August 25, 2016 @ 12:21 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Fundation has secured $100 million credit from Goldman Sachs, reported the WSJ. The cash flow will enable the “credit solutions provider” to expand recent partnerships with traditional banks, such as Regions Financial Corp. and a network of community banks, and to extend loans to the banks’ business customers.  Paying a… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 11:50 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Indian SME lender Lendingkart announced new hires plucked from Amazon and PayU India, reported Pymnts.com. Vishal Chopra, a former Amazon India exec, will join Lendingkart’s team as CRO, while Nihit Nirmal, formerly of PayU India, will join as SVP of products. “Lendingkart Group NBFC has emerged as… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 4:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Before founding Kabbage, Rob Frohwein established, led and advised a number of successful businesses, including LAVA Group, U.S. Micro Corporation and Surgical Biologics. Additionally, he served in business development and legal capacities for ZapMedia and Security First Network Bank. The Villanova law and undergrad alum… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 12:05 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank may finally apply fintech to its future operations  given its growing influence on global payments, settlements and financial services, reported Reuters. Signaling that the BOJ is ready to initiate research to promote Japanese fintech given it has “various… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 11:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Financeit today announced the launch of Financeit Direct, a direct-to-consumer financing platform. available 24/7 from any location on any device. Aiming to streamline point-of-sale financing which has traditionally been a complicated and paperwork-heavy process only accessible to large merchants, Financeit Direct is mobile-enabled and fully paperless…. Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 11:09 am By Erin Hobey  |  

LendUp has secured a $47.5M round to grow its L Card, a credit card touting no hidden fees and a flexible payback schedule;  the round was led by Y Combinator Continuity and joined by GV (Google Ventures rebranded), Thomvest Ventures, QED Investors, Data Collective, Susa Ventures, Radicle… Read More

August 19, 2016 @ 11:15 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Rakuten, Inc. announced the opening of the Rakuten Blockchain Lab (R.B.L.) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, planned for August 22, 2016 on its website and blog. R.B.L. will be a dedicated research and development organization within Rakuten, focused on blockchain technology and its potential applications in… Read More

August 19, 2016 @ 10:52 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Financial regulation alterations are underway in order to ensure that electronic payments can be facilitated in Singapore making good on the city-state’s promise that this region is dedicated to becoming a fintech center, according to a release. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) intends to streamline existing its… Read More

August 19, 2016 @ 9:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“Marcus, I’d like a small consumer loan.” No, users will not be going to a teller to ask for a loan from Goldman Sachs‘ much anticipated online lending platform. Rather the name is meant to establish a sense of familiarity, like being on a first name basis… Read More

August 19, 2016 @ 8:19 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Co-founded by Joschka Friedag, Malte Klussmann,  Konrad Maruszewski and Frane Bandov, Cringle, celebrating 336% overfunding on Companisto, is a smartphone app used to send money quickly to friends in Europe. By cooperating with the user’s principal bank, the app guarantees one’s bank’s normal high security standards. Cringle counts the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) as a partner. Over… Read More

August 18, 2016 @ 11:27 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Oakland, CA-based Red Bay Coffee returned to the crowd and has secured a fresh $100K from over 116 investors on its Wefunder equity crowdfunding campaign, aiming to bring its beautiful coffee to more people. The revenue share:  Red Bay Coffee will pay investors 5% of net… Read More

August 18, 2016 @ 10:58 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Feeling uninspired?  Ready for another vacation, even though summer hasn’t quite come to a close?  Need a tech boost? Just plain afraid of tech? While other banks have set up incubators and sandboxes, German cooperative bank Volksbank eG Schwarzwald Baar Hegau has opted for a road… Read More

August 18, 2016 @ 10:30 am By Erin Hobey  |  

CAN Capital, a market share leader in alternative small business finance, has named Chris Moloney as its new Chief Marketing Officer. Moloney will lead the company’s marketing initiatives, product management and continue to build the CAN Capital brand as an innovator and supporter of small businesses. He will… Read More

August 18, 2016 @ 10:13 am By Erin Hobey  |  

After more than 10 years at UBS, CIO Alex Batlin will depart in October to “pursue an opportunity outside of UBS”, according to an internal memo from the bank’s Head of Innovation Veronica Lange on 17 August, reported Financial News.  “There is no change to… Read More

August 16, 2016 @ 11:45 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Immersive theatre means no separation between performers and audience, a play in a nightclub with performances popping up all around the audience. The curtain lifts the moment one steps through The Speakeasy’s false-front business and enter the 1920’s speakeasy, complete with illicit bar, crooked casino, and… Read More

August 16, 2016 @ 11:17 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The Superbook is having a super Kickstarter campaign!  Over 4502% funded, Andromium has secured over $2,252,500 from over 13,539 backers.  Founded by Google and Y Combinator alumni and helmed by CEO Gordon Zheng, Andromium’s flagship hardware, the Superbook, is a plug-and-play shell that turns an Android smartphone into a complete laptop…. Read More

August 16, 2016 @ 10:45 am By Erin Hobey  |  

SocietyOne chief executive Jason Yetton, a former senior Westpac banker newly hired in March, shared some exciting updates with the Sydney Morning Herald: since the beginning of 2016, the Australian P2P lender has arranged AUS$50 million in personal loans on its online platform, nearly double the AUS$26 million of new lending in the December half of… Read More

August 16, 2016 @ 10:20 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The South Korean commercial bank Woori Bank Co. has partnered with the Vietnam-based mobile banking service provider M-Service, according to Pulse News, aiming to strengthen its presence in the Southeast Asian financial market.  Woori Bank has opened over 200 global financial service outlets, with two offices already in Vietnam, in… Read More

August 11, 2016 @ 11:51 am By Erin Hobey  |  

NALIA Systems has created a point-of-care, lab-grade diagnostics array that delivers results in 20 minutes which  gives doctors the in-house tools required to diagnose certain diseases from within their surgery. Although still in prototype mode, a first customer has already been secured. In addition to this potentially disruptive technology, NALIA… Read More

August 11, 2016 @ 11:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Beer: uniting the crowd! Campaign and campaign, beer has brewed up millions from global investors. In the first 12 hours of the Wellington-based craft brewers ParrotDog  equity crowdfunding campaign on PledgeMe raised their minimum goal of NZ$1,200,000. Within the day, the brewers raised more than NZ$1.73M… Read More