General News

December 22, 2020 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

To issue securities under Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding), a platform must either be a FINRA regulated funding portal or a broker-dealer. In this sector of online capital formation, both types of regulated entities issue securities under this rule. Periodically, we re-visit the number of FINRA… Read More

December 22, 2020 @ 8:05 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

    U.S.-based tech giant IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) announced on Tuesday it has acquired Nordcloud, a European cloud implementation, application transformation, and managed services provider. The acquisition comes just days after IBM announced it acquired Expertus Technologies Inc., a Canadian Fintech company that assists… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 11:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO: 9984), a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo with over $300 billion in assets, is reportedly planning to secure at least $500 million in capital via a blank-check company, according to sources familiar with the matter. The special-purpose… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 2:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Very Good Security has raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Vertex Ventures US with participation from existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Goldman Sachs Growth (GS Growth). About a year ago, VGS raised $35 million in a Series B round. The… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 1:35 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Zego, a UK-based insurtech, recently announced it has received a European broking license as part of its plans to expand throughout Europe. The company revealed that the license, which was award but the Dutch regulator AFM, will enable it to work with EU-based insurance… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 11:27 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

    Xoom, PayPal’s international money transfer service, announced on Monday its integration with NPIL’s/NPCI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payment system facilitating inter-bank transactions in India. Xoom reported that Non-Residential Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) living in the U.S., Canada,… Read More

December 19, 2020 @ 2:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Object Astra, a sweat equity platform intended for individuals who may have been furloughed or layed off during the COVID-19 pandemic and founded by former JPMorgan professionals, has officially launched operations in the United Kingdom. The Object Astra team states: “[We offer a] Platform to… Read More

December 19, 2020 @ 12:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Banking challenger Branch, the Fintech firm that partners with employers, has teamed up with ProPoint Solutions salon software SuperSalon, which allows salons to digitally pay their workers. As mentioned in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider: “Branch’s integration with the point of sales software allows… Read More

December 18, 2020 @ 3:10 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Billtrust, a fintech firm focused on B2B payment cycle management, announced on Thursday it has appointed Gwenn Lazar as new Senior Vice President of Channel Development. Billtrust reported that through the role, Lazar will drive the company’s business development and channel management initiatives. Billtrust further… Read More

December 18, 2020 @ 11:46 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation (OASB), has published its annual report and there is plenty of interesting information included in the document. The OASB is a relatively new entity having been mandated by Congress in… Read More

December 18, 2020 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

The British Business Bank has published Future Fund data on the 971 companies that have been approved for £975.5 million worth of Convertible Loan Agreements since launch last May. The Future Fund is designed to support early-stage ventures that typically do not have the capacity… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 11:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kelly Kramer, the former CFO at Cisco, has now joined the Board of Directors at digital asset exchange Coinbase. The San Francisco-based trading platform has also confirmed that Marc Andreessen will be transitioning to Board Director, from Board Observer. The news arrives when the crypto… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it quite challenging for financial industry compliance officials who have had to make changes to how they monitor activities, according to a recent Nasdaq survey. Like many other professionals, they’ve had to adapt to the new remote working environment. Nasdaq’s… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 3:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY), an Australia-based Buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider announced on Wednesday it has commenced the launch of its operations in the US market.  Openpay describes itself as a fast-growing, and highly differentiated player in global BNPL payment solutions. The provider… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 11:07 am By JD Alois  |  

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has extended the government-guaranteed Covid-19 business loan schemes until the end of March. The announcement was joined by confirmation that the furlough scheme has been extended until the end of April 2021. The Chancellor said: “Our package of… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 9:28 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

RateSetter, a leading UK based peer to peer lender, announced on Wednesday it has sold its £120m portfolio of property development loans to Shawbrook Bank. According to RateSetter, the acquisition follows the announcement in August that the lending platform was focusing on consumer finance. The… Read More

December 16, 2020 @ 11:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The University of Alabama is teaming up with Chainalysis, a provider of compliance and investigation software of virtual currency transactions. Through the partnership, both organizations will aim to offer “cutting-edge” education and training for students. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis noted in a blog post that… Read More

December 16, 2020 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New York-based tech giant IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has acquired Expertus Technologies Inc., a Canadian Fintech company that assists clients with processing over $50 billion in transactions per day. IBM bought the company so that it could enhance its electronic-payments capabilities. Expertus has now been added… Read More

December 16, 2020 @ 9:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: TASE) announced on Wednesday they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The duo claims this is the first time an Arab exchange has entered into a commercial relationship with the state… Read More

December 16, 2020 @ 8:09 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

U.S. fintech Self Financial announced on Tuesday it secured $40 million through its Series D investment round, which was led by Meritech Capital with participation from  Altos Ventures, Conductive Ventures, and Silverton Partners. According to Self, the investment round brings its total funds to $77 million and comes… Read More