July 27, 2016 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

DreamFunded has added its name to the growing roster of crowdfunding platforms approved by FINRA/SEC to operate a funding portal under Title III of the JOBS Act.  Title III or Reg CF allows companies to raise up to $1 million from non-accredited and accredited investors… Read More

July 27, 2016 @ 8:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Specialty lender Community Chest has partnered-up with ThinCats on new “Social Enterprise” loans. These loans are designed to provide access to capital for social enterprises seeking to drive community impact while delivering tax-efficient returns to investors who may recieve up to 30% tax relief on… Read More

July 27, 2016 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

LendInvest, an online peer to peer marketplace for commercial real estate loans, has published its quarterly research index deciphering the UK property market. According to their data, the UK Buy-to-Let Market, the top rental markets are areas where voters overwhelmingly voted for Brexit. Reflecting on the… Read More

July 26, 2016 @ 3:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

With AngelList spinoff Republic’s official launch last week, we decided to take a deeper look at Republic to see how they plan to differentiate themselves in this rapidly expanding crowdfunding marketplace. AngelList, arguably the largest and most successful investment crowdfunding platform in the world, provides… Read More

July 26, 2016 @ 2:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in many ways is the most innovative regulatory body in the world today. Yes, I know. It can be hard for some people to see the word “Regulation” next to “Innovation” when referencing a government agency. But the proof is… Read More

July 26, 2016 @ 12:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week at the opening of Fintech Week in the UK, Christopher Woolard, Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, delivered a speech on Fintech innovation and the benefits of RegTech. He also provided an update on Project Innovate since launch. Woolard, as one… Read More

July 26, 2016 @ 10:18 am By JD Alois  |  

WePay, a “payment as a service” platform” has opened up offices in the UK to further expand its reach into the white label payment sector including crowdfunding and other marketplaces.  WePay already provides services to GoFundMe, a very large donations-based platform in the US. The… Read More

July 26, 2016 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association has released a letter addressed to Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, buttressing their position regarding the recent dialogue with the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee. This past June, Andrew Tyrie, MP, Chairman of the Committee,… Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 11:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bloomberg is reporting that Prosper is setting up the “Prosper Capital Consumer Credit Fund”. The private fund would ostensibly invest in loans originated on the Prosper platform. According to the report, managers would target stable returns of between 6% to 8% on a sustainable basis…. Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 5:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has finally “fessed up” and publicly admitted to what everyone already knew. They are backed up and behind in processing authorizations for firms seeking their stamp of approval.  Of course, this includes alternative finance platforms and P2P lenders seeking approval… Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 1:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Gillian Roche-Saunders, is a partner at the law firm of Bates, Wells & Braithwaite in London.  She is a leading regulatory consultant in the Fintech sector having been engaged in alternative finance for the past five years – before the FCA jumped in to officially… Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 11:26 am By JD Alois  |  

XTI Aircraft has re-launched its crowdfunding offer on StartEngine altering the offer and stating it has accelerated its development schedule with a plan to fly a 10% scale model after it receives its next $1.2 million financing round. XTI will then bump up to a… Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

What we do know about the Brexit is that uncertainty equals risk. And additional risk compels investors to become more cautious in their actions. With so many unknowns regarding the ramifications of the Brexit decision, it is going to take some time to sort things… Read More

July 25, 2016 @ 8:38 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has released its second quarter numbers for 2016. The P2PFA was founded in 2011 as a self-regulatory body for the sector to promote high standards of conduct and consumer protection and represents the largest P2P lenders in… Read More

July 24, 2016 @ 7:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Just because small events like Brexit crop up does not mean the UK is going to slow down its drive for Fintech relevance and dominance. This week the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) signed a “regulatory cooperation agreement”. This new… Read More

July 24, 2016 @ 7:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

More United, an upstart political movement that says it is not a party, is attempting to alter the course of UK politics and crowdfunding is one of their tools. According to their website, the organization has five fundamental beliefs, inspired by the late Jo Cox MP, who… Read More

July 24, 2016 @ 6:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

ICYMI London-based start-up Plutus Tap & Pay raised money in a “Crowdsale”.  Plutus is creating a contactless payment system for cryptocurrencies. According to a statement by Plutus; “Over a thousand people rushed to participate to what was probably the shortest 9 day crowdfunding round to… Read More

July 24, 2016 @ 6:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, StartUpIsrael reported that 10 Australian startups from Fintech and cyber security are joining a Tel-Aviv accelerator program. Dave Sharma, Australia’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, told StartUpIsrael; “Australia is seeking to become a more innovative and entrepreneurial economy. We have been blessed with natural resources,… Read More

July 23, 2016 @ 6:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

AngelList is not always pounding the table on the many successful companies that have graced the pages of the accredited crowdfunding platform. But this past week there was a pretty big exit and some AngelList investors were fortunate enough to get in early. Dollar Shave… Read More

July 23, 2016 @ 2:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

  John Goodall and Gray Stern launched their company, Landbay, with the help of Seedrs.  Before their website was even live, Goodall and Stern were raising seed capital on the crowdfunding platform for their vision of mortgage finance.  Their first funding round was for only £50,000… Read More