Global

January 21, 2025 @ 8:17 am By Michael Wong  |  

Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire Axio, a Bengaluru-based digital lending firm that provides credit access to underserved individuals and households across India. The acquisition, which awaits regulatory approval, is expected to bolster Amazon’s footprint in the rapidly growing digital lending market and strengthen… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In 2024, VC investment in Ireland remained stable despite the challenging funding environment. According to the KPMG Venture Pulse report, VC investment picked up in Q4, with “29 deals closing in the quarter worth $255.16 million, compared to 26 deals worth $174.76 million for the… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Paysend is pleased to share a major milestone with clients: 10 million consumer customers worldwide. According to an update from Paysend, this achievement marks a significant step in their journey to simplify cross-border payments and “create seamless financial connections for everyone, everywhere.” When they started… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 3:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Atom bank, the UK’s digital banking platform, released research which highlights a knowledge gap among UK homeowners when it comes to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and the cost of retrofitting. The data reveals that over half (53%) of homeowners are “unaware of their home’s EPC… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 2:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In recent years, cryptocurrency has become increasingly more mainstream, the team at Chainalysis noted. Although illicit activity on-chain previously revolved heavily around cybercrime, Chainalysis pointed out that cryptocurrency is now also being used to “fund and facilitate all kinds of threats, ranging from national security… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 8:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hashgraph Association says it has agreed to work with Taurus regarding asset tokenization, staking, and custody. Hashgraph is the gr0up that supports enterprise-grade blockchain Hedera. Taurus is a Swiss firm that offers enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure solutions to issue, custody, and trade any digital… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 8:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A report by the UK Startup Awards, supported by Starling Bank, has fired the starting pistol for those looking to launch or join a startup business in the new year. The ‘UK Startup Report 2024’ is based on a survey of “over 1,176 businesses under… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 7:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Stablecoin issuer Circle has reportedly submitted its response to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) consultation on technical advice for standard formula capital requirements for making investments in crypto-assets. Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook noted in a new research report that if they had to pick just one word to accurately summarize European private equity (PE) in 2024, it would actually be “recovery.” According to the update from PitchBook, annual private equity deal value increased 35.4% year over… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 6:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Conister Bank Limited based in the Isle of Man says it has launched a new online deposit system for its UK retail customers. Consister is part of the Manx Financial Group PLC (AIM:MFX) a firm that operates various financial sercies firms. Conister said that historically,… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 10:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As interest rates begin to decline, US retail investors plan to strategically adjust their portfolios, prioritizing growth sector stocks such “as healthcare & technology (24%), cash assets (22%), high-yield bonds (18%), and dividend yielding stocks (18%),” according to data from the Retail Investor Beat (RIB)… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 10:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

JCB, Japan’s international payment brand, and DOJO, a London-based payment technology provider, announced a partnership to enhance JCB’s card acceptance across London and the rest of the UK. JCB Cardmembers can now experience a seamless payment experience across the UK thanks to this collaboration, while… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 8:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum is reporting a $58 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation. According to Sygnum, the funding round was oversubscribed. The lead investor was Bitcoin-focused VC Fulger Ventures. Others participating in the ournd include new and existing investors as well… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 8:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Around a year after introducing the trading and custody of cryptocurrencies, PostFinance is expanding its offering to include the “staking” function. The banking services provider said this means that passive income can now be “generated by depositing cryptocurrencies.” PostFinance claims it is the first “systemically… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 8:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bluprynt, the provider of crypto disclosure solutions, and the Avalanche Foundation announce the launch of new tools to enable the publishing of EU compliance documents on-chain. Through an integration with the Avalanche public blockchain, the firms are enabling token offerors such as “issuers and crypto-asset… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 8:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Novobanco and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced the expansion of their tech partnership, which will see novobanco expand its use of Nasdaq’s Calypso platform to support the bank’s capital market operations. Novobanco, a Portuguese independent domestic bank, has used the solution to conduct back-office processing for… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 2:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Inclusive global payments platform, Ecommpay has launched a new design tool enabling merchants to tailor the payment experience to maximize customer conversion. The functionality allows for customization of any part of a payment page layout as well as “providing CSS and A/B testing for optimized performance.”… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 2:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com has become the first major global crypto asset service provider to announce securing an in-principle MiCA license. Eric Anziani, President and COO, Crypto.com said: “We have always been fully supportive of MiCA and strongly believe it will bring clarity, transparency, and establish a more… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 10:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

ClearBank the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, today announced its partnership with Airwallex, a payments and financial platform for businesses. Through this collab, Airwallex will leverage ClearBank’s agency banking solution to “enhance its UK offering with virtual business accounts, GBP collections, and Confirmation of… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 10:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Agant, creator of a new GBP stablecoin (GBPA), has selected Archax, the regulated digital asset exchange, broker and custodian, as its partner to handle the custody of its underlying assets. The British pound digital currency will initially be available on the Ethereum, Avalanche and Solana… Read More