Global

December 19, 2019 @ 3:29 am By Cali Haan  |  

Cryptoforensics firm Chainalysis says massive OTC cryptocurrency cash-outs by “PlusToken” scammers may be driving down the price of bitcoins. According to the firm: “Based in China, PlusToken presented itself as a cryptocurrency wallet that would reward users with high rates of return if they purchased… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 1:54 am By JD Alois  |  

WiseAlpha, an interesting Fintech that offers an online marketplace for corporate bonds, is looking to boost investor interest by offering a new “bond academy” to educate investors about the corporate bond market. WiseAlpha is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and has sought to… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 10:35 pm By Cali Haan  |  

UK cryptocurrency exchange Coinfloor has announced it is delisting Ethereum, “to focus on providing Bitcoin only services from the 3rd of January 2020,” Bitcoin’s 11th anniversary. “The decision will allow Coinfloor to provide a richer set of services for the world’s leading cryptocurrency while maintaining focus on… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 7:50 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Ricardo Spagni, aka “fluffypony,” the South African “lead maintainer” of the privacy cryptocurrency Monero, is stepping down. He will be staying on in a support position, however. The news was announced at GetMonero.org: “fluffypony is stepping down as the lead maintainer of Monero. Snipa will… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

We have all heard about Open Banking, a mandate to require proactive API access to financial services while migrating control of all data and access back to consumers, now we have a movement for “Open Finance.” According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Open Finance… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Pagaya, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered investment manager, has closed on its 5th capital markets transaction this year for a $200 million asset-backed security. Pagaya reports that it now has $1.2 billion in assets under management (AUM) having risen a solid 300% this year. Pagaya’s… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 8:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Australian banking challenger 86400 has teamed up with FMS, a mortgage software developer, in order to use its eSign solution for mortgages. In November 2019, neobank 86400 introduced its home loan product suite, which has been designed to reduce the time required to issue and… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

A new study produced by prominent UK investment crowdfunding platform Seedrs and London-based law firm Joelson indicates the investors are more inclined to support female-founded startups that issue securities on crowdfunding platforms. The report states that 100% of female-founded businesses and 90% of male and… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Coverhero, an Australia-based insurance technology (Insurtech) provider, revealed on December 17 that the launch of its first product, Hustle Cover, an “instant” and customizable income protection insurance product developed specifically for gig economy professionals. There are reportedly over 1.5 million Australian residents that are now… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 1:08 am By Cali Haan  |  

On December 13th, Bottle Pay, a company variously described as a “custodial Bitcoin wallet provider,” a “payments startup” and a “social media Bitcoin tipping service,” announced it is closing December 31st because it does not want to impose extraordinary anti-money laundering (AML) measures on users. On… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 9:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

As non-bank payments firms rapidly emerge, China has instituted rules for these services to make payments to the state. The measures were revealed on December 6, 2019 and come into effect on January 6, 2020. As part of the process the People’s Bank of China… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 5:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mobile-only, banking challenger Starling Bank is planning to focus more on its brand awareness as it tries to move past its status as a startup and become one of the leading Fintech industry participants. As reported by WARC, Starling’s chief growth officer Rachael Pollard remarked:… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 2:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

EQ Bank, a digital platform provided by Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank, revealed that it has teamed up with TransferWise, a leading UK-based money transfer service. Following the partnership, EQ Bank is offering faster cross-border funds transfers that are up to 8x cheaper for the… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 11:00 am By Xu Gao  |  

Winners of 2019 Global Fintech Venture Competition Announced On December 15th, the award ceremony of 2019 Global Fintech Venture Competition (hereinafter referred to as the “Competition”) was held at Tsinghua University. With the guidance of Tsinghua IFR and support from Haidian District People’s Government of… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, the largest investment crowdfunding platform in the world, has published a release indicating it expects over 20,000 registrations for its forthcoming global summit taking place in Israel in early 2020. In years past, the OurCrowd Global Summit has emerged as the biggest event of… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 8:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Minna Technologies and Finland’s largest financial group, OP, have extended their partnership which was established last year during OP’s open banking startup partnership program. Minna Technologies was chosen last year to take part in OP’s open banking program. John Nyström, country manager Finland at Minna… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 3:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The digital-only retail banking platform of ING, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation based in Amsterdam, is set to expand its product offering in 2020. The financial giant’s new services will reportedly include new payments and lending options, and various other products that… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 2:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

TransferWise, a leading UK-based online money transfer service, has teamed up with Paydesk, a British freelance payments platform, to provide payments services to freelancers. The business integration could potentially help more freelancers throughout the world in gaining access to the benefits of Paydesk’s features such… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 12:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Portify, a Fintech firm that provides an app and various other financial services to help grow the gig economy and assists other modern, flexible, self-employed professionals in managing their finances, has secured £7 million (appr. $9.3 million) via a Series A investment round. The… Read More

December 16, 2019 @ 11:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Salv, an anti-money laundering (AML) company established by former employees at Skype and TransferWise, has secured $2 million via a seed funding round. Salv’s investment round was led by Fly Ventures, Passion Capital and Seedcamp. N26 founder Maximilian Tayenthal, former Twilio CTO Ott Kaukver, and… Read More