researchers project huge growth in adoption by retailers and consumers. Even staid financial giants such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America are behind a push to encourage and enable customers to access ATMs without their debit cards. Yet the digital wallet business has gotten off to a rough start, said Bay Area-based analyst Trip Chowdhry, managing director with Global Equities Research. “There have been many false starts in this industry,” Chowdhry […]
Bitcoin prices surge, here’s why cryptocurrency is skyrocketing
Bitcoin prices are skyrocketing. Business Insider reported Thursday bitcoin hit a record high, exceeding $2,700 per coin, up from $1,400 on May 1. The world’s second most influential cryptocurrency, Ethereum’s ether tokens, also broke its record this week. Ether is now evaluated at more than $200 per token, CoinMarketCap reported. For comparison, ether was selling for just $60 on April 27. There are a variety of factors driving up the market value of cryptocurrencies. The past few weeks have seen increased corporate investment in Ethereum, alongside a global “blockchain boom,” where companies like Ripple and IBM announce partnerships with leading financial institutions around the world. Japan has even kickstarted the […]
Southeast Asia’s biggest startup files for $1 Billion IPO
Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup, has filed confidentially for a potential U.S. initial public offering that could raise about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Singapore-based company, formerly known as Garena, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the past few weeks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Sea is considering listing in early 2018, though no final decisions have been made, one of the people said. Sea is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley on the share sale, the people said. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, […]
Monetary Authority of Singapore teams up with World Bank’s IFC to encourage Asian fintech innovation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, has signed a memorandum of understanding this week with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in order to encourage fintech innovation in Asia via the establishment of an Asean Financial Innovation Network (Afin). The new Afin body, overseen by IFC and MAS, will set up a regional network this year to help financial institutions (FIs), financial technology (fintech) firms and regulators in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trading bloc address issues of cross-border compatibility in the region. The Asean Bankers Association (ABA) was involved in the early discussions about the formation of Afin and it is hoped they […]
Xero selects Expensify for internal receipt and expense management
Expensify, the world’s fastest-growing expense management software, has been chosen by Xero, a leader in cloud accounting, to streamline the New Zealand-based company’s employee receipt tracking and expense management process across the globe. After announcing a strategic partnership in May of last year, Expensify and Xero have grown into a powerhouse pair of simplicity and automation delivering a delightful experience to mutual customers. Jason Mills, Director of Sales and Success at Expensify, embraces Xero’s internal rollout of Expensify as a natural opportunity to deepen the strategic partnership. “We’re thrilled to share our realtime expense vision with Xero employees everywhere and make it a reality,” says Mills. “From one product-driven […]
NDTV & Mastercard launch “Cashless Bano India” to encourage adoption of digital payments among the masses
Keeping in sync with Government of India’s vision of cashless India, NDTV and Mastercard joined hands to launch the Cashless Bano India movement. The campaign aims at accelerating the adoption of digital forms of payments through an on-ground and TV campaign that will educate the masses about digital payment solutions and encourage its usage for everyday spends. This campaign will work with partners in driving behavioural change and spread awareness on the importance of digital payments to millions across the country. The campaign was launched through a high decibel panel discussion focusing on the need for a robust digital payments ecosystem in the country. Cashless Bano India would also extend […]
EstateGuru says more than €1 Million in interest paid to Real Estate investors
Peer to peer property lender EstateGuru has shared that investors on its platform have now earned in excess of €1 million. The Estonia-based company said that nearly 6900 investors from 39 different countries have earned, on average, 12.63% since platform launch in 2014. EstateGuru also reports there has been no loss of capital on the platform. At the end of March, EstateGuru celebrated having facilitated €20 million worth of loans through the platform. The company’s CEO Marek Pärtel said his goal has always been to protect investor’s funds while offering great returns in real estate assets. “Real estate is an asset class that is not accessible to many due to […]
Canadian FinTech startup Mylo launches mobile app and raises $1.25M
Mylo Financial Technologies (Mylo), a Montreal-based FinTech startup that offers a mobile personal finance platform to help Canadians achieve their financial goals, has successfully raised $750K and completed its pre-seed financing round. This latest raise brings Mylo’s current financing to $1.25M, led by Ferst Capital Partners (FCP) with the participation of leading FinTech angel investors. “I founded my first company fresh out of university, so I experienced first-hand the challenges of managing my money on an entrepreneur’s budget,” says Philip Barrar, CEO and Founder of Mylo. “Many Canadians have difficulty achieving their financial goals because managing one’s personal finances is complicated, time consuming and for many, inaccessible. Mylo is working […]
