January 8, 2019 @ 9:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

BBVA announced on Tuesday its investment arm Propel Venture Partners led the latest funding round for invisible payments firm, Grabango. Founded in 2016, Grabango describes itself as a “leading” provider of checkout free shopper technology for existing stores. The company claims its solution is the only… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 3:36 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference & Festivals has announced the finalists for the 11th annual SXSW Pitch event (formerly SXSW Accelerator), to take place March 9th-10th during the Entrepreneurship & Startup Track at the Downtown Hilton Austin. SXSW reported that 50 startup finalists will compete in each of the 10 technology… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 12:41 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Ripple, a provider of enterprise blockchain solutions for payments, announced on Tuesday 13 new financial institutions have signed up for the company’s payment network, RippleNet. It was revealed that the companies now in the network are the following: Euro Exim Bank SendFriend JNFX FTCS Ahli Bank of… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 11:24 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dinghy, a UK-based insurtech platform specifically for freelancers, has been acquired from UK insurer Kingsbridge. This news comes just one year after Dinghy secured $1.2 million during its seed funding round led by Balderton Capital. As previously reported, Dinghy was founded in 2017 by co-founders Ben Wilks, Robert… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 10:25 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Plaid, a U.S.-based fintech startup, announced on Tuesday it has acquired data platform Quovo. According to Plaid, acquiring Quovo will make it easier for developers to build products that incorporate investment and brokerage data on its platform. It was revealed: “Financial applications have historically used Plaid… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 9:31 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just days after ringing in the new year, UK challenger bank Monzo took a look back at all of its successes throughout 2018. The fintech unicorn hit various milestones throughout the past twelve months, including quickly securing £20 million through its most recent crowdfunding round and… Read More

January 8, 2019 @ 8:19 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

KoreConX announced on Tuesday it has formed a new partnership with InvestReady, a company that developed technology to power issuers and platforms with the capability to offer investor verification software right on their site for an efficient and fast verification experience, to provide investor verification. According… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 4:07 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendingFront, a U.S.-based small business lending software provider, has raised $4 million through its Series A funding round, which was led by Information Venture Partners with participation from Newark Venture Partners, Revel Partners, Contour Venture Partners as well as existing investors Struck Capital, ValueStream Ventures… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 3:09 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced on Monday it has accepted seven new firms into its cohort process, which permits companies to apply for an Innovation Testing Licence (ITL). According to DFSA, the ITL forms part of the DFSA’s commitment to support innovation and… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 1:52 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

KinerjaPay Corp., (OTCQB: KPAY), a digital payment and e-commerce platform, announced on Monday it has received a signed commitment from PT. Investa Wahana Group, Indonesia to invest $200 million, subscribing for $100 million in shares of the company’s Series F and an addition $100 million in shares of its Series G Convertible Preferred… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 12:36 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Mastercard announced on Monday it is dropping its name from its iconic brand mark in select contexts. The financial giant reported that the interlocking red and yellow circles, which is referred to as the Mastercard Symbol, will now stand on its own across cards using the… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 11:28 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), an international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced on Monday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Innovate Finance, an independent membership association that is at the heart of the UK’s… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 10:48 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Loot, a UK-based digital bank startup, has reportedly received an investment from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). According to FT, RBS has taken a 25% stake in the startup as it prepares to launch a new digital bank. The investment was made on behalf of… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 9:28 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has received payment institution authorization from Ireland’s Central Bank. According to Irish Times, the Central Bank granted authorization to Google Payment Ireland under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation. The company will now be allowed to issue and acquire payments across the European Union (EU)… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 8:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Chinese fintech Pintec Technology Holdings Limited (PINTEC) announced on Sunday it has formed a partnership with Beibei Group, a family-focused consumer platform in China for maternal and child products, for new consumer financing. PINTEC reported it has developed the online installment payment solution for Beibei Group. The solution has… Read More

January 6, 2019 @ 11:16 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Vesta, a UK-based online marketplace for buying & selling income generating, residential investment property, has successfully secured its initial £750,000 funding target from nearly 100 investors through its equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs. Founded in 2016, Vesta describes itself as a new, innovative online marketplace for buying,… Read More

January 6, 2019 @ 11:08 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Boat marketplace platform, Borrow A Boat, is set to close its equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube with more than £1.45 million in funding. The funding round was launched in November, originally seeking £1 million, and has so far attracted more than 500 investors. As previously reported, the Borrow… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 10:07 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Ternio, a U.S.-based blockchain firm, announced on Friday the launch of its new cryptocurrency debit card, BlockCard. Founded in 2017, Ternio provides a highly scalable blockchain framework called Lexicon to enterprise business clients. According to Ternio, Lexicon is independently verified at over 1 million transactions… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 9:58 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Global fintech BANKEX announced on Friday it has appointed Davidson & Co. to review its financial statements as it prepares to launch its very own securities private placement. This news comes less than a month after the company announced the launch of its own security token… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 11:41 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dx Exchange, an Estonia-based crypto community that allows institutions and individuals to purchase cryptocurrencies with fiat, trade cryptocurrencies, and convert crypto back to fiat, announced this week it has formed a strategic partnership with AlgoZ, a Fingenom Group company, to provide market-making services and additional liquidity… Read More