Softbank pumps £510m into finance firm Greensill that could kill off payday lenders
Japanese conglomerate Softbank is set to inject another £510million into British online finance firm Greensill as part of plan to launch a new service that aims to wipe out controversial payday loans. City sources said Greensill, set up by former Morgan Stanley banker Lex Greensill, is in advanced talks to buy FreeUp, a technology company that should enable the firm to offer ordinary workers early payment of their wages. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, led by maverick entrepreneur Masayoshi Son, is pouring in more than half a billion pounds to support the expansion strategy. Sources said the deals could be announced as soon as this week. To read more, please click on […]
China passes cryptography law as it gears up for digital currency
China’s largely rubber stamp parliament has passed a new law on cryptography as the country gears up to launch its own digital currency, state media reported at the weekend. China’s central bank set up a research team in 2014 to explore launching its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers’ control of money supply. China’s proposed new digital currency would bear some similarities to Facebook’s Libra coin and would be able to be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official said last month. China’s cryptography law, which takes effect on January 1, is aimed […]
India FinTech Forum unveils 18 high-potential fintech startups for IFTA 2019
Around a month from now, on November 29, 2019, the India FinTech Awards (IFTA) 2019 will be taking place at Mumbai. The 18 fintech startups that will line up for this coveted award have since been shortlisted. The event and the selection are being handled by a non-profit organisation, India FinTech Forum. These 18 fintech startups will make their respective presentations to the high-profile jury, which will then make its decision on the best of the lot. There may be around 800 invitees to the event to be held in a Mumbai Hotel. These 18 have been chosen out of 400 fintech startups from within the country and overseas, that […]
TransferWise expands in Middle East with Abu Dhabi license
TransferWise, the $3.5 billion financial technology start-up backed by investors including Peter Thiel and Richard Branson, is expanding its money transfer service in the Middle East. The company announced Tuesday it obtained a license as a Money Services Provider in Abu Dhabi. The license will allow users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to transfer funds in the local dirham currency, also referred to as AED, into accounts around the world through TransferWise’s platform. “Money transfers from AED have long been one of our most wished for currencies, so we always knew we’d begin our expansion into the Middle East in the Emirates,” Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of TransferWise, […]
Two more robo-advisors to enter Malaysia in 2020
Malaysia is expected to house two more robo-advisors in the country’s emerging financial technology (fintech) market next year, after the Australian-based firm Raiz Invest Ltd and Thai’s Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities obtained the Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) approval for operation. SC executive chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Syed Jaffar Albar (picture) said the companies which were granted approval-in-principle, would join the three fully operational robo- advisors in the country. The approval, Syed Zaid said, would further facilitate the growth of local fintech landscape. “Today, Malaysia has three licensed and fully operational robo-advisors — namely StashAway, MyTHEO and Wahed Inc. We continue to see strong interest in this space and will […]
US FinTech West Creek nabs $150 mn from Pollen Street Capital
West Creek, a Virginia-based FinTech firm has raised $150 million from Pollen Street Capital, bringing the company’s total raised capital to $250 million. The company claims a revenue growth of over 4,400% since 2015 and expects to surpass $200 million by the end of 2019. West Creek plans to expand its point-of-sale (PoS) financing offering with the new funds, according to a statement Rajesh Rao, chief financial officer, and chief risk officer at West Creek stated that the company plans to deliver an improved financing experience to its retail partners and customers through a combination of customer support, technology, and data-science-driven credit decisions. Founded in 2014, West Creek helps consumers make […]
Fintech Revolut to launch in the U.S. by year-end with Mastercard deal
Digital banking app Revolut is set to begin issuing its cards in the United States by the end of this year via a partnership with payments company Mastercard Inc MA.N, the two companies said on Tuesday. The announcement follows a similar deal last month where Mastercard rival Visa Inc V.N partnered with Revolut as part of its global expansion plans. Revolut, one of the world’s fastest-growing bank account providers, aims to undercut established players such as Bank of America BAC.N and JPMorgan Chase JPM.N on everything from foreign exchange to current accounts and remittances. “We’re going to ensure our product is better value for customers, most U.S. banks charge $10 […]
The recipe behind the UK’s Fintech success
Until now, the UK has been way ahead of the game in terms of fintech innovation. Indeed, the UK is apparently the fifth most innovative country in the world and was named as a leading European tech innovator in KPMG’s Global Technology Innovation report. The fact that we were first to introduce open banking has certainly played a part here but, with less than a month to go until the PSD2 implementation date (and other countries soon to be snapping at our heels), what exactly is behind this success? We believe there are a number of ingredients: Rapidly growing open banking ecosystem – over 135 entities are now approved by […]
