General News

October 11, 2016 @ 11:43 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Biz2Credit released its latest small business lending index that revealed loan approval rates at big banks and institutional lenders have improved to all-time highs in September 2016. Sharing details about the index, Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder of Biz2Credit, stated: “The Federal Reserve… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 10:54 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Bitbond, a Berlin-based startup that connects small business owners who need a loan with investors and uses the Bitcoin blockchain for payment processing, announced on Tuesday it received its BaFin license. Sharing details about the new license Radoslav Albrecht, founder and CEO of Bitbond, stated: “With our own… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 9:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube announced on Tuesday its legal team received recognition at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2016. The event took place last week, and its judges were Integreon’s Bob Gogel, Financial Times’ Michael Skaplinker, and RSG Consulting’s Reena SenGupta. Crowdcube was shortlisted… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 8:51 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Singapore-based crowdfunding platform CoAssets (ASX: CA8) announced on Tuesday it has appointed Tommy Teo as its new chief financial officer. Nick Bishop has stepped down from his role of chief financial officer at CoAssets, and will continue to assist with operations in Australia. CoAssets revealed that Teo is a Certified Practicing… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 8:23 am By JD Alois  |  

OTC Markets has enlised VStock Transfer as the first participant in its new initiative to create a central repository for share data on companies traded on their various marketplaces.  The initiative is designed to boost overall transparency for securities traded on OTC Markets.  Cromwell Coulson,… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 7:38 am By JD Alois  |  

LendIt, a global conference and events organizer established by Jason Jones, Peter Renton and Bo Brustkern, has announced a strategic partnership with AMTD Group Limited (AMTD). LendIt released the news during its annual LendIt Europe conference taking place in London today. AMTD and LendIt had previously partnered… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 5:59 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Brazilian lender Banco Votorantim have added a new specialty to its venture capital portfolio in Brazil, reported Reuters. Votorantim will invest an initial 3 million reais ($930,000) in the BR Startups fund created by Microsoft in 2014, with an expectation of funding about a… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 5:34 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) acquired Wheelhouse Analytics LLC, a tech company that provides data analytics, mobile sales solutions, and online education tools to financial advisors, asset managers and enterprises, according to StreetInsider.  Terms of the acquisition were not available. “Today Envestnet serves over 50,000 advisors and… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 5:12 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Barcelona-based cobblers Les Chausseurs launched their crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube Spain earlier last week and have already taken in more than 50,600€ of its 90K€ objective from over 27 investors. 20% equity is being offered. “I chose Crowdcube for several reasons; first, because its team explained the… Read More

October 10, 2016 @ 4:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

A new report from NextGen Crowdfunding, authored by NextGen Chief Strategy Officer Richard Swart, reviews all Reg A+ filed since June 2015 up until June of 2016.  NextGen analyzed 131 companies that have taken advantage of updated rules established by the JOBS Act of 2012…. Read More

October 9, 2016 @ 9:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has released a commissioned study on the economics of the peer to peer lending market in the UK.  The independent assessment, provided by the economic consulting firm of Oxera, analysed the risks, costs and benefits of peer-to-peer… Read More

October 9, 2016 @ 8:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

The insurance industry is a sector of finance that is begging for disruption. In the Fintech arena, Insurtech is poised to be huge. The US Treasury Department published a study of insurance in September that pegged total assets for insurance at over $8 trillion. In… Read More

October 9, 2016 @ 2:32 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Friday, British tech startup Chirp announced it formed a new partnership with the creators of video game Skylanders. The company secured £ 733,810 from 332 investors through its equity crowdfunding round on Crowdcube last year.  Founded in November 2011, Chirp is described as a… Read More

October 8, 2016 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has posted a request for comments on a proposed stated of policy regarding usage of electronic documents and electronic signatures. As paper quickly fades into the past, digital documents have become the norm and not the exception.  This… Read More

October 8, 2016 @ 10:28 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Friday, Kiwibank announced the launch of its new fintech accelerator in New Zealand. The company stated the 3-month program will initially fund and support eight Kiwi fintech startups and will be powered by startup accelerator brand, Lightning Lab. Kiwibank stated:  “Teams will work directly with… Read More

October 7, 2016 @ 3:45 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this week, peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa announced it has teamed up with Airbnb as a way to help UK customers pay back their home loans. The lender revealed borrowers just need to sign up to become an Airbnb host through a link on their Zopa dashboard…. Read More

October 6, 2016 @ 5:29 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a few weeks after Wave closed its Crowdcube campaign, the equity crowdfunding platform revealed the location app gained 2 million more users during its funding round. As previously reported, Wave is a free smartphone app that allows anyone to see in real-time the exact location of their… Read More

October 6, 2016 @ 11:24 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lendio announced on Thursday it is launching a national scholarship program that’s dedicated to supporting small business owners and their families. According to the small business lending platform, the new scholarship will consist of two $2,500 awards, granted to winners of a video contest.  Sharing more… Read More

October 6, 2016 @ 10:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Fintech car financing company, AutoGravity, announced on Wednesday it has formed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services to bring the famous brand to its auto financing app. Founded in 2015, AutoGravity currently introduces app users with efficient, transparent auto financing processes. Its app is designed to allow car… Read More

October 6, 2016 @ 9:21 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Kickstarter announced it has teamed up with TurboVote to help increase voter participation for the upcoming 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, which will be taking place this November. Kickstarter revealed that its team believes in the power of personal expression and that is why… Read More