Tagged: europe

January 11, 2021 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Over 160 physical bank branch locations are shutting down permanently between now and the end of the lockdown period, which has been tentatively scheduled for late March 2021 in the UK.  As first reported by the Daily Mail, these bank branch closures will come as… Read More

January 10, 2021 @ 3:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at PPRO, a Fintech firm that allows consumers to pay with the local payment methods they “trust and know, wherever they are,” notes that it’s been a year of “momentous change” for the payments sector. PPRO pointed out that previously emerging Fintech and… Read More

January 10, 2021 @ 1:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Payment Components, a UK-based firm that’s empowering Open Banking with agile PSD2 and API frameworks (developing solutions for banks, corporates, and developers including BaaS while supporting Fintech payments), notes that with the introduction of new regulations and payment systems, managing a bank’s… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 5:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

John Goodall, CEO at Landbay, a UK-based online finance platform for buy to let mortgages, claims that he has “no regrets” about leaving the retail peer-to-peer (P2P) lending business. The digital buy-to-let finance platform is now completely focused on institutional lending (since December 2019). Landbay… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 9:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm B-North, which facilitates loans for small businesses and is currently seeking a banking license, has reportedly entered a deal with Channel 4 Ventures. Manchester-headquartered B-North confirmed that it has acquired a follow-on investment of £250,000 from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The challenger… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 8:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance, a trade association for the UK banking and financial services industry, has noted that after the extension of government support from November 2020, an estimated £600 million  in funding was provided via the topping-up of current Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) facilities. Lending… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

France-based Fintech firm Pennylane, which was launched in January 2020, has acquired €15 million in capital as the European financial technology sector continues to attract more consumers and businesses. French accounting company Pennylane finalized its €15 million Series A round in less than a year… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 8:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech companies such as Revolut and Luno are experiencing a dramatic surge in demand from customers who are rushing to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies amid record-breaking and unprecedented cryptocurrency price increases. Fintech app providers that offer crypto trading, like Revolut, eToro,… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 8:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Linked Finance, an Ireland-based peer to peer lender, has reportedly been added to the country’s COVID-19 credit guarantee scheme. Notably, the P2P platform is the country’s first non-bank lender to be included. Linked Finance, which is one of Ireland’s largest P2P lending platforms, is now… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based Investart, an online investing service with an intuitive “click-of-a-button” platform that’s intended for all users (especially to beginners), has dropped its commissions on transactions to zero. Customers have the option to choose between creating and managing their own investments or accepting portfolio allocations recommended… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 7:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mobile payments adoption in Switzerland had not really picked up when compared to some other markets, however, this has changed during the past couple years, according to a study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. Recent data shows that 40% of the Swiss population… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 11:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Cashplus, a banking and credit services provider for SMBs and consumers, has entered a definitive agreement to acquire the current account portfolio of icount. The amount paid for the acquisition has not been shared publicly. The deal, which may be finalized in early 2021,… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based SafeSide Life, a digital life insurance solution provider, has teamed up with miira, a comparison platform for enhancing personal retirement planning (that’s powered by PostFinance’s Innovation Lab). Through the partnership, the companies will aim to improve how consumers analyze financial protection requirements and subsequently… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 3:36 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

CoinShares, a European digital asset investment firm, announced on Tuesday its XBT Provider line of exchange-traded products reached record trading volumes on Monday, January 4, 2021. CoinShares reported that with more than €162M ($202M) in XBT certificates changing hands traded on the market’s first day… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 8:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Erik Kaju, Director of Engineering, Cards and Spend at Fintech firm TransferWise, notes that after the introduction of the money transfer service’s debit Mastercard back in 2018, they’ve taken the card to more than 30 countries on four different continents. TransferWise claims that more than… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 7:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital bank Revolut has reportedly outpaced competitors Monzo and Starling in terms of the number of downloads during 2020. Notably, Revolut saw more app downloads last year than Monzo and Starling Bank combined. As first reported by the Telegraph, Revolut’s online banking app grew more… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 11:04 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Governance.com, a Luxembourg-based fintech that provides technology-enabled governance solutions, has raised nearly €450,000 through its equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. The funding round, which originally sought to raise €250,000, has so far attracted more than 355 Crowdcube investors. As previously reported, Gorvernance.com was founded… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 12:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech companies are reportedly urging the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to “break” banks during 2021. A group of London-based startups is asking the FCA to look into ending the control and dominance of traditional banking institutions, specifically their use of consumer data. The companies… Read More

January 2, 2021 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Levent Künzi, Co-founder and CEO of Properti, a technology-driven real estate firm focused on modernizing residential real estate in Europe, has shared the company’s key milestones from last year in an annual review 2020 update. Künzi confirmed that Properti handled CHF 69 million (appr. $77.52… Read More

January 2, 2021 @ 1:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Lithuania-based Debitum platform, which offers borderless small business financing, was closed on December 31, 2020, for maintenance. Debitum’s management noted that as we enter the new year, Debitum also has “something new.” Debitum added that they had already informed their investors and business partners… Read More