Trov, the world’s first on-demand insurance platform, closes A$59m Series D funding round
Trov, the technology company revolutionising insurance for the tech-empowered consumer, today announced that it has closed AU$59.44 million (US$45 million) in Series D funding led by Munich Re / HSB Ventures, bringing its total funding to just over AU$112.28 million (US$85 million). All of Trov’s Series C investors participated in the round (Oak HC/FT, Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN), Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE), and Anthemis). Also participating in the financing is one of Japan’s leading insurers, Sompo Holdings (SOMPO), who will bring Trov to Japan. The new capital will be used to bring Trov’s on-demand insurance capability to more people around the world, expand the categories of items it covers, and accelerate the […]
UK looks to strengthen FinTech ties with India
A UK envoy that includes politicians, central bank officials, and prominent FinTech executives are in India to discuss trade relations that will deepen industry ties between the two nations as the UK prepares for the separation from the European Union. A UK-delegation led by Chancellor Philip Hammond that includes Her Majesty’s Treasury FinTech envoy Eileen Burbidge and Bank of England governor Mark Carney along with a number of leaders from banking and financial technology firms are currently in India as a part of a two-day visit as a part of the 9th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD). Hosted by Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, the trade envoy will see […]
Europe wants to hear more ideas about Fintech
Europe wants to learn more about fintech and how to develop it. That’s why the European Commission’s Task Force on Financial Technology will seek feedback on fintech from consumers and companies involved in the sector. The effort involves an online survey whose findings will help the commission “create an enabling environment where innovative financial service solutions take off at a brisk pace all over the EU, while ensuring financial stability, financial integrity and safety for consumers, firms and investors alike,” the commission said. The commission’s task force also plans to work with companies on such projects as better ways to confirm the identities of financial customers, and to potentially revise […]
Peer-to-peer lending bosses split on whether to become a bank
UK’s largest peer-to-peer/marketplace lender CEOs outline two very different visions of the future. Funding Circle and Zopa don’t disagree on much. But when it comes to whether or not to launch a bank, CEOs Samir Desai and Jaidev Janardana have reached a divergence point. Both delivered keynote speeches at last week’s AltFi Europe Summit. Desai’s – which was entitled: “To be or not to be a bank” – left the audience in little doubt as to Funding Circle’s intentions. “We at Funding Circle have no plans to launch a bank,” said Desai. He went on to identify the three types of bank collaboration that have sprung up across the marketplace […]
Skandiabanken makes robo-advisory push with stake in Quantfolio
Norwegian digital bank Skandiabanken has acquired a 39.9% stake in local AI and machine learning outfit Quantfolio as part of a push into the provision of robo advisory services for customers of its private savings division. “We believe the next fintech revolution will take place in the digital savings and asset management market, and we wish to strengthen our position in this market with this move,” says Christoffer Hernæs CDO Skandiabanken. “The acquisition of the shares is the first step towards providing our customers with simple and automated saving advice tailor made for each individual, through a user-friendly robo-advisory service.” Quantfolio operates an algorithmic engine to explore historical market data […]
Fintech deals in South East Asia hit record numbers in 2016
The total number of venture-backed deals to fintech companies in South East Asia (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) reached record highs in 2016 according to data released by CB Insights recently. Deals Up, Dollars Down 2016 saw 71 total deals in the region as compared to 55 the previous year, a 29% increase. However, the dollar amount raised fell from $177M in 2015 to $158M in 2016 suggesting the increase in the number of deals was spurred more by smaller early stage funding (e.g. seed and angel rounds). In fact, early stage funding as a percentage of the total number of deals increased from 55% […]
Coinbase has added margin trading to its bitcoin exchange
GDAX, the cryptocurrency exchange run by Coinbase, has added margin trading to the platform. Eligible traders can now trade up to 3X leveraged orders on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin order books. If you’re unfamiliar with trading and exchanges, margin trading is when you borrow money from your broker to buy or sell more stock than you can afford. It’s essentially a short-term loan. By buying or selling on margin, traders can increase their leverage and buying power, potentially generating profits beyond what their own cash balance would have supported. This feature is mainly geared toward institutional investors. That’s because Coinbase has launched the feature attempting to fit within the boundaries […]
Goldman Sachs launching robo advice service
Interest in robo advice from financial services giants is ramping up as demand grows for low cost, online and simplified wealth management. In another fintech-powered move towards its non-traditional market Goldman Sachs is looking to develop a robo-advice investment platform aimed at the masses rather than ‘the 1%’. Robo advice is a broad term that encompasses low cost, online investment management mostly utilising passive exchange traded funds (ETFs). While the most well-known names in the robo advice space are independent disruptors to the traditional wealth management market such as Nutmeg and Scalable Capital, large financial services incumbents are also rushing to launch their own propositions. While Goldman Sachs has not […]
