Breaking Paytm’s monopoly, Reliance Jio announces strategic partnership with Uber
If you were taking the suite of services Reliance launched with Jio, lightly — here is a wake up call for you. Reliance Jio Infocomm has announced a a strategic partnership with Uber that will enable users to pay for rides, through their Jio Money wallets. This breaks Paytm’s monopoly, which until now was the only third-party wallet that could be used to directly pay for cabs hailed using the Uber platform. Speaking on the topic, Madhu Kannan, Chief Business Officer for India and Emerging Markets at Uber, said: Digital payments have become part of our everyday lives and by integrating JioMoney as a payment option, our riders will have […]
Japan’s largest bank is testing digitized checks on a Blockchain in Singapore
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s largest bank, has chosen blockchain technology as the core infrastructure toward testing the digitization of checks using Singapore’s Fintech-friendly regulatory sandbox installed by the country’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. First announced last year, the Proof of Concept (PoC) testing is the result of a joint endeavor between the bank and major Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. The two companies developed a blockchain-based infrastructure to issue, transfer and collect electronic checks. With the PoC testing, the bank issued and settled checks while the Hitachi Group’s companies in Singapore received the electronic checks and then deposited the funds. “The project is to digitalize entire check […]
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a worldwide network of interconnected computers (nodes) that enforce, execute and validate programs in a decentralized manner without requiring a server, memory, CPU power, or any other computing function, as it is all provided by thousands of ethereum nodes scattered across the world. In short, ethereum is a global computer. This global computer allows applications, called Decentralized Apps or DApps, through the use of smart contracts – simple javascript like code – to run exactly as they have been programmed, requiring no permission, having no intermediary, in a largely immutable manner, lacking any downtime, censorship, fraud, or third party interference. It further ensures the operation of ETH – […]
Fintech SoFi gets $500M infusion from Silver Lake, Softbank
San Francisco fintech SoFi is near to closing a deal for a $500 million infusion from buyout firm Silver Lake and tech giant Softbank, according to sources close to the matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is close to completing the deal, which won’t give Silver Lake a majority stake in the company but does signal an increasing interest by venture capital firms in fintech startups that focus on lending. “The new equity investment, which values SoFi at more than $4 billion, would give the San Francisco-based company a fresh round of cash as it works to shake off a tough 2016 for the online lending industry […]
Global investment platform DarcMatter receives ‘Best Fintech Solution’ award
Global investment platform for alternative payments DarcMatter announced that it has received ‘Best Fintech Solution’ award for Small & Startup Funds at the HFM U.S. Hedge Fund Technology Awards that was held on 13 February 2017 in New York. The HFM U.S. Hedge Fund Technology Awards recognizes and selects those software providers that are serving hedge fund industry and have proven exceptional customer service and innovative product development in the fintech ecosystem. DarcMatter was selected by the panel of judges, as it is focused on offering a technology platform for hedge fund managers in order to directly and more transparently access LPs for streamlined and efficient capital raise. “We are […]
Traity releases micro-insurance product ‘Kevin’ in open blockchain balance sheet
Traity, a network that builds reputation standards, has collaborated with Suncorp, the largest Australian insurance conglomerate, and announced the release of a new micro-insurance product ‘Kevin’ in an open blockchain balance sheet. In an ‘Open Blockchain Balance Sheet,’ for every new transaction that Kevin approves, it buys $10 worth of bitcoin. When a transaction ends positively, Kevin sells $10 worth of bitcoin and on negative grounds, it needs to pay the guarantee, an additional $100 into Kevin’s Open Balance Sheet. This indicates that there is a 10x liability leverage that is reasonable. “$100 may not sound like much, but it covers most of the transactions online. Furthermore, we think that […]
Robo-Advisors are a Big Hit in U.S. – but not so much in Europe
Financial advisors need to be aware: robo-advisor services are popular in America, but not pervasive in Europe. Asia, though, is seeing faster growth. A new study shows that robo-advisor services are predominantly used in the U.S. and that only 1% of survey respondents in major European countries like the U.K. and Germany say they are using robo-advisor strategies in their investment portfolios. “Adoption of robo-advice in the United States accelerated dramatically with the entrance of the major retail investment brands,” says Investment Trends in its “2016 Robo-Advice Report.” While 950,000 online share investors already embrace robo-advice, this figure has nearly doubled in the last 12 months alone (47% of the […]
Brexit is a potential boost for Swedish fintech
Stockholm could be set to benefit from the UK’s exit from the European Union by attracting more fintech investment London is among the world’s financial services capitals, but it is one facing many questions as the UK prepares to break away from the European Union (EU). For some countries this represents an opportunity, and the Swedish financial technology (fintech) sector is ready to seize any opportunities. In the past five years, Sweden has attracted the highest number of fintech investments per capita in Europe and its capital Stockholm has branded itself as a fintech hotspot. This follows the success of companies such as Klarna and iZettle. Many in the Nordic […]
