Tagged: covid-19

COVID-19 Is Leading to Changes in Consumer Behavior such as Increased Use of Digital Financial Services, Now Supported by Banks, Globally

Countries throughout the world are struggling to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting socio-economic challenges. Although many places have been trying to re-open for business and lockdowns are being eased, globally, there might be a second wave of the Coronavirus that could lead to… Read More

Hong Kong based InvestHK’s Fintech Executive Says City-State should Recover from COVID-19, as New Digital Banks are Launched

Hong Kong’s future economy is set to be supported by the latest Fintech platforms and services, as the city-state will be home to at least eight virtual banks. Hong Kong serves as the primary gateway for (mainland) Chinese businesses to expand their operations, globally. It… Read More

P2P Lender Folk2Folk Recommends Diversifying Business Strategy and Products so UK Firms Can Survive COVID-19 related Challenges

Folk2Folk, a peer to peer lender supporting local and rural businesses, says that service providers in the UK should consider diversifying or branching out into new areas in order to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Folk2Folk notes that companies have been negatively affected because many… Read More

Digital Banking Competition in Southeast Asia Should Intensify as there’s been a Boom in Fintech Investments: Report

Southeast (SE) Asia is home to an unbanked population of around 290 million, according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings. Fintech solutions can enable more widespread financial inclusion, and could potentially increase the GDP of emerging markets by $3.7 trillion, according to an updated… Read More

Aspiring Online Lenders backed by Established Corporates are More Likely to Secure Virtual Bank Licenses than Standalone Challengers: Report

Digital banking or the use of online services and platforms may have been accelerated due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which had led to many countries enforcing nationwide lockdowns. While many countries are now beginning to “re-open” their businesses, the Coronavirus crisis has led to major… Read More

Consumer Spending in India Is Significantly Lower due to COVID-19 related Uncertainty, UPI and Digital Payments Also Decline as Lockdowns Eased

The COVID-19 outbreak and nationwide lockdowns in India have forced many local residents to re-evaluate how they conduct business and manage their finances. An analysis performed by ETMoney reveals that the overall spend by India’s residents between March and June 2020 dropped by around 40%,… Read More

Majority of Singapore based Businesses Believe Fintech Adoption Is Necessary when Improving Operational Efficiency: Survey

More Singapore based companies and businesses are expected to use the latest Fintech platforms and services in the coming year. Firms operating in the Asian country aim to streamline their business by adopting the latest digital technologies, according to a report from CPA Australia, a… Read More

South Korea’s ICONLOOP’s Decentralized Identity or DID Blockchain Tech to be Used for COVID-19 Contact Tracing System

South Korea’s ICONLOOP, a major blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT)-focused firm, revealed on August 19, 2020 that Jeju Island, the nation’s most popular local tourist destination, will be using its Decentralized Identity (‘DID’) blockchain tech to offer private, secure COVID-19 contact tracing to (approximately)… Read More

LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn: We have been preparing for an adverse environment for the past several years

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) is the leading online consumer lender in the US and the first big Fintech lender to go public on the NYSE. Over $50 billion in lending has been originated on the platform that claims more than 3 million customers. The last few years… Read More

Financial Education App, Invstr, Offers an Alternative to Millennials who Might Not Want to Use Robo-Advisors

The COVID-19 pandemic has “completely disrupted” young Americans’ financial stability, according to an update shared with Crowdfund Insider. The economic uncertainty due to the Coronavirus crisis has forced Millennials (people born around 1980 to 1996) to rethink or re-evaluate their retirement strategies, if they even… Read More

UK based Neobank Hammock, built for Landlords or Rent Collectors, Secures £1 Million in Seed Funding

Hammock, a neobank that has been introduced specifically for landlords, has acquired £1 million through a seed funding round from Ascension Ventures and Fuel Ventures. The capital raised by Hammock should help the bank with its upcoming launch of its current accounts – which should… Read More

Starling Bank Survey Reveals 80% of UK SMEs Are Confident They Will Recover From COVID Despite Concerning Economic Forecast

‘ UK-based digital banking group Starling Bank announced on Monday its latest survey reveals four in five (80%) UK SMEs are confident they will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey, which was conducted with the Great British Entrepreneur Awards (GBEA) was done on more… Read More

Invoice Financing Marketplace Crowdz Partners Wiserfunding to Provide Improved SME Default Assessments

Barclays-backed Fintech, Crowdz, which serves as a financing marketplace that allows SMBs to sell unpaid invoices for cash, has teamed up with Edward Altman‘s latest project, Wiserfunding, a business credit score provider. As mentioned in an update shared with Crowdfund Insider: “As Silicon Valley’s Crowdz… Read More

UK’s Federation of Small Businesses Says Next Budget Must be “Most Pro-Business Ever” to Combat Negative Effects of First Recession in 11 Years

The next or upcoming UK Budget will have to be the “most pro-business ever” so that it can counter the negative impact of the recession, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a member-led, non-profit and non-party organization that represents SMBs. The United Kingdom… Read More

BitGo CEO Recommends Allocating 3% of Portfolios to Bitcoin, as Nasdaq Listed Firm Acquires $250 Million in BTC as its “Primary Reserve Asset”

Mike Belshe, the CEO at BitGo, a Palo Alto, California-based digital asset trust and security firm offering a multi-signature Bitcoin (BTC) wallet service, recently noted that many companies are now going out of business due to challenges related to COVID-19. Belshe points out that there… Read More

Remote Working Fintech Deel Is Launching Operations Across Europe, will Help with Compliance, Payroll, Taxes

Many individuals and businesses across the globe have been forced to make major lifestyle changes, including working from home, due to the contagious COVID-19 outbreak. San Francisco-based Fintech firm Deel, which plans to improve the work from home process by offering an easy-to-use online platform,… Read More

BBVA owned Finnish Fintech Holvi to Exit UK Market Only 6 Months After Launch due to Brexit, COVID-19 Challenges

BBVA-backed Fintech firm Holvi, which provides bank accounts to sole traders and SMBs, is reportedly preparing to exit the UK market only six months after establishing operations inthe country. Holvi’s management noted that Brexit and the COVID-19 outbreak has made it challenging to maintain its… Read More

COVID-19 Speeds Up Digital Transformation: TSB Bank Phasing Out Cashier Roles, Valencia in Spain to Stop Taking Cash, will Support Digital Payments, Tickets

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to major changes in how businesses are now operating, globally. UK-based TSB Bank is reportedly planning to phase out 929 cashier roles which are supporting its physical branch network. The bank said it’s making the changes due to COVID, which… Read More

Indonesia’s Vice President Says Digital Technology and Online Payments have become “Absolutely Necessary” due to COVID-19

Bank Indonesia (BI), the nation’s central bank, introduced the seventh Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) this past Friday. The event took place virtually or online, which was notably the first of its kind in the country. Established in 2014, ISEF is an international event that… Read More

Omnipresent, a Company Offering Assistance with Payroll, Compliance, Taxes, to Remote Workers, Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding

The Omnipresent Group, which focuses on offering assistance to remote workers, has secured $2 million in seed funding. The company claims that it acquired the funds “within six weeks” of the COVID-19 outbreak, so that it can offer a viable solution to support what it… Read More

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