Peer-to-peer platform Folk2Folk gets authorised by the regulator
Folk2Folk has become the largest fully authorised peer-to-peer platform in Britain. The company announced on Wednesday that the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has given it full operating permissions, allowing it to offer the Innovative Finance ISA and giving it a stamp of approval that it can market to customers. Cornwall-based Folk2Folk lets people lend money to local projects and business in their area and has lent over £125 million ($157.5 million) across its platform since launch in 2013. It is different to other crowdfunding platforms in that it has a network of shops around the countries where businesses and lenders can talk to staff about lending on the […]
Robo-adviser urges Trump to keep US fiduciary rule
Robo-advice pioneer Betterment has called on US President-elect Donald Trump to pledge his support for the Obama administration’s best interest duty for financial advisers. In a full-page advertisement published in the Wall Street Journal this week, Betterment founder and chief executive Jon Stein said American retirement savers are counting on the next federal government to protect their “right to honest financial advice”. “When investors give their money to an investment firm, they expect that firm to act in their best interest. But investing can be made intentionally complicated and salesmen are clever. Left to its own devices, the investment industry for decades sold bad products to Americans,” Mr Stein wrote. […]
Venture capitalist OurCrowd goes on start-up funds drive
Israeli-based venture capital crowd-funding outfit OurCrowd has launched a major funding drive, aiming to raise $100 million from Australian investors in 2017. OurCrowd MD Dan Bennett told The Australian the outfit receives about 150 applications from start-ups each month, including from Australia, and needs a hefty local investment to ensure the engagement level can continue. He is specifically targeting private investors like family offices, high net worth individuals and institutions to co-invest in the platform, which takes a minimum $10,000 each from a pool of accredited investors and places it in hi-tech, high-growth firms. “We’re giving them access to global venture capital deals alongside some of the best investors in […]
Australians are starting to think robot financial advisers might be a good idea
The use of automated investment services, or robo-advice, is still small in Australia but is growing fast. The latest research by analysts Investment Trends shows 27% of online investors have heard of robo-advice, up from 19% just six months ago. Robo-advice, the field of online investment and savings platforms where face-to-face is replaced with automated guidance and execution, is growing via a series of fintech startups in Australia including Stockspot. “Many investors are taking notice of robo-advice, and have an interest in learning more about this potential digital disruptor in the financial services industry,” says Investment Trends research director Recep Peker. “Robo-advice will take centre stage as more solutions become […]
Stripe’s valuation nearly doubles to $9.2 Billion
The most valuable U.S. financial-technology startup is extending its lead. Stripe Inc., whose software is used by businesses to accept and track digital payments, will be valued at $9.2 billion in a new funding round that is being completed, the company said. That valuation, which includes roughly $150 million in new cash being raised, nearly doubles the privately held company’s $5 billion price tag in a July 2015 round. Stripe was already valued higher than other U.S. “fintech” startups such as Social Finance Inc. and Betterment Inc. The leap comes as other fintech firms and some Silicon Valley tech startups struggle to maintain their valuations. Payments company Square Inc. has […]
Berlin startup Cashboard raises €3m as German fintech momentum continues
Berlin-based online investment startup Cashboard has raised €3 million (£2.5 million), as Germany’s fintech industry continues to flourish. Cashboard, a marketplace for investment products, has raised the sum from Digital Space Ventures, a $50 million (£40.2 million) fintech fund headquartered in Luxembourg. Existing investors Redalpine Capital and Earlybird also to part in the round. Recent figures showed that investment into German fintech companies outpaced British rivals in the third quarter of the year. UK companies raised $78 million in the third quarter, compared with Germany’s figure of $108 million.German fintech is now on track to attract more investment than British fintech in 2016, according to KPMG and CB Insights, the […]
The Next Phase in Fintech
These are the boom years for Fintech. Between the years 2010 to 2016, investments in the Fintech sector jumped. From $1.8 Billion in Fintech investments in 2010 to an investment of $5.2 Billion in the first quarter of 2016 alone. investments ranged from seed money for Fintech startups to takeovers by traditional banks, to banks’ internal research and development. So far, the industry’s primary focus has been P2P lending and P2P wire transfers, which have enabled dramatically lower wire fees to crowd funding platforms. But as technology in those key areas mature, and as regulation across the world differentiates, a new era has begun to emerge. With that emergence, the […]
Swedish fintech Klarna buys German startup Cookies after bankruptcy
Swedish payment service provider Klarna has agreed to take on the team behind the insolvent Berlin fintech startup Cookies. The Cookies app, founded by former N26 employees Garry Krugljakow and Lamine Cheloufi, aimed to simplify mobile money transfers and was once one of the most hyped up-and-coming German fintech companies. However, management in-fighting led Krugljakow to withhold his consent for raising needed outside funds. Cheloufi expressed his frustration in a blog post: “A distorted relationship is no justification for blocking financing that would ensure the survival of a company and the jobs of the people working there.” To read more, please click on the link below…. Source: Swedish fintech […]
