January 21, 2016 @ 4:20 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Fresh from its October 2015 investment in US marketplace lender Kabbage, Dutch bank ING has taken a stake in WeLab, a non-bank provider of consumer loans in China and Hong Kong. ING participated in a Series B $160 million (RMB1 billion) fundraising in the three-year old… Read More

January 19, 2016 @ 6:43 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Platform Black, a provider of alternative finance to UK businesses, has expanded its team, signalling continuous growth and increasing demand in the sector. Helen Mackenzie, Gayle Townsend and Robert Rajeswaran bring significant invoice trading and supply chain finance expertise and will support the company, which has provided… Read More

January 19, 2016 @ 6:16 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Commonwealth Bank of Australia today launched an Innovation Lab in Hong Kong and announced plans to launch an Innovation Lab in London later this year. This innovation network is a natural extension of the Bank’s successful Innovation Lab in Sydney and creates a global approach to… Read More

January 19, 2016 @ 5:52 am By Erin Hobey  |  

2016 proved eventful for payments network MasterCard, as the company has been involved in in many global fintech industry deals, according to a release.  With the intention of expanding its electronic payments network in other countries, MasterCard heavily invests in fintech and organises a six month… Read More

January 19, 2016 @ 5:16 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Cashfloat’s data-modelling scientists have developed an advanced affordability model, designed to generate a clearer picture of the client’s affordability. This enables the Cashfloat team to make decisions about lending, better aligned with the FCA compliance framework. Western Circle Ltd, a London-based lending company trading as Cashfloat.co.uk, confirmed that… Read More

January 14, 2016 @ 9:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Revolution Ventures led a $15 million Series B funding round for PolicyGenius today;  funding will be utilized by PolicyGenius to reshape the direct-to-consumer insurance industry. Launched in July 2014, PolicyGenius facilitates the insurance discovery and purchase process for life, long-term disability, renters, and pet insurance. The company… Read More

January 14, 2016 @ 6:09 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Funding Circle posed the question on its blog, “Did You Help 146 Businesses Access Finance Last Week?” While many readers were still on holiday, during the week of 4 – 8 January, it was back to business for fintech and the crowdfunding sectors!  Funding Circle investors… Read More

January 14, 2016 @ 5:09 am By Erin Hobey  |  

LendInvest, the leading online lender for short-term property finance, has appointed its first in-house legal counsel to the company’s expanding team. Ruth Pearson joins LendInvest from Simmons & Simmons where she was a Managing Associate in the Banking team. Pearson joined Simmons & Simmons as a… Read More

January 14, 2016 @ 4:37 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Munich-based tech startup MODINICE has partnered with Companisto on its recently launched equity crowdfunding campaign. In its first day the startup raised over 58,725€ from more than 117 investors toward its 500,000€ funding goal. Even though digitization has progressed quickly, office computer design has been relatively flat over the… Read More

January 13, 2016 @ 12:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Nearly one third of Americans will be using a technology company for financial services such as loans, mortgages and payments in five years, reports global P2P platform TransferWise Almost one third of Americans are likely to be using a technology provider and not a bank for… Read More

January 12, 2016 @ 6:01 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Be an Energy Hero! The Hanover, Germany-based Energieheld is a new platform that helps property owners save money through energy efficiency.  Energieheld digitizes craftsman businesses by providing independent information on energy-efficiency modernization and connecting customers with craftsmen. Taking advantage of the surge in interest in energy transition and efficiency,… Read More

January 12, 2016 @ 5:10 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Juniper’s latest research, Crowdfunding: Strategies & Impacts for Technology Markets 2015-2020, estimates that investments made in technology via crowdfunding platforms are set to increase sevenfold from an estimated $1.1 billion in 2015 to $8.2 billion by 2020. New data from Juniper Research, has found that the… Read More

January 12, 2016 @ 4:55 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Cisco Canada and Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank group have reached an agreement to collaborate on financial technology (FinTech) solutions “to create enriched customer and employee experiences.” A dedicated TD-Cisco team will co-create in a designated space and will be the first customer project in Cisco’s new Toronto Innovation Centre,… Read More

December 31, 2015 @ 3:07 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As 2015 comes to a close, here are some highlights from WWF, the wonderful world of fintech. And what a year it’s been!  At the close of last year, the world watched Lending Club’s astounding IPO. By this November, the firm surpassed $13B from borrowers since its 2006 launch. During… Read More

December 24, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

  “In 5 years, we will no longer talk about “Crowdfunding,” it will just be “funding.” Crowdfunding will just be one of the ways that early stage companies and SMEs gain access to capital.  Just like online trading of public securities is considered the primary… Read More

December 22, 2015 @ 9:22 am By Erin Hobey  |  

15.5% of digitally active consumers currently use financial technology products Payment services are the most popular product offering Users are younger, wealthier and increasingly urban With 29.1%, Hong Kong has the highest rate of FinTech use of all surveyed markets  “Higher-income individuals are some of the… Read More

December 22, 2015 @ 8:51 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Calling all Next Generation Payments, Blockchain, Data / Credit Analytics, Mobile VAS / Mobility, Cyber Security and Biometrics and Wealth Tech innovators and disruptors, start your applications in time for the 7 January 2016 deadline! Aiming to source six groundbreaking FinTech innovations to demo to multiple invited financial institutions (banks… Read More

December 22, 2015 @ 8:21 am By Erin Hobey  |  

It’s the most wonderful time of the year as Crowdfund Insider keeps tabs on global platforms as quarterly and year end reviews are announced. Just in, Arboribus, a leading Spanish P2P lending platform co-founded by Josep Nebot, released some highlights from 2015.  The platform has continued growing this year, and has… Read More

December 21, 2015 @ 7:45 am By Erin Hobey  |  

  “We believe the potential of crowdfunding is not about a single company or single crowdfunding platform.  It is about the evolution from an institutional framework for allocating capital (otherwise known as banks, funds, and foundations) to a more individually driven framework enabled by existing and… Read More

December 17, 2015 @ 4:09 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

After successfully raising €150,000 in 7 days Drupal Social is now overfunding on Symbid to reach the €200.000 for 10% of its equity goal. To date, the platform has raised over €182,000 toward its new goal. Drupal Social’s parent company GoalGorilla is a digital agency that designs, develops and markets… Read More