Peer-to-peer lending giant Zopa confirms £32m fundraise
Zopa scoops £32m in a new investment round led by Indian conglomerate Wadhawan Group, as it looks ahead to bank-build. Zopa, the UK’s original peer-to-peer lending platform, has clinched £32m in its first investment round since early 2014, when it raised £15m from Arrowgrass Capital Partners. The money will be used to help build-out the firm’s technology and product range in preparation for the submission of its banking licence application later this year. The investment round has been led by India’s Wadhawan Global Capital Pvt Ltd and European venture capital fund Northzone. Northzone is also an investor in leading invoice finance platform MarketInvoice. Zopa co-founder Giles Andrews currently serves and […]
Canadian fintech Wave raises $24 million from RBC and other investors
Toronto-based Wave, a Canadian financial technology (fintech) firm that offers financial management software to small businesses, has received $32 million CAD ($23.8 million) in capital from investors including the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Exhibition Capital and National Australia Bank (NAB). Other investors in Wave include Portag3 and PowerCorp, who joined existing backers Social Capital, BDC Capital, CRV, Omers Ventures, Harbourvest and OurCrowd in this strategic fundraising round. The fintech company says it will use the new money to accelerate product development. It particularly wants to invest further in its use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques in order to automate basic accounting functions and give analytics-based insights […]
Banco BNI Europa makes €10M investment in Portuguese peer-to-peer platform Raize
Banco BNI Europa has signed a strategic agreement with Portugal’s largest peer-to-peer lender RAIZE to boost lending to SMEs in the country. The online challenger bank is looking to invest €10 million over a two year period. The Portuguese economy has experienced strong GDP growth of 2.8% in the 1st quarter of 2017 and in 2016 captured the largest amount of foreign direct investment in the last 20 years. Pedro Coelho, Executive Chairman of BNI Europa said: “The bank is extremely committed to supporting SMEs in the European space. Our partnerships with Raize and MarketInvoice are just some of the initiatives the bank is promoting with fintech businesses and more […]
Online lender RateSetter valued at over £200 million as it raises £13 million to launch new ISAs
RateSetter, one of the UK’s three biggest peer-to-peer lenders, said on Tuesday it has raised £13 million in equity funding from its existing shareholders. City fund managers Woodford Investment Management and Artemis were both existing investors and took part in the funding round. The funding will be put towards launching its new “Innovative Finance ISA,” a new product that will allow consumers to hold peer-to-peer loans in an ISA. RateSetter plans to launch the product once it receives full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. RateSetter is the last of the UK’s “Big 3” peer-to-peer lenders waiting for sign-off from the City watchdog. Founded in 2010, RateSetter allows ordinary people […]
UK fintech shrugs off Brexit, trumps Germany
Research from Fintech Global shows that despite the Brexit vote investors continue to commit more capital to UK fintech companies. Since the Brexit result many years of uncertainty for markets and teh broader economy have set in to investors’ expectations. Quickly shifting news agendas and polling results have been an ongoing feature of Brexit Britain and prompted stock market and currency volatility. The imminent general election has only increased the trend and that is before official talks begin in three weeks time. The ‘Brexit effect’ was notable for its hit to investment in the UK’s world-class fintech scene as well with the questions over the City’s competitive edge in the […]
Malaysia Fintech firm Soft Space raises US $5 Million from Japan’s Transcosmos
Malaysia Fintech firm Soft Space, which offers mobile payment solutions, announced it has secured US $5 million in funding from Japanese e-commerce company Transcosmos Inc. Mobile POS and E-Commerce Soft Space offers mobile point-of-sale services for small and large merchants in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Businesses can plug a small device into a smartphone or tablet that allows them to swipe customer credit cards for payment. The company takes a small transaction fee every time a card is swiped. Soft Space also offers an online management console where businesses can track and manage customer data, sales history, and even fraud management. Transcosmos, which is based in Japan, […]
Canadian FinTech startup Mylo launches mobile app and raises $1.25M
Mylo Financial Technologies (Mylo), a Montreal-based FinTech startup that offers a mobile personal finance platform to help Canadians achieve their financial goals, has successfully raised $750K and completed its pre-seed financing round. This latest raise brings Mylo’s current financing to $1.25M, led by Ferst Capital Partners (FCP) with the participation of leading FinTech angel investors. “I founded my first company fresh out of university, so I experienced first-hand the challenges of managing my money on an entrepreneur’s budget,” says Philip Barrar, CEO and Founder of Mylo. “Many Canadians have difficulty achieving their financial goals because managing one’s personal finances is complicated, time consuming and for many, inaccessible. Mylo is working […]
Robo-advice platform completes £2m funding round
MortgageGym, which according to its creators is the world’s only regulated mortgage robo-adviser, has completed a £2m seed funding round ahead of its launch. The platform has raised over £1.3m in cash and technology development finance through deals with fintech investors Gaby Salem of Wharton Asset Management, China Pacific Capital and Trifecta Capital. MortgageGym expects to announce its strategic distribution partnerships within the next three months, and its official launch is set for the summer. The FCA-authorised service will allow homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, hybrid advice website offering mortgage eligibility matching within 60 seconds, regulated robo-advice and access to live advisers. […]
