Global

December 1, 2019 @ 9:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, has been appointed as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. As part of this role, Carney will support the Secretary-General’s climate strategy by galvanizing climate action and transforming climate finance, according to… Read More

December 1, 2019 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Swedish Fintech firm Bokio has raised €4 million (appr. $4.4 million) via an investment round led by Creandum, an early Spotify investor. European financial group Svea and Chris Adelsbach, managing director at Techstars, also took part in the funding round. The capital raised will be… Read More

November 30, 2019 @ 4:03 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Following reports of multiple “rectification” incidents executed against cryptocurrency businesses in China last week, including alleged raids on a Binance office in Beijing, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced November 25th that it has closed two-thirds of the country’s online lending institutions and 173… Read More

November 30, 2019 @ 12:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Decimal Factor has topped its £850,000 crowdfunding goal on Seedrs. The Fintech is offering a 4.76% equity stake at a pre-money valuation of £17 million and has now inched into over-funding mode. So far, 88 investors have backed the firm representing an average investment of… Read More

November 30, 2019 @ 12:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Allianz X, the digital investment division of the Allianz Group (a German multinational financial services company), and insurance firm Debeka recently invested in Insurtech SDA SE Open Industry Solutions, an open platform for developing digital ecosystems. Allianz X and Debeka, along with current investors SIGNAL… Read More

November 30, 2019 @ 9:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Big Four accounting and professional services firm KPMG has introduced a new blockchain-powered track and trace solution in Australia, China and Japan. Called KPMG Origins, the platform has been designed to increase transparency and traceability of routine business procedures in several different industries including agriculture,… Read More

November 30, 2019 @ 8:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Insurtech firm Acko General Insurance Ltd has recently raised $36 million via an investment round led by Ascent Capital. This, according to Acko’s filings with the registrar of companies (RoC). The Mumbai-headquartered insurtech company acquired allotments of “10 equity shares of ₹10 (appr. $0.14) each… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 12:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

France-based Virgil, a Fintech firm that supports millennial home-ownership, recently raised €2.1 million ($2.3 million) from Alven Capital, Kima Ventures, LocalGlobe, and several angel investors. The capital raised will help Virgil achieve its short-term goals, which include finalizing at least 100 transactions each month by… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 12:37 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As of March 2020, “Top Four” South African Bank FNB will no longer provide business banking to, “(cryptocurrency) trading platforms and intermediaries that trade in digital money,” City Press reports. Affected entities include crypto exchanges Luno, VALR, ICE3X and their intermediaries. “Our decision was made after… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 11:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Argentina-based mobile payments firm Ualá has been valued at almost $1 billion in its most recent investment round, which was led by Chinese tech giant Tencent, according to sources familiar with the details of the transaction. Tencent led Ualá’s $150 million Series C investment round…. Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 9:38 am By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss Federal Council has moved to improved the legal certainty regarding the framework for the utilization of blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT).  During a meeting on November 27th, the Federal Council adopted language designed to mitigate risk while removing barriers for DLT utilization…. Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) Luxembourg have made an agreement to work cooperatively to develop Fintech-related platforms. The cooperation framework shows that both regulators have made an effort to encourage the development of innovative technologies… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 8:18 am By JD Alois  |  

An opaque cryptocurrency exchange IDAX Global has reported that its CEO has disappeared. The news comes at a time when the exchange was experiencing “channel congestion” for withdrawals.” Several days ago, IDAX Global posted the following note: Dear IDAX users: Recently, the demand for IDAX… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 7:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Sweden-based Online payments company (and bank) Klarna reportedly became Europe’s highest valued Fintech in August 2019 with a market capitalization of around $5.5 billion. Klarna’s management stated on November 26 that it has onboarded 60,000 additional merchants worldwide in 2019, which represents an increase of… Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital bank Revolut is now offering direct debits for UK accounts. Customers with UK accounts may now set up GBP direct debits to pay for items such as club memberships or utility fees. Revolut adds that customers will be safeguarded against certain types of fraud… Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendInvest, the Fintech marketplace for property finance, has promoted Andy Virgo from Business Development Manager to Head of Key Accounts for LendInvest. In this new role, he will be championing the day to day relationship management of LendInvest’s distribution network, including Mortgage Clubs and Networks. … Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 11:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Draper Espirit (LSE:GROW.L), the Europe-focused tech investment firm, has recently posted interim results as of September 30, 2019. According to Draper Esprit, the company remains on course to achieve its stated goal of delivering a portfolio return of 20% for the full year, having generated… Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Peer to peer lending firm Amartha has finalized a Series B investment round led by LINE Ventures, the venture capital division of giant messaging app LINE. The funds raised will be used to further expand Amartha’s operations to include more women and underprivileged families based… Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

This week, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published a report on how it intends to dramatically reduce the regulatory burden in Canada’s most economically robust province. The report was completed after a 12 month review period and supported by the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Governments… Read More

November 28, 2019 @ 7:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Investment Fund (EIF) will reportedly be renewing its support to European SME, under the “Private Credit Tailored for SMEs” program. Support will also be extended by other established institutional investors such as Bbifrance, CNP Assurances, and Zencap. A new €100 million (appr. $110… Read More