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. […]
Silicon Valley coins a new means of fundraising
When tech start-up Gnosis raised about $US12.5 million in April, the company didn’t tap the typical Silicon Valley funding network of venture capital firms or wealthy investors. Instead, it auctioned tokens online in a process called an “initial coin offering”. They sold out in 12 minutes. These digital coins are essentially clones of the virtual currency bitcoin, which has come under scrutiny for its use in last week’s global hacking attack. The newer coins are the proverbial next big thing in the world of cryptocurrencies, but also pose big risks to buyers. The digital coins theoretically can be used to one day purchase services from issuers such as Gnosis, which […]
Indian fintech company Paytm raises $1.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank
India’s Paytm said on Thursday it has raised $1.4 billion (£1.07 billion) from Japan’s SoftBank Group in a deal that will help the digital payments startup expand its user base and maintain its lead in Asia’s third-largest economy. SoftBank will also get a board seat in Paytm after the investment, which was made into Paytm parent One97 Communications, according to a statement from the Indian digital payments provider. Paytm announced in February that it has now has over 200 million users of its mobile wallet, which is a popular payment method in India. China’s Alibaba, which counts SoftBank as its biggest investor, already holds a stake in Paytm. To […]
Fintech startup Telr raises $3 mn
Mumbai-based fintech startup Telr has bagged Series-B funding of $3 million from Innovations East, a fund managed by people with experience in marketplaces and online payments. Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment gateway aggregator of multiple payment methods like cards and online banking, offering a set of unified APIs and tools that enable businesses to accept and manage online payments via web, mobile and social media. With growth of over $500 million worth transactions annually, Telr anticipates reaching transactions worth $1 billion transactions per year by the end of 2017. Telr has raised funds from investors in Singapore and the Middle East, including Hatcher and iMena Holdings earlier. Sirish […]
