Paytm Digital Gold platform allows users to buy, share, sell gold digitally
With Paytm launching its Payment Bank services on May 23, users were left wondering what exactly has their digital wallet service turned into. Founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma says that currently, it is not just a wallet or a Payments Bank, but also a gold retailer. The company behind Paytm, One97 Communications on April 17 launched its first wealth management product aimed at middle/ lower middle-class Indians. The product named ‘Digital Gold’ allows users to buy, store and sell gold on its platform. “The fundamental idea behind digital gold was to bring wealth management to the common man such as a chaiwallah or auto rickshaw driver who loves gold,” Vijay Sharma […]
Banco BNI Europa makes €10M investment in Portuguese peer-to-peer platform Raize
Banco BNI Europa has signed a strategic agreement with Portugal’s largest peer-to-peer lender RAIZE to boost lending to SMEs in the country. The online challenger bank is looking to invest €10 million over a two year period. The Portuguese economy has experienced strong GDP growth of 2.8% in the 1st quarter of 2017 and in 2016 captured the largest amount of foreign direct investment in the last 20 years. Pedro Coelho, Executive Chairman of BNI Europa said: “The bank is extremely committed to supporting SMEs in the European space. Our partnerships with Raize and MarketInvoice are just some of the initiatives the bank is promoting with fintech businesses and more […]
Online lender RateSetter valued at over £200 million as it raises £13 million to launch new ISAs
RateSetter, one of the UK’s three biggest peer-to-peer lenders, said on Tuesday it has raised £13 million in equity funding from its existing shareholders. City fund managers Woodford Investment Management and Artemis were both existing investors and took part in the funding round. The funding will be put towards launching its new “Innovative Finance ISA,” a new product that will allow consumers to hold peer-to-peer loans in an ISA. RateSetter plans to launch the product once it receives full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. RateSetter is the last of the UK’s “Big 3” peer-to-peer lenders waiting for sign-off from the City watchdog. Founded in 2010, RateSetter allows ordinary people […]
BITPoint wants to bring Bitcoin to Japan
BITPoint Japan Co. is reportedly gearing up to enable hundreds of thousands of Japanese retail outlets to accept the digital currency bitcoin, reported Bloomberg News. In a Bloomberg report, Genki Oda, BITPoint’s president, said the company is in talks with a retail-related company and that “by going through a company providing payment terminal services to shops, we have the possibility of increasing its use at one stroke. It’s easier than talking to lots of individual retailers.” Bloomberg pointed out that BITPoint is joining a growing list of companies that are embracing regulations enacted in Japan in April that recognize digital currencies as a way to pay for things. Bic Camera […]
UK fintech shrugs off Brexit, trumps Germany
Research from Fintech Global shows that despite the Brexit vote investors continue to commit more capital to UK fintech companies. Since the Brexit result many years of uncertainty for markets and teh broader economy have set in to investors’ expectations. Quickly shifting news agendas and polling results have been an ongoing feature of Brexit Britain and prompted stock market and currency volatility. The imminent general election has only increased the trend and that is before official talks begin in three weeks time. The ‘Brexit effect’ was notable for its hit to investment in the UK’s world-class fintech scene as well with the questions over the City’s competitive edge in the […]
Credit Suisse develops Robo Advisor
Digital development is gathering pace at Credit Suisse under the guidance of Anke Bridge. Switzerland’s second-largest bank is working on a service that will be based on advice provided by robots. It wasn’t just the sheer size which kept UBS and Credit Suisse (CS) apart, but also their respective approach to innovation – with UBS seen clearly ahead of its cross-town rival. Under the leadership of Anke Bridge, appointed as CS head of digital solutions in December 2016, CS is catching up. Bridge told Le Temps newspaper that CS was a very innovative bank, but agreed that the company should become more active in communicating its current projects. CS Invest […]
FinTech and the positive transformation of Banking in Africa
The unique environment for financial services in Africa is fertile ground for innovative FinTech players who are capitalising on the opportunities to disrupt or leapfrog established business models to make financial services more affordable, accessible and profitable across the continent. Due to their potent blend of trail‐blazing technology and disruptive innovation, FinTech players have the ability to accelerate the digital transformation of financial services in Africa and, in turn, further spur the major existing banks to rapidly ramp‐up their own innovation initiatives to meet the financial needs of under‐served markets across the continent. FinTech players are increasingly becoming an important part of the fabric of Africa’s financial services ecosystem and […]
Malaysia Fintech firm Soft Space raises US $5 Million from Japan’s Transcosmos
Malaysia Fintech firm Soft Space, which offers mobile payment solutions, announced it has secured US $5 million in funding from Japanese e-commerce company Transcosmos Inc. Mobile POS and E-Commerce Soft Space offers mobile point-of-sale services for small and large merchants in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Businesses can plug a small device into a smartphone or tablet that allows them to swipe customer credit cards for payment. The company takes a small transaction fee every time a card is swiped. Soft Space also offers an online management console where businesses can track and manage customer data, sales history, and even fraud management. Transcosmos, which is based in Japan, […]
