Vista to acquire D+H for fintech merger with Misys
The US buyout firm wants to create a ‘global fintech powerhouse’ by merging an existing portfolio company with its new acquisition Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners has struck a deal to acquire D+H, a Canadian financial technology provider, with an eye to merging it with UK-based Misys to create a financial software company with $2.2 billion in revenues. US-based Vista said in a statement today that it will pay C$25.50 per share in cash for D+H, including the assumption of debt, in a deal that values the Toronto-listed firm at 4.8 billion Canadian dollars. The buyout firm acquired software provider Misys in 2012. The combined company will be privately […]
How secure is your mobile wallet?
Owing to ease of use, digital payment or mobile wallet apps have seen massive uptake in recent past. But how secure is your digital money? Demonetisation in the last quarter of 2016 pushed citizens of India to use digital payments instead of cash transactions. Owing to ease of use, digital payment or mobile wallet apps have seen massive uptake in recent past. But how secure is your digital money? We checked out the security levels of some of the popular mobile payment apps below. Read on. Paytm Paytm, synonymous to mobile wallets in India, has single factor authentication by default. That means that once you have logged onto the app, […]
Dublin startup Touchtech Payments makes plans for international expansion
One of the first financial technology companies in Europe to develop a solution which uses fingerprinting and retinal scanning to authenticate online payments, Dublin startup Touchtech Payments is making plans for international expansion. Operating in a market where an EU directive will require all banks to improve security by introducing a two-factor authentication by the end of 2018, Touchtech co-founder and head of products, Niall Hogan sees an opportunity to make the most of the early mover advantage. Up until now, the market has been dominated by major players offering payment authentication solutions using passwords and text messages. “There was very little innovation in this space until the fintech revolution […]
South Korea’s Viva Republica taps PayPal to fund Fintech
South Korea-based financial technology services company Viva Republica announced last week that it had closed a KRW 55 billion ($47 million) Series C round of funding. Among the investors in this latest round were venture capital firm Goodwater Capital and US-based payment service PayPal. Viva Republica has found success in its home market with its peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment app Toss, which claims to have 6 million users in South Korea. The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Toss users transfer money via the app an average of 6.7 times per month—almost triple the average for similar services. According to data from Wiseapp, Toss was the second most used mobile payment […]
The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards – entries closing soon
The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards May 11, 2017 in New York, is the premier event in Fintech, celebrating financial innovation from around the world. The Benzinga Awards is a competition to showcase the companies with the most impressive technology, who are paving the future in financial services and capital markets! Applications are still open, so apply now before the March 17 deadline. At the event, you’ll get a first look at groundbreaking technology, innovative platforms, and the chance to network freely with top industry professionals. Over 550 FinTech CEOs, C-suite executives of financial institutions, VCs, press, and others attended the 2016 Benzinga Fintech Awards. 45 exclusive exhibitor spots on the show floor […]
London FinTech startup Oinky raises $1m
Tech City News can exclusively reveal that Oinky, a London-based savings app, has raised approximately $1m (£765,000) in Seed funding from a group of high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs from the finance and tech sectors. Originally backed by Seedcamp, the startup, which will use the money to expand its team (it recently hired Azimo’s former head of growth Francisco Lema), launch its product and build additional product features, has also received regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Founded in 2015, Oinky’s mission is simple yet ambitious. Co-founders Ivan Soto-Wright and Conrad Holmboe, who met at Redington, decided to set up the company in an attempt to address […]
Underserved fintech fund raises $141 million
US non-profit group Accion International and VC Quona Capital have raised $141 million from an array of institutional investors to support fintech startups that improve the quality and availability of financial services for the underserved. The Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund will focus on emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia that have demonstrated the greatest potential for inclusive fintech. Michael Schlein, CEO and resident of Accion, says: “The Fund will support innovators using new technologies to help create a financial system that works for everyone. By focusing on both social impact and financial returns, we believe the Fund shows the importance of harnessing the capital markets to solve […]
Law firms cosy up to UK fintech community
Top law firm Slaughter and May is to give five fintech startups free legal services worth tens of thousands of pounds. Meanwhile, another law firm, Simmons & Simmons, is launching a fintech and regtech student support programme with London’s Queen Mary University. Simmons & Simmons and Slaughter and May are both keen to woo members of London’s vibrant fintech scene, building relationships that could one day yield valuable business. Late last year Slaughter and May opened the doors to its first Fintech Fast Forward programme, inviting applications from startups in areas such as insurtech, regtech, datatech and distributed ledger technology. Over 25 firms applied, seeking £30,000 of value add services […]