DomaCom signs distribution deal with US crowdfunder
Australian crowdfunder, DomaCom has signed an exclusive distribution deal with a New York-based real estate crowdfunding platform, Prodigy Network. The deal aimed to expand investment opportunities for Australian investors wanting to invest in US real estate assets. DomaCom’s chief executive, Arthur Naoumidis, described the agreement as “the start of several overseas property crowdfunding opportunities for Australian investors”. “Enormous buying power exists in our large industry and retail superannuation funds and our growing A$600 billion self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) market. There are vast sums of money sitting there, some of which must be looking for an opportunity to invest in global real estate markets,” he said. “Whilst crowdfunding is still a […]
Eight new startups join DCU Fintech Innovation Center for 2017 cohort
The DCU FinTech Innovation Center, a leading sponsor for fintech in Boston area, has announced eight new seed-stage fintech ventures for the center’s 2017 cohort. The selected startups will work, learn and collaborate in the innovation center. The selected startups include Doni, a social goal saving app for planning, saving and buying together; Energetic Insurance, InsurTech/CleanTech platform; FutureFuel, a student debt repayment startup; Lara, a personal finance firm; LearnLux; Perfectosoft, a payment processing company; RateGravity and SalesBrief, a marketing automation company. “The Center is an opportunity to go beyond DCU’s legacy of promoting and adopting innovative banking solutions. The space serves as a platform to help drive the Boston FinTech […]
Fintech MarketInvoice aims for £900 million lending in 2017, launches Pro product
Fintech company MarketInvoice is planning to more than double the size of its business in 2017 as it launches new products in a bid to become the destination for small business short-term finance. MarketInvoice announced on Thursday that it hopes to reach £2 billion in total lending by the end of 2017, which would represent £900 million in lending in 2017 and 133% growth on its 2016 volumes. Founder and CEO Anil Stocker told Business Insider: “It took us five years to do our first billion; we’re trying to do our second in a year. It’s very exciting.” Peer-to-peer platform MarketInvoice started out in 2010 as a platform to let […]
Indian bitcoin startups form blockchain and digital currency association
Leading bitcoin companies in India have come together to set up a new alliance to create an industry body in order to engage with the regulators. The Economic Times reports that Zebpay, Unocoin, Coinsecure and Searchtrade have formed the Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India (BVAI) and are moving forward to formally register it. The formation of BVAI follows the recent notice by the country’s central bank, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), cautioning users when engaging in bitcoin-related activities. The startups met for their first meeting on Friday and discussed the RBI circular among other things. “While we have been planning to create an association for some time, […]
MobiKwik in talks to raise funds, eyes $1-Billion valuation
Indian mobile payments and digital wallet firm MobiKwik says it is in talks to raise more funds at a level that would give the start-up a $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,698 crores) valuation, as it pushes to forge new ties with banks and offer new financial services on its platform. The company, which has raised about $80 million (roughly Rs. 535 crores) in funding so far, will likely see a new cash infusion in the next month, or two, founder and Chief Executive Bipin Preet Singh told Reuters on Wednesday, while declining to comment on how big an equity stake the company might be offering to sell. Asked about MobiKwik’s […]
Lending Works becomes first major P2P platform to launch new ISA
Lending Works, the first peer-to-peer lending platform to have insurance protecting lenders against certain borrower default risks, today becomes the first major UK platform to launch an Individual Savings Account (ISA). The new peer-to-peer lending ISA – which is better known as the Innovative Finance ISA or IFISA – is a new category of ISA set up exclusively for P2P lending. The IFISA can only be offered by platforms who have attained both full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and subsequently ISA Manager approval from HMRC. Lending Works received confirmation of both permissions in late 2016, and the company has now become the first member of the industry-body […]
Alibaba’s Ant Financial to raise as much as $3 billion in debt
China’s most valuable online finance company, Ant Financial, is in early stage talks with banks to raise between $2 billion to $3 billion in debt to fund acquisitions and foreign investments, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Banks have made “soft pitches” to help Ant raise funds, most likely through loans, to be used by the company for acquisitions such as that of MoneyGram International Inc as well as for boosting existing investments, the person said. Ant, an affiliate of online shopping giant Alibaba Group, dominates China’s online payment market, but has been ramping up investment overseas amid fierce rivalry at home with peers like Tencent […]
Most banks to adopt blockchain by 2020
More than 80 per cent of global bankers expect to see commercial adoption of the blockchain by 2020, and over half of global financial institutions investing or planning to invest in the technology this year. This was a key finding of a survey of 100 financial services professionals conducted by Infosys Finacle and reported in “Blockchain Technology: From Hype to Reality”. The research also concluded that the average investment in blockchain projects this year is expected to be about USD$1 million with 51 per cent of CTOs and CIOs driving initiatives. Only four per cent of the survey respondents said they had spent more than US$10 million on their blockchain […]
