Northzone raises €300m fund and is eyeing London fintech startups September 5, 2016 A European venture capital firm which has previously backed Spotify, iZettle and London fintech startup MarketInvoice, has launched a new multi-million pound fund to plough into tech startups across Europe, including the UK in another vote of confidence in the country after Brexit. Northzone has closed a €300m (£252m) fund to invest in early stage companies from global institutional investors and is eyeing up tech [...]
London tech startup and Visa partner on blockchain – and want banks’ help September 1, 2016 A London-based blockchain startup has partnered with pay giant Visa and will start testing the technology to make cross-border payments. It's the latest collaboration between an established financial services firm and a startup to experiment with the distributed ledger technology which experts believe could reduce costs and speed up transactions. Read more: These big banks are [...]
These big banks are working on a digital currency together August 24, 2016 Several of the world's biggest banks are working together to create a digital currency to speed up settlements with the ambitious goal of putting the blockchain-based system into practice by 2018. UBS has been working on the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) since last year and is now being joined by Santander, Deutsche Bank, BNY Mellon and the broker Icap on [...]
Watch out Carney: Here’s what Japan’s central bank just said about fintech August 23, 2016 The Bank of England made history this summer with the launch of the first ever fintech accelerator by a central bank. But, forward-thinking Mark Carney is not the only governor eyeing the potential of the fintech sector and its future role in monetary policy making and central banking. Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the Bank of Japan, has indicated [...]
The mobile payments battle just intensified in the UK August 23, 2016 iZettle is likely a familiar sight if you frequent small coffee shops or market stalls across the capital. The tiny card reading machine has sprung up across the UK, making it easier for shops to offer customers the option of paying by card without having to invest in the pricey systems offered by the big tech companies. [...]
A new corporate-backed fintech lab has opened in London August 22, 2016 The investment firm behind one of London's top venture capital funds is doubling down on one of the hottest areas of tech with a dedicated lab specialising in all things fintech. Octopus Investments, whose venture capital firm Octopus Ventures backed successful startups such as Swiftkey (acquired by Microsoft), Magic Pony (bought by Twitter) and Zoopla, will launch a fintech [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
Bringing home the bacon: Three ways you can use alternative finance to invest in property August 18, 2016 Property crowdfunding and marketplace lending aren’t for everyone. The former can involve high fees, and you won’t know what your investment is worth without selling it – which can be hard if you’re buying a stake alongside numerous other people. There are risks even with the latter. The property market is very sensitive to the [...]
Show me the money: How to complete a fundraising round in a post-Brexit vote world August 17, 2016 In this post Brexit vote world, we’ve heard a lot about the forthcoming apocalypse but, thus far, the sky hasn’t fallen on our economic heads. Sure, sterling has taken a pounding against the mighty dollar (less so against the rather feeble euro) but it seems tourism may have surged as a result, Arm is under offer (though [...]
Fintech is thriving in Edinburgh too – and it’s great news for the whole of the UK August 15, 2016 One of the good things about the Rio Olympics, quite aside from the sport, is the fact that it reminds us of four years ago when we hosted the Games. It was a month of celebration and positivity for the whole UK, not just London, and it showcased the best that Britain has to offer. [...]