General News

October 11, 2017 @ 2:29 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, digital alternative provider Finova Financial announced the launch of an industry-first prepaid card, the Finova Automobile-Secured Prepaid Card. The company stated that unlike traditional prepaid cards, the Finova Prepaid Card allows consumers to use cash or equity from their automobile to fund the… Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 2:05 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The State Bank of India (SBI) announced on Tuesday it has formed a partnership with Moody’s Analytics to provide bank-wide credit certification to SBI’s employees enabling them to source, appraise, and monitor loans faster. According to SBI, the initiative enhances the bank’s market-leading credit curriculum with the globally recognized expertise of Moody’s Analytics. It also… Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 1:17 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

OpenInvest, an online investment advisor empowering individuals to drive social change with their dollars, today launched its first iPhone app that features “the world’s first digital democracy,” the ability to vote in the shareholder resolutions with a simple swipe. The Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz-backed socially responsible investing… Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 12:36 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank announced it has started implementation for its Artificial Intelligence- Client Communication Center (AI-C³), which will be based on IBM Watson in the German language. While sharing details about AI-C³, the bank revealed: “Deutsche Bank has completed successfully internal Proof-of-Concepts with the IBM partner… Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Alon Goren, a long time participant in the alternative finance sector and co-founder of the Crowd Invest Summit (CIS), announced in an email he has joined the venture capital group Wavemaker Partners. The VC firm was founded by Eric Manlunas, David Siemer and Paul Santos, Managing Partner…. Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 11:57 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Business finance company MarketInvoice observed record quarterly demand for invoice finance from UK businesses in Q3 2017. £196.2m worth of invoices were funded in the quarter, of which £74.1m was funded in August alone – a record month for MarketInvoice, providing UK businesses with critical… Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 9:01 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, education platform CFTE announced it is launching a new online fintech foundation course called Around Fintech in 8 House. According to the platform, the course has been notably designed to give professionals that are working in the finance industry a solid understanding of… Read More

October 9, 2017 @ 10:22 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has set out in Guidance its approach to Initial Coin/Token Offerings (ICOs) and virtual currencies under the Financial Services and Markets Regulations (FSMR). The FSRA’s full approach to ICOs and virtual currencies is clarified here…. Read More

October 9, 2017 @ 10:04 am By Erin Hobey  |  

WiseAlpha, a UK fixed income platform which gives everyday investors access to corporate bonds issued in the institutional debt market, has launched an innovative retail bond product called Smart Interest enables investors to customize their rate of interest between 3% and 8% per annum with investment… Read More

October 9, 2017 @ 2:00 am By JD Alois  |  

PeerIQ, a deep data platform that bridges lenders and the capital markets, periodically publishes a report that provides a unique view into the alternative lending sector. The company is out with their Q3 report that delivers a point in history perspective on online lending. Ram Ahluwalia,… Read More

October 6, 2017 @ 11:44 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, British multi-national insurance company Aviva announced it has made an agreement to acquire a majority shareholding stake in robo investment company Wealthify. According to Aviva, the investment is part of its strategy to build customer loyalty by providing customers with a wide range… Read More

October 5, 2017 @ 11:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“There are five times fewer small scale developers today than in the last housebuilding boom and not a single one of today’s top ten housebuilders was created before 1990. There is a clear monopoly in the sector,” clarified LendInvest Co-Founder & CEO Christian Faes. “What was clear… Read More

October 5, 2017 @ 9:08 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube announced the launch of the Notification Centre for its iOS app. This news comes just one year after the mobile app made its debut. While sharing details about the Centre, the Crowdcube team stated: “The Crowdcube iOS App launched 1… Read More

October 3, 2017 @ 11:50 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Lendy, the UK P2P property platform, has increased its pretax profits by 164% over the last year, rising from £1.04m to £2.74m, while turnover increased 104% over the same period, going from £13.5m to £27.5m. Lendy is now one of Europe’s leading P2P secured property platforms,… Read More

October 3, 2017 @ 11:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Elevate Credit, Inc., a tech-enabled provider of online credit solutions for non-prime consumers, announced on Tuesday its customers have saved more than $2 billion, versus what they would have paid for payday loans. The company reports that $613 million of these cumulative savings were incurred… Read More

October 3, 2017 @ 11:02 am By Erin Hobey  |  

CrowdStreet, a commercial real estate investment platform for investor acquisition and relationship management, now offers several new “enhancements” to its flagship Sponsor Direct white-label software platform which was designed to address the needs of modern investment firms. With these new features, Sponsor Direct’s software combines… Read More

October 3, 2017 @ 8:57 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Robo.cash, an automated P2P lending platform that includes a buyback guarantee, recently celebrated its own steady growth during 2017 Q2, noting that its total amount of investments now exceeds €1.8 million. In addition, nearly €400,000 in loans were added in August alone, while the  average invested… Read More

October 2, 2017 @ 11:20 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Startup consulting firm Quesnay announced on Monday the launch of its inaugural Female Founders in Tech competition, which aims to address the gap in female leaders by recognizing and supporting female-founded startups that impact the financial services and/or insurance technology industries. Jennifer Byrne, president of Quesnay,… Read More

October 2, 2017 @ 10:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Research has recently been published that includes an interesting perspective on the rewards or pre-sale crowdfunding space. The report cautions campaign creators on what they should, or should not claim, in launching a project. According to the research, Kickstarter campaign creators must take note: pre-sale… Read More

October 2, 2017 @ 9:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, WePay and SignUpGenius announced they have formed a partnership in order to provide a new process of accepting payments. According to SignUpGenius, organizers using its site can now collect payments from event participants for everything from ticket sales and event registrations to capital… Read More