April 26, 2018 @ 8:29 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, BBVA announced it has teamed up with Indra to complete its first global corporate loan transaction using blockchain technology. According to BBVA, the pilot enabled the closing of a €75 million loan using a solution it developed based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). For… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 3:53 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Origin Protocol, a California-based startup that is building the infrastructure for a decentralized-sharing economy, announced on Wednesday it has secured $28.5 million through its strategic funding round, which included participation from FBG, BlockAsset, and Silicon Valley Veterans.  As previously reported, Origin Protocol is described as a… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 3:03 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) announced on Wednesday it has formed a partnership with CMG Financial to help more people reach their dream of owning a home, through pre-purchase education and homebuyer preparation with CMG Financial’s proprietary down payment crowdfunding platform, HomeFundMe.  As previously reported, HomeFundMe allows prospective… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 2:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Following its acquisition of Portland-based fintech Vault, micro-investing app Acorns announced the launch of its new retirement account product, Acorns Later. According to Acorns, the Acorns Later product is designed to work in the background of life, automatically recommending a retirement account and portfolio for customers. While sharing… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 1:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Pan African bank Ecobank announced earlier this week it is seeking fintech solution startups to apply for its second annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge. According to the bank, more than 850 applied for the competition during its first challenge last year. Entrepreneurs, startups, and developers who are… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 11:39 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Fintech unicorn TransferWise has announced the launch of a new borderless and fee free, multi-country, bank accounts and debit cards. Transferwise may be the best Fintech positioned globally to provide all of the bank-like services without officially becoming a bank. As CI has written before,… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 10:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

UK-based online investment service Wealthify announced on Wednesday it has formed a new partnership with Starling Bank. The company reported its investments will on the challenger bank’s marketplace, which is designed to give users easy access to digital financial services on their mobile devices. Wealthify… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 9:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Reflective Venture Partners (Reflective), a privately owned and managed blockchain technology fund, announced on Tuesday it has committed $6.3 million to four separate blockchain technology-related start-ups and organizations. Those to receive the investment are SHOP, Resonate, Xpansiv, and Dekrypt Capital. Reflective reported it originates from an… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 9:03 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Sharetribe, a Finnish software provider, launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Invesdor and surpassed its minimum target of €500,000 within the first 48 hours. The funding round has now raised nearly €600,000 from more than 175 investors. Founded in 2011, Sharetribe claims its platform is the “easiest”… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 8:21 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Silo, a UK-based zero-waste restaurant, is now seeking £10,000 on Crowd2Fund to acquire machinery to repurpose glass from used wine bottles and turn them into fine glass porcelain. The restaurant reported that it needs to purchase a bottle ‘crusher’ and jewelry polish to create fine… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 4:08 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

EY announced on Monday the launch of its new blockchain feature, EY Blockchain Analyzer. The company described the feature as a suite of blockchain audit technologies that enhances the ability to perform an in-depth review of cryptocurrency business transactions. EY reported that the EY Blockchain… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 3:49 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

With its equity crowdfunding campaign set on Crowdcube to close later this week, UK-based Five Points Brewing Company has successfully secured more than £950,000 thanks to over 1350 investors. The funding round was launched last month and quickly secured its initial £750,000 funding target. Founded in 2013,… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 2:22 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Less than a month after launching its equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, We Build Bots (IntelAgent) has successfully secured its initial £500,000 funding target and is nearing £575,000 thanks to more than 300 investors. Founded in 2016, We Build Bots has built AI-powered ChatBot platforms for customer service… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 1:48 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

German mobile bank N26 announced on Tuesday it is now offering Google Pay in Belgium, Ireland, Slovakia, and Spain. The bank reported it has a strong focus on innovation and its international expansion, along with aiming to  consistently strives to make the most modern products available to its customers…. Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 11:50 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Online lending platform for small business OnDeck announced last week the closing of a $100 million asset-backed revolving credit facility with Pioneers Gate LLC, a lending vehicle of a life insurance company managed by 20 Gates Management. According to OnDeck, the new facility provides the longest revolving funding… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 11:09 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Small business lending platform Funding Circle announced last week it has opened its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) to new investors. The online lender reports that the Funding Circle ISA now offers a tax-free projected return of 7.2% or 4.8% per year. to quickly build a… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 10:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

UK-based fintech Humaniq announced on Tuesday it has implemented additional bioID settings that will act as an extra safeguard be integrated into Humaniq app, which the company reports has already had more than 100,000 downloads in the Google Play store. Humaniq reported: “Humaniq is seizing the opportunity… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 10:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dutch megabank ABN AMRO announced on Monday it will be hosting a Hackathon during the second Beyond Banking Days to help build the bank of the future. According to the bank, the upcoming Hackathon will offer participants the opportunity to present their ideas for banking in… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 9:44 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

UK fintech Finastra announced on Tuesday its blockchain-based solution, Fusion LenderComm, is now commercially available as an app on R3’s Corda platform for financial institutions operating in the syndicated lending market. The launch was announced at the LSTA Operations Conference in New York. Finastra reported that following a pilot,… Read More

April 23, 2018 @ 4:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The InsurTech Accelerator, part of Hartford InsurTech Hub powered by Startupbootcamp InsurTech, recently hosted its first Demo Day at The Bushnell Theatre, in Hartford, Connecticut. According to organizers, out of the ten startups graduating from the cohort, five startups have already secured pilots with leading insurance companies… Read More