British rent-a-bank acquires licence. What does that mean? March 9, 2023 Digital challenger bank Griffin has become the latest London-based fintech to secure a UK banking licence. Following authorisation with restrictions from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Griffin is now the UK’s newest bank, licensed to hold up to £50,000 in deposits. The much sought-after licence leaves the company poised to encroach on big banks’ hometurf [...]
Amigo survival options ‘diminish significantly’ as lender scrambles to raise £45m emergency cash March 8, 2023 Beleaguered lender Amigo said its survival options had “diminished significantly” today as it updated on efforts to raise £45m in a bruising meeting with shareholders.
Female tech founders bag £3.6bn despite wider investment slump March 8, 2023 Venture capital investment into tech firms founded by women jumped last year despite soaring inflation and volatility sparking a slowdown in funding across the sector, new figures reveal. Female founders shrugged off the downturn that hit the UK’s tech sector last year and bagged some £3.6bn of VC, up from £2.9bn the previous year, according [...]
Exclusive: Tech chiefs look to win over pension funds on UK ‘sovereign wealth fund’ plans March 6, 2023 Tech and fintech industry chiefs have met with some of the City’s top pension funds as part of plans to create a UK “sovereign wealth fund” that could help unleash a wave of funding into the UK’s tech startups, Morning Wire can reveal.
Can fintech thrive outside of London? Charlotte Crosswell talks growing the sector around the country March 2, 2023 Even as Charlotte Crosswell launched the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology in Leeds this week with a mandate to boost fintech across the UK, those in attendance were asking why it couldn’t have been in London. The Leeds event had big name backers in City minister Andrew Griffith and has full-throated support from across [...]
Regulators holding back fintech firms in cost of living crunch, industry body says March 2, 2023 Regulatory red tape is stopping fintech firms from boosting financial inclusion and helping consumers through a cost of living crunch, the industry body and EY said today. In a new report, Innovate Finance and big four firm EY said today that City regulators need to quickly expand the UK’s open banking regime and loosen rules [...]
Revolut auditor flags concern over £477m of revenue in long-delayed 2021 accounts March 1, 2023 Revolut’s auditor BDO was not able to independently verify three-quarters of the £636m total revenue reported by the fintech firm in its long-delayed 2021 accounts, Revolut’s annual report showed. The 2021 accounts were signed off this week after months of delays, following a revamp of Revolut’s internal accounting systems and heavy regulatory scrutiny. But BDO [...]
Revolut: Delayed accounts reveal first full year of profit as banking licence ‘imminent’ March 1, 2023 Revolut said its UK banking licence was “imminent” today as the firm revealed it had spent its first full year in profit in 2021, in a much-delayed set of accounts. The London-based digital banking fintech, which was due to file its accounts in September 2022 and missed an extended deadline of the end of the [...]
Fintech ‘innovation hubs’ set to launch around the UK in levelling up push February 28, 2023 A host of “innovation hubs” are set to be launched in cities across the UK today as part of a Treasury-backed plans to boost the growth of fintech beyond London. The hubs have been announced as part of the launch of the new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), a key recommendation of the [...]
Klarna: BNPL giant on ‘solid path to profitability’ after cost cutting push helps narrow losses February 28, 2023 Buy-now pay-later giant Klarna said it was on a “solid path to profitability” today after a major cost-cutting push saw it narrow its losses in the second half of the year. The Swedish headquartered firm, which has slashed its headcount and pared back growth plans in the past 12 months, lost a record SEK 10.4bn [...]