General News

May 25, 2017 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Facebook is ratcheting up the competition with JustGiving and GoFundMe with its own donations-based crowdfunding vertical. According to information posted on the Facebook press page, the social media platform is adding two new categories: Community and Sports. Now users in the US can raise money… Read More

May 25, 2017 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Booth School of Business Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago have revisited the alternative finance market once again with a benchmark study. The research which covers… Read More

May 25, 2017 @ 7:31 am By Erin Hobey  |  

With 15 days remaining on its Crowdcube equity crowdfunding campaign, the UK-based sports nutrition brand TRIBE, has raised nearly £1.4M with the confidence of over 1558 investors for 20.28% equity offered.  Funding from the campaign will be used to help aid product development (more info due in late 2017), improve… Read More

May 25, 2017 @ 6:48 am By Erin Hobey  |  

ArchOver, a UK P2P business lending platform, has secured full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a P2P lending platform (Article 36H). Since launching in September 2014, ArchOver has facilitated over £35 million of investment over its platform, operating under interim permissions granted by… Read More

May 25, 2017 @ 6:19 am By Erin Hobey  |  

How deep is your love? LendingHome, a leading US mortgage marketplace lender, released new survey data showing that 60 percent of millennial and Gen X couples disagreed occasionally, frequently, or “a lot” when buying a house with their partner or spouse yet logically may be able to better navigate… Read More

May 25, 2017 @ 1:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Manchester Evening News, a daily circulation publication with circulation of 52,000, has launched a donations campaign on JustGiving to raise £2 million to support the families of the victims killed and wounded in the tragic Manchester Arena attack. The campaign, operated in partnership with… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 7:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Orchard is out with their quarterly report and it is pretty interesting. As most people in the online lending industry know, this sector of finance has been going through a bit of a transition in recent months. Orchard has direct access to origination volume to… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 4:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

MW Eaglewood and Pollen Street Capital have agreed to merge subject to regulatory approval. The combination of the two companies was described as creating one of the largest investment managers focusing on “specialist lending assets”. Simon Champ, CEO of Eaglewood Europe, said market dynamics had… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 10:17 am By Jonathan Nieh  |  

R3, the head of the world’s largest consortium of financial institutions collaborating to build a platform and commercial applications for distributed ledger technologies, announced it had secured $107 million in funding as part of its Series A round. The figure is the largest investment in distributed… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 10:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“Our aim is to enable women behind and in front of the camera in the industry during a time when gender inequality still exists.” UK online investment platform SyndicateRoom announced that the independent UK film Kat and the Band has been fully funded, having reached its £400,000 target…. Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 5:36 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The international lending firm iwoca and payment service provider PayU launched an innovative collaboration aimed at making it easier for SME entrepreneurs, particularly those in the eCommerce and eService industries, to obtain financing for growth. The new solution enables the entire lending process to take place online,… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 5:14 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Orca, a leading independent data, research and analysis providers on the UK P2P lending market has announced its plans to launch its own four-factor rating service for individual P2P providers, the Orca Rating. The rating will be designed in partnership with Dublin City University’s Irish Centre for… Read More

May 24, 2017 @ 4:54 am By Erin Hobey  |  

OurCrowd, a global leader in equity crowdfunding, today announced that it will invest $2.5 million (as part of a recently completed $7 million investment round) in Scopio Labs, a developer of an advanced digital microscopy and diagnostics platform. This is OurCrowd’s 23rd healthtech investment for… Read More

May 23, 2017 @ 2:26 am By Jonathan Nieh  |  

The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) has announced the addition of over 86 new members to the group. The EEA is an alliance of fortune 500 companies, startups, academics, and technology vendors with a shared goal: to build and develop Ethereum with a clear roadmap for… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 6:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Menlo Ventures announced the closing of Menlo Ventures XIV last week, a $450 million fund dedicated to investing primarily in early-stage consumer, enterprise and “frontier technologies”. The funding brings the firm’s total capital to more than $5 billion under management. Menlo management said their current… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) has sent a letter to the California Assembly Apparitions Committee stating their “strong opposition” to AB 784.  This bill, if enacted into law, will set a rate cap for consumer loans between $300 and $5000.  OLA states this legislation has… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 9:57 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Dubai’s pioneering government-backed initiative to implement blockchain technology across the city is now into its third month, and the pilot schemes continue to roll out. The move aims  to secure the city’s reputation as a leading Middle Eastern business center. This month Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 9:15 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Linked Finance, an Irish P2P lending platform, has received full authorization by the UK Financial Conduct Authority which will enable the platform to actuate growth into the UK market, according to multiple Irish news sources. In late April, the Ireland government announced a Public Consultation on the Regulation… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 8:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

WiseAlpha, a UK online lending platform that gives everyday investors access to high yield institutional bond and loan investments, has raised over £627,000 on its Crowdcube return in just 7 days, coming in at 125% over its original target. More than 433 investors have invested in return… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 6:31 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Singapore-based blockchain service provider VeChain S.E.A, a subsidiary of the leading blockchain technology company in China, BitSE, is proud to announce it will join PwC’s incubation program. PwC and BitSE held a signing ceremony on Monday in Hong Kong with Raymund Chao, PwC Greater China Chairman,… Read More