Tagged: coronavirus

May 11, 2020 @ 9:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

San Francisco has earned a bit of a bad rap the past couple of years. Questionable leadership has led long-time inhabitants to complain about the rising level of crime and the increasing squalor of the city. The high cost of living/rent and California’s reputation as… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 6:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The COVID-19 crisis has significantly reduced the revenue generated by some of the largest banks in Australia. The pandemic may present opportunities to banking challengers such as 86 400 to gain market share. As the nation’s Big Four banks try to deal with a dramatic… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 2:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers of the Loom Network, a platform-as-as-service blockchain initiative, seemed to have abandoned their project or become inactive. However, representatives from Loom reportedly told Cointelegraph that the project is not “dead,” as several social media users and community members had claimed. After CEO Matthew… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fitch Ratings is out with a note on the impact of COVID-19 and US marketplace loan portfolios. According to Fitch, the Coronavirus and affiliated rise in unemployment will lead to “significant performance degradation in U.S. Marketplace Loan (MPL) portfolios.” Even more grim is that Fitch… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 10:54 am By JD Alois  |  

Rightangled, a healthtech firm that is currently offering COVID-19 testing, has launched a crowdfunding offering on Crowdcube – quickly topping its £50,000 target now standing at £354,131 backed by 655 investors. Rightangled is offering equity in the company at a pre-money valuation of £9.5 million…. Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 8:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

United Kingdom’s trade group, TheCityUK, recently recommended that the country should update its regulatory framework for Fintech, as the COVID-19 crisis has made it challenging for businesses to operate while following traditional models of finance. There are around 1,600 Fintech companies based in the UK…. Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 7:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Turkish Fintech firm Figopara confirmed on May 7, 2020, that it has secured $1 million in funding from its second investment round. Existing investors World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Turkish angel investor Revo Capital took part in Figopora’s latest round. Founding partners Ahmet… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

David Parker, co-chief investment officer at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (an organization responsible for attracting inward investment into the Kingdom for key areas such as technology development and supporting the local financial and banking industry), recently confirmed that the country aims to position itself… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 6:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PT Cashlez Worldwide Indonesia, which is reportedly the nation’s first Fintech payment company to be publicly listed, saw its share price increase from Rp 350 (appr. $0.23) to Rp 384 within minutes after trading began on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Cashlez said it will… Read More

May 9, 2020 @ 5:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zurich-based Numbrs, a mobile banking app provider, will be laying off 62 employees after investors backed out of a deal to allocate funds toward the development of the firm’s business. In August 2019, the Fintech firm claimed that it was valued at around CHF 1… Read More

May 9, 2020 @ 1:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based digital payments platform Simpl has reported a significant increase in transaction volume for online orders of daily essentials. The company claims there has been a 30-35% increase in the number of transactions involving the purchase of essential items. The change in consumer spending habits… Read More

May 8, 2020 @ 2:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Boston-based Fintech firm Flywire recently confirmed that it will be downsizing its operations, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting economic challenges. The payment processing firm reportedly laid off 12% of its workers (around 60 employees), according to estimates from industry participants. Flywire will also… Read More

May 7, 2020 @ 12:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Canada has decided to postpone its upcoming Open Banking review due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Canadian government-led Open Banking policy review was scheduled to consult stakeholders on applicable standards, in order to provide better consumer data protection. The review was supposed to take place… Read More

May 7, 2020 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, PeerStreet pushed pause on all loan funding as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the real estate crowdfunding platform. PeerStreet is not alone in looking for ways to better manage the fast-changing economic environment as the economy went from boom to bust in weeks –… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

More insurance technology (Insurtech)-related deals were finalized during Q1 2020, when compared with the same time period last year. However, overall funding for Insurtech dropped by 54% to $912 million, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting economic uncertainty. This, according to Willis Towers Watson’s… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 10:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Buckle, a U.S.-based financial services, announced on Wednesday it has been temporary approval to add insurance coverage to its rideshare driver members’ policies for the delivery of food, household supplies, and other packaged goods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Buckle reported that due to the virus,… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 9:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Video banking has become increasingly popular during the past few years. It’s quite possible that it will be adopted by even more consumers, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which has led to many people practicing social distancing. A recent report from research firm Retail… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 8:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The newest COVID-19 support package created by the UK government appears to be a big hit with UK businesses. According to a post by HM Treasury, over 69,000 loans valued at more than £2 billion have been approved in just 24 hours. Bounce Back Loans… Read More

May 5, 2020 @ 11:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank and financial regulator,  confirmed recently that it would be supporting the inaugural G20 TechSprint initiative, which has been introduced by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and the Saudi G20 Presidency on the… Read More

May 5, 2020 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE: LC) is out with its first-quarter earnings report and the numbers are indicative of the problematic economy that has been crushed by the Coronavirus pandemic. LendingClub, the leading marketplace lender in the US, delivered numbers that showed a significant decline versus the same… Read More