Global

September 30, 2019 @ 8:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is currently investigating the operations of several peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders after discovering various failures or instances of non-compliance ahead of the implementation of stricter regulations this year, according to a report in the FT. Last week, the… Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 7:35 am By JD Alois  |  

JustPark recently launched an offering on Crowdcube which easily raised £5.5 million in 48 hours during the pre-registration portion of the round. According to the company, £1 million was raised in under one hour as the company booked an investment every 2 seconds. The private… Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 6:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Traveloka, the largest online travel startup in Southeast Asia, is planning to issue a credit card, called the PayLater card, via a partnership with PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Persero Tbk, which will be connected to its booking services. Traveloka’s travel app aims to target users… Read More

September 29, 2019 @ 6:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Innovate Finance CEO Charlotte Crosswell delivered an Open Letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) be updated to a cap of £100 million from the current £30 million. Simultaneously, the missive asked the government to increase… Read More

September 29, 2019 @ 4:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Three out of four, or 75%, bank customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prefer managing their finances online, instead of visiting a physical bank location. A majority of bank customers’ visits to physical locations has decreased to 0-2 times per year, according to a… Read More

September 29, 2019 @ 10:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Æ Ventures, an investment firm that provides initial funding, acceleration and advisory services to blockchain-related projects, revealed that its Starfleet Accelerator Program has exceeded $1.6 million in total investments. The company said it’s now accepting applications for its third financing round. The third edition of… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 6:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Data privacy company StrongSalt announced on September 26 that it closed a seed round from Valley Capital Partners. The “encryption-as-a-service” firm reportedly raised $3 million, in order to develop standardized encryption techniques for blockchain-based platforms. Supported by three encryption-related patents, StrongSalt is planning to launch… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 4:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Madrid-based Minsait, a company that focuses on digital transformation while providing business management consulting services, acquired 100% of Spanish Fintech firm Afterbanks. Afterbanks’ proprietary technology is used to retrieve and aggregate data from different financial institutions, in order to process payments quickly and efficiently. Minsait’s… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 3:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IOVLabs, the parent company behind RSK’s open-source Bitcoin smart contract network, announced on September 27 its acquisition of Taringa, a Spanish-language social media network. IOVLabs has reportedly set aside $5 million in assets for developing products for Taringa, according to a release. The company’s management… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 2:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) reportedly received 85 applications from local firms that are preparing to launch operations under Mexico’s new Fintech law, which is part of President López Obrador’s plan to promote financial inclusion. Following the issuance of the Fintech law in… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 1:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based EST Group announced on September 27 that it will invest $250 million in the next 18 months into various Indian Fintech companies. EST Group said in a release that it is very bullish about the Indian market due to great potential for new opportunities…. Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 1:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Allianz Asset Management (AllianzAM), the financial and governance holding company for the asset management business of Allianz SE, participated in UK-based digital wealth manager Moneyfarm’s latest investment round. Poste Italiane, the retail-banking division of Italy’s post office, is the lead investor in Moneyfarm’s ongoing €40… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 8:57 am By Cali Haan  |  

Trading of an Ethereum-based crypto token called FWIN (Fairwin) is consuming over 50% of the “gas” (used to set transaction fees) on the Ethereum network. Basically, the company responsible for FWIN, Fairwin, based in China, has a very busy token. But according to Cointelgraph, Fairwin… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 6:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Central Bank Digital Currencies or CBDCs are on their way. That is according to ING’s Chief Economist, Mark Cliffe. In a post and video, the global bank states: “Rapid advances in distributed ledger technology have spurred debate about the possibilities, advantages and drawbacks of central… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 1:30 pm By Therese Torris  |  

LendIt Fintech Europe 2019, which took place September 26-27 in London, was placed under the banner of lending and banking convergence. As incumbents collaborate with Fintechs, online lending marketplaces become banks, and challenger banks expand into credit, a new ecosystem is emerging. An indispensable part… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 11:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Fraud takes place daily in the financial services industry. Crowdfund Insider reads about it every single day. It is just a fact of life. There will always be a miscreant somewhere looking to separate good money from good people. That is why the industry must… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 11:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Libra Association managing director and COO Bertrand Perez has said that the Facebook-backed stablecoin project could be a boon to the United Nations. Perez, whose comments came during a recent blockchain event held at the UN headquarters in Geneva (where the non-profit Libra Association is… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 10:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard has announced the launch of a pilot program that involves helping garment factory workers transition from using cash to receiving digital wage payments. Sue Kelsey, executive vice president, prepaid solutions, Mastercard, stated in a press release: “At Mastercard, our vision is to ultimately build… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 9:13 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Bitmain, a manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining hardware and operator of crypto mining pools, announced on Friday it is planning to launch a platform to connect mining hardware owners with mining farm owners through the World Digital Mining Map (WDMM). The company reported: “To remain price-efficient,… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 9:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading online investment platform OurCrowd has announced that it will open its 13th global office in São Paulo, Brazil. OurCrowd sees the  region as a key location for innovation. OurCrowd announced the news during OurCrowd Sync: São Paulo 2019, the company’s first major event in… Read More