Adapt or die: What can retail, health and other industries learn from banks? Turns out, a lot November 10, 2021 What can retail, health and other industries learn from banks? Turns out, a lot. A third of Brits rate their digital experiences in financial services a 9 or 10 out of 10 compared to other industries. In fact, whether it is making payments, getting a loan or even opening a new account, by far most [...]
Klarna challenger Zilch becomes fastest-ever British unicorn November 10, 2021 London-based fintech Zilch has today closed a mammoth $110m Series C funding round and become the UK’s latest billion dollar company in record-breaking time. The round brings Zilch, whose product capitalises on the lucrative Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector but in many ways resembles a credit card, to a $2bn valuation – four times [...]
UK fintech body slams government for ‘ducking’ to roll out sector strategy November 8, 2021 UK fintech’s industry body, Innovate Finance, has attacked the government for inaction in delivering on its recommendations for the sector in the Kalifa report, published earlier this year. Adam Jackson, director of policy at Innovate Finance, said: “The main policy and regulation recommendation that has been ducked so far is for a FinTech strategy. “Kalifa [...]
Private equity and UK tech powering £8.4bn M&A tsunami on LSE’s AIM as deals jump 155 per cent November 8, 2021 The value of M&A deals on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has jumped 155 per cent to £8.4bn in 2020/21, compared to £3.3bn in 2019/20, according to new research shared with Morning Wire this morning. The large rise in the value of AIM M&A deals this year is due in large part to a number [...]
City banks and financial services firms bet heavily on tech and data analytics October 27, 2021 Banking and financial services firms plan to step up their tech investments in the coming 12 months to improve both front and back-end technology. In fact, nearly three in four financial institutions has made improving the quality of their core technologies a priority, while 65 per cent of financial services players plan to pump more [...]
Venture capital firms circle London tech scale-ups as financial injections hit record £20bn October 21, 2021 A record high of over £6.5bn was invested by venture capital firms in UK scaleups over the summer, taking the total amount to £20bn so far this year, according to new research shared with Morning Wire this morning. After two extraordinarily high quarters in 2021, UK scaleups continued to attract funding from across the globe [...]
Primer rides the online payments wave to a $425m valuation after latest raise October 19, 2021 London-founded Primer is only 20 months old, but investors recognise that it’s solving a big problem for e-commerce merchants at a crucial time, and just injected $50m into the startup at its Series B fundraising round. US investment firm ICONIQ Growth led the latest round, accompanied by cash injections from existing investors including Balderton Capital, [...]
UK fintech boom: Eight in 10 Brits use fintech apps for banking and payments post-pandemic October 13, 2021 While investment into UK fintechs continues apace, so does their consumer adoption, as 86 per cent of Brits now use fintech apps to manage or spend their money. As the pandemic stalled cash usage and moved transactions online, consumer adoption of fintech has accelerated in the UK to the extent that people manage 67 per [...]
UK Fintech Mode rolls out Bitcoin cashback reward scheme October 12, 2021 Mode, an open banking platform which lets users make cardless payments through its flagship mobile app, is rolling out Bitcoin rewards. UK customers will be given the opportunity to build up a holding in Bitcoin via Mode’s FCA registered app as part of a loyalty scheme organised in partnership with THG, a digital consumer brands [...]
A slice of the pie: UK financial firms target booming fintech market October 11, 2021 As banks and financial services firms in the UK switch their attention from pandemic survival to driving growth, they are increasingly tapping into the booming fintech space as a way to future-proof their business, according to new research. Almost half (46 per cent) of the UK’s financial services firms are targeting acquisitions and partnerships with [...]