Top fintech stories this week – 11 November 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Investment & Funding
Fintech start-ups in Europe to get up to €1.6bn in funding from EIF
The European Commission (EC) has pledged up to €400 million to the European Investment Fund’s (EIF) new fund-of-funds – for the money to be spent on start-ups in Europe, including in the fintech space. The EC will also look for three times more investment from institutional investors to make up to €1.6 billion available.
Fintech funding round-up: 4 November 2016
Let’s put the fun in funding by keeping it mercifully brief. A round-up of some key events. KEEN Venture Partners, a new venture capital firm operating from London and Amsterdam, has announced €90 million first close of its inaugural fund. It will use the money to provide early growth capital for tech firms with a […]
Payments start-up nanopay gets $10m funding boost
Toronto-based payments start-up nanopay has completed its $10 million Series A funding round. With this financing and the MintChip platform, which nanopay recently acquired from The Royal Canadian Mint, it is developing new business partnerships to “expand the global utility and acceptance” of MintChip. Laurence Cooke, CEO and founder of nanopay, says its focus is […]
R3 blockchain code goes open source
R3 has made its blockchain platform’s code publicly available as it seeks to make it an industry standard. The Corda platform has been developed by R3’s consortium, which comprises more than 60 financial institutions around the world (the latest addition is Synchrony Financial – the first credit card company to join the consortium). “We want […]
UK bank challenger Monzo raises £4.8m in latest funding round
Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has raised £4.8 million in an “interim” funding round led by Passion Capital. The bank is now valued at £50 million (in February this year it was valued at £30 million).
Fintech funding round-up: 19 October 2016
Want to save some time but be in the know of the latest funding initiatives in the fintech space? Then read on.
US Bank finds geolocation innovation for anti-fraud
US Bank is offering a Visa-developed geolocation service, a new, opt-in technology integrated into the bank’s mobile apps that enable the location of a card transaction to be matched to the location of the user’s phone. By matching the location, US Bank says it can help ensure that transactions on customers’ cards are approved and […]
IbanFirst raises €10m and launches Banking-as-a-Service for SMEs
Payments firm IbanFirst has raised €10 million for its growth plans and launched Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) for SMEs in Europe. IbanFirst offers an online multi-currency platform “in BaaS mode” – which it calls “an alternative to banks”. It was founded in 2013 by Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier (former head of Western Europe at Saxo Bank) under the name […]
Fintech funding round-up: 13 October 2016
Fintech funding without the tub-thumping. A realistic and brief round-up of key events. ComplyAdvantage, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help firms manage compliance, has revealed an $8.2 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital. The funding will allow the regtech firm to do the usual stuff – growth and […]
Fintech funding round-up: 6 October 2016
When time is tight, the reading can be light. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. US-based Payoneer has completed the first closing of a growth equity financing. Proceeds from the $180 million financing will be used to “accelerate global growth”. This year, the firm opened new offices in India, Japan and the Philippines, […]
Fintech funding round-up: 21 September 2016
Too many words can be absurd. A round-up of some key events in fintech funding. UK payments start-up Curve has announced a further tranche of fundraising taking its total investment to $5 million. The firm says this puts it on a “trajectory for a sizeable” Series A round by the end of December ahead of […]
Fintech funding round-up: 26 August 2016
They said it. We read it. We edit. A round-up of some key events in funding. Singapore-based MC Payment has raised SGD $6 million ($4.5 million) in a Series B round. The funds will be used to “drive market expansion” into Australia and in southeast Asia, as well as “enhance” its product offerings, including Xaavan, […]
Fintech funding round-up: 15 August 2016
Let’s put the fun in funding by keeping it mercifully brief. A round-up of some key events. Finova Financial’s cloud and mobile-based consumer auto title lending platform raised $52.5 million in a combination of equity and a credit facility, one of the “largest initial rounds in fintech industry history”. The funding round was led by […]
UK’s Financial Conduct Authority calls for crowdfunding feedback
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking for input on its post-implementation review of crowdfunding rules. In its 31-page paper the FCA sets out some of the recent developments across the crowdfunding sector and a number of concerns it has identified. The FCA wants to get feedback from all interested parties relating to the […]
American Express and HSBC part of $75m investment in Tradeshift
Business network Tradeshift says new and existing investors have joined its $75 million series D funding, including HSBC and American Express Ventures. Other investors comprise venture capital firm Data Collective (DCVC), Notion Capital, CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund, managed by CreditEase, and Pavilion Capital, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. Matt Ocko, co-managing partner and co-founder of […]
Crowdfunding and investment round-up: 13 May 2016
With news on crowdfunding and investment appearing with relentless regularity, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. UK challenger bank Tandem has now revealed the money it’s raised and its valuation – all in preparation for a crowdfunding campaign that starts on 20 May. Money raised comes to £22 million and it […]
Nordea to launch crowdfunding service in Finland
Nordea says it will be the “first” bank in Finland to offer its customers an equity-based crowdfunding service. It has developed an online crowdfunding platform that will match entrepreneurs seeking financing with investors; and will be linked to a book-entry system. The service will be launched in the next few months. The bank says the […]
Digital money transfer firm Remitly raises $38.5m
The money will go toward new hires and global expansion, with Remitly now offering its services in Canada.
ESMA: ‘crowdfunding would benefit from regulation’
The European Securities and Markets Authority says that crowdfunding platforms are incentivised to operate in a way that they fall outside existing regulations, which is holding back their growth and increasing risks for investors.
