The Russian fintech scene in the spotlight
The Russian fintech market has been growing significantly for the past two years in terms of both the number of deals and the volume of investment. The market has several particularities: Russia is a leading global supplier of IT specialists and some areas such as P2P lending, crowd investment and cryptocurrencies have yet to be regulated. According to some fintechs the key hurdles facing the Russian market include the low interest of external investors, the low spending power of the public, geopolitical risk and the inflexibility of the tax authorities. In 2018 the Russian Central Bank created a regulatory sandbox in order to encourage new financial services and technologies such […]
Japan’s Cryptocurrency Business Association releases new guidance
The Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA), an organization that fosters the responsible development of the crypto asset industry in Japan, has released new guidance on the regulation of crypto asset management. The guidance is the result of a consultation process with crypto exchanges, custodians and other parties and takes their viewpoints into account. The guidance seeks to encourage a crypto asset system that balances user protections with stable market development. Crypto custody The topic for the guidance was the newly added crypto asset management clause for crypto asset exchanges in amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act announced on May 31 of this year. In the amended Payment Services Act, crypto […]
Where are US fintech’s next billion-dollar startups?
As fintech investments soar to new heights, investors are looking at the bottom and top levels of the services stack to find the next billion-dollar startups. That’s the word from seasoned investors like Andreessen Horowitz’s managing director, Angela Strange, who has invested in a number of successful financial services technology companies. For Strange and Chris Britt, co-founder and chief executive of financial services startup Chime Bank, the best opportunities are in customer-facing financial services and specific infrastructure opportunities that can support those businesses. For many large companies, financial services are already entering a twilight period. Markets like consumer and student lending, banking and financial management and business lending are becoming […]
Scotland attracts £37m investment in fintech over the past decade
Fintech in Scotland has attracted nearly £37m in investment over the last 10 years with an emerging ‘ecosystem’ which brings together start-ups, large firms, universities and the public sector, said the Scottish Government. Scotland is now a key location for many international firms, such as J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, NCR, Ingenico and Avaloq. J.P. Morgan’s European Technology Centre in Glasgow is a key strategic technology hub with 1,300 employees.Deloitte’s 2017 Global FinTech Hubs Federation report highlighted Edinburgh’s high concentration of key elements, and outside London and the South East, Scotland has the most complete financial and business services industry cluster in the UK. Economy Secretary Keith Brown has been […]
Google steps up global fight for digital wallet as China dominates mobile payments
Mobile payment transactions in China added up to more than US$12.8 trillion last year, making it the world’s largest mobile payments market. Now US tech giants are playing catch up. To get a sense of how pervasive mobile payments have become in China, consider that on the eve of this year’s Spring Festival, 668 million people on Tencent Holding’s WeChat app sent virtual hongbao – digital red packets containing money – to friends and family as part of their well wishes for the new year. Now western tech giants are accelerating efforts to tap into the market, with Google this week launching Google Pay in a move that rebrands and […]
Venezuela launches its own cryptocurrency to escape hyperinflation
President Nicolas Maduro says Venezuela has received $US735 million in the first day of a pre-sale of the country’s “petro” cryptocurrency, aimed at pulling the country out of an economic tailspin. Maduro is hoping the petro will allow the ailing OPEC member to skirt US sanctions as the bolivar currency plunges to record lows and it struggles with hyperinflation and a collapsing socialist economy. Blockchain experts have warned the petro is unlikely to attract significant investment. Opposition leaders have said the sale constitutes an illegal debt issuance that circumvents Venezuela’s majority-opposition legislature, and the US Treasury Department has warned it may violate sanctions levied last year. Maduro did not give […]
FinTech Scotland announces partnership with FinTechNZ
Last week, FinTech Scotland announced its first partnership with New Zealand fintech hub, FinTechNZ. According to the Scotland hub, FinTechNZ is The New Zealand Financial Innovation & Technology Association. It is a working group focused on delivering economic growth in New Zealand through financial innovation. Slightly older than FinTech Scotland they have a member base of just more than 100. It also works closely with the New Zealand government to offer guidance on policies and regulations. While sharing more details about the partnership, FinTech Scotland stated it is looking to develop a network with other international hubs and several reasons have motived the organization in doing so, which are the […]
Temenos to create financial technology powerhouse as Fidessa agrees takeover
The boards of Temenos and Fidessa have reached an agreement on the terms of an all-cash takeover of the UK-based trading technology supplier in a transformational deal for the Swiss core banking vendor. Under the terms of the transaction, Fidessa shareholders will be entitled to receive £35.67 in cash for each Fidessa share, a 36.9% premium to the firm’s closing price of £26.05 on 16 February. Shareholders will also be entitled to receive and retain a final dividend and a special dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2017 together amounting to 79.7 pence in aggregate per Fidessa share. The transaction, which is expected to close in the […]
