Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

October 21, 2016 @ 1:41 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Bondora, a European peer to peer lender based in Estonia, announced on Friday it is removing the Primary Market View feature from its user interface. This change will go into effect on November 1st. Bondora stated it was removing the feature because the speed of their… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 9:20 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder UK announced it has teamed up with London Sport for a new mission: to make London the most physically active sporting city in the world. Through the #MostActiveCity partnership, London Sport is seeking to get 1 million Londoner to become… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Irish born but Asia based, First Circle has received $1.2 million in seed funding led by Key Capital and IMJ Investment Partners.  The online lender is targeting SME in the Philippines first but plans on expanding across Southeast Asia. Speaking with Businessworld.ie, Patrick Lynch, the… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 4:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

GoFundMe announced on Thursday its awarded ten recipients a total of $100,000 through its first scholarship program. Each of the students was given $10,000, which will go towards college expenses. Last month, GoFundMe shared details about the scholarship program and revealed that over few years… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

CommonBond’s 3rd Securitization CommonBond has closed securitization of $168 million in refinanced student loans. The online lending platform reported a rating of ‘A1’ from Moody’s and ‘AA (low)’ from DBRS. The securitization was backed by $178 million in collateral. Goldman Sachs served as joint-lead managers and bookrunners… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 11:24 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Leetchi, a European money collection platform, announced on Thursday it is launching its services in the UK. The company, which was launched in 2009, was acquired by French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa last year. It has over six million users from more than 150 countries and… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) and Orchard Platform have signed an agreement where Orchard will provide a scalable solution to manage the  reporting for institutional investors purchasing loans via the OnDeck Marketplace. The agreement will also provide OnDeck with access to the entire Orchard for Originators product… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 10:40 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Heeros Oyj, a Finnish cloud-based financial management software solutions company, announced this week it is IPOing on Nasdaq First North growth market in Finland. The company revealed the subscription period of the IPO started on Wednesday through crowdfunding platform Invesdor. This launch comes one year after… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 3:34 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Indiegogo and its partner, Arrow Electronics, announced that Kurt Swanson, Don Pancoe and the whole team at Noria Technologies have won $50,000 in flash funds. The companies declared earlier this month they were giving $25,000 to three entrepreneurs throughout the month of October, with Brad Holland… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 1:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

As expected, Fundrise has officially launched three new eREITs described as a “revolutionary direct to investor crowdfunding model.”  These new real estate investment vehicles will put Fundrise “on track” to raise a quarter of a billion dollars during the coming year.  Fundrise now lists 5… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 11:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa recently announced its co-founder Giles Andrew was named one of Digital Banking Club’s Power 50. The list notably features the most innovative and influential people in European digital financial services. Zopa revealed that the list was selected by members of the Digital Banking… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 11:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

With the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election nearing its final weeks, crowdfunding platform Kickstarter announced the launch of its Election Issues, which is described as a collection of political creations that are to spark conversation and action. The Kickstarter team stated: “Elections aren’t just about the… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

This past weekend, Crowdfund Insider reported that China government officials published a list of restrictions for peer to peer lenders. These were largely a rehash of previously revealed regulations directed towards internet finance and more specifically peer to peer lending. But the Chinese government is… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 8:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this week, GoFundMe announced it has surpassed $3 million in funds raised from more than 25 million donors through its global crowdfunding platform. Speaking about the milestone, the GoFundMe team explained: “GoFundMe’s giving community has come together to support those who need help time… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 4:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report in the Korean Herald has pointed to Hanwha Life Insurance purchasing a 4.1% equity stake in Lending Club (NYSE:LC).  Hanwha Life spent 75 billion won or approximately USD $66.25 million as they believe its stock is undervalued. PulseNews reported last year that Hanwha… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 3:03 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Kickstarter announced its new reward scheduling feature, which will notably make engaging backers and building excitement easier. The rewards-based crowdfunding platform shared that in addition to setting backer limits on rewards, campaign creators will now be able to set a time-based limit. It… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 1:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Prosper Marketplace has updated investors on their estimated returns for the month of September. According to the online lender, returns are just above 7% – a slight drop of 14 bps from August. Prosper said this number was impacted by: a slightly lower percentage of… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 11:46 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday morning, crowdfunding platform Crowdrise announced the launch of a new 24-hour flash fundraiser. This new raise is seeking funds for 1,200 displaced Syrian refugees that are currently in Greece. TV personality, former pro soccer player, and two-time cancer survivor Ethan Zohn and his new… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 10:37 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday online lender for small business OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) announced it is teaming up with Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran for its annual Seal of Approval Contest. This is the second year that the lender and Corcoran have formed a partnership to help three small businesses take home… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 9:22 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Wealth Migrate announced the launch of its new online investment marketplace that features integrated blockchain technology as a way to enhance security and privacy protections for investors from all over the globe. According to Wealth Migrate chief information officer, Jaco Maritz,  many financial services providers… Read More