General News

November 17, 2016 @ 9:25 am By Erin Hobey  |  

SETL, Deloitte and Metro Bank have successfully demonstrated a contactless blockchain smartcard retail payment system for 100 customers of the UK-based challenger bank, according to a release. The project is part of SETL’s FCA Sandbox participation, which creates a ‘safe space’ in which businesses can test… Read More

November 17, 2016 @ 9:06 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Siirto, a new Finnish fintech platform designed and implemented by Tieto on behalf of Automatia. The real-time multi-bank mobile payment platform was launched in Finland by three of the country’s top banks, OP Bank, Nordea and Danske Bank, according to a release. “The Siirto payment platform… Read More

November 17, 2016 @ 8:40 am By Erin Hobey  |  

P2P lending platform ThinCats, which recently passed £200m milestone in loans issued to UK SMEs, has joined become an NACFB patron seeking to provide a direct link with member brokers who demonstrate similar working methods to the ThinCats model.  The move aims to “boost the professionalism of… Read More

November 17, 2016 @ 8:39 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

With #GivingTuesday less than two weeks away, crowdfunding platform YouCaring announced the 10 Most Compassionate Cities of 2016. This list is based on total donations raised per 100,000 households, providing a list of cities whose compassion and caring helps those in need. Dan Saper, President of… Read More

November 17, 2016 @ 8:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hong Kong-based peer-to-peer lending platform Monexo announced this week plans to launch an “auto invest” feature on its platform. Sharing details about the new feature, CEO of Monexo, Mukesh Bubna announced in a statement: “We understand our customers and their fast-paced lives. It is virtually… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 4:30 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

investFeed, a fintech startup that provides a transparent social investment network, has successfully secured more than half of its $1 million funding target through Crowdfunder. The company launched the campaign at the end of September and is seeking the funds to expand and add more key features,… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 1:49 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

FinTech Australia, a national association for the Australian FinTech Startup community, announced earlier this month it received a $200,000 funding grant from the Federal Treasury. This news comes just a few months after the organization secured $300,000 from Launch Victoria. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison MP revealed details… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 11:51 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Nearly two weeks after announcing its first series of online awards programs, the Crowdfunding Video Awards (CVAs), NextGen Crowdfunding announced the launch of a design competition to crowdsource an award statue design for the upcoming awards. As previously reported, the CVAs will reportedly provide campaign… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 11:07 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Crowdfunder announced it signed a partnership agreement with IBM Watson AI XPRIZE, which is described as a $5 million artificial intelligence (AI) global competition that challenges teams to develop and demonstrate how humans can collaborate with powerful AI technologies to tackle the world’s greatest… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 10:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Innovate Finance, an association for the global Fintech industry founded in 2014, announced on Wednesday its latest report through Pitchbook revealed over global investment for fintech has increased by 27 % to $15.2 billion to 2016’s third quarter with 839 deals in total. The organization… Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 9:03 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

SyndicateRoom announced on Wednesday the launch of its new product, The WatchList, which reportedly gives its online investment platform users the opportunity to invest funds in a curated list of AIM-listed companies at a discount to their share price. The funding portal revealed it created the WatchList… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 4:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has had a busy week. First, the Commission held its first Fintech Forum, as suggested by Commissioner Piwowar, indicating its growing interest in financial technology disruption. This morning, SEC Chair Mary Jo White testified before the House Financial Services Committee regarding the SEC… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 3:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Kickstarter CEO and co-founder, Yancey Strickler, announced the crowdfunding platform is now welcoming artists and creators to its website for the first time. In a blog post called Build Bridges, Not Walls, Yancey stated he and his team are now removing the barrier… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 2:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, the United Nations Foundation announced 25 charities are set to participate in 2016 #GivingTuesday. The annual global movement was founded in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and is described as a global day of… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 12:48 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Fintech company Bizfi announced on Tuesday it originated more than $127 million in financing in the third quarter of 2016. The company reported that the top sectors seeking finance through its platform were manufacturing, retail, business-to-consumer (B2C) services (i.e. daycare, cleaning) and business-to-business (B2B) services (i.e…. Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 11:44 am By Erin Hobey  |  

  Indiegogo, the trend-setting international crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to fruition, has launched a new equity crowdfunding portal with MicroVentures allowing anyone to invest in startups and growing companies. By utilizing new equity crowdfunding regulations that took effect in May, the new service provides… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 9:40 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lufax, one of China’s largest peer to peer lending platforms, has announced plans to expand into both Hong Kong and Singapore. This news comes less than two months after the lender announced preparations for its Hong Kong Listing and IPO. Lufax Chairman and CEO, Gregory… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 9:12 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Crowdfunding real estate platform Fundrise is spinning off  RSE Capital Partners, its real estate investment branch, into a stand-alone company, according to several news sources. The new standalone firm will continuation to focus on origination, underwriting, investment and management for the company’s eREIT platform. RSE currently collaborates with top brokers and… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 8:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Marketplace lending platform, China Rapid Finance, announced on Tuesday it has formed partnerships with two financial institutions, China United SME Guarantee Corp. (Sino Guarantee) and Bank of Shanghai. The lender stated Sino Guarantee would provide ongoing lending capital for loans that will originate on its platform, with… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 8:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

NYC-based Consumer lender Versara Lending has acquired the personal loan marketplace lender Peerform aiming to grow its prominence in the consumer lending space. Peerform will now operate out of the Versara Lending offices.  At this writing, specific details of the deal are unavailable. “This acquisition allows Versara… Read More