Tagged: europe

January 15, 2024 @ 8:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s ThinCats is reporting that lending is up more than 30% in 2023 to record levels. In total, ThinCats has now lent “more than £1.7bn to businesses across the UK while assets under management stand at £790 million.” Despite a challenging economic environment, ThinCats has… Read More

January 15, 2024 @ 5:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

‍Small business optimism returns in 2024, as half of SMEs anticipate growth this year, according to new research from iwoca – which claims to be one of Europe’s largest small business lenders. iwoca also mentioned that nearly half (47%) of small business owners “surveyed expect… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Defining “competitiveness” in financial services is not a simple task, according to an extensive industry report. The aim of the report, produced by Luxembourg for Finance (LFF) in partnership with OMFIF, is to consider “the relative competitiveness of the European financial services industry against their… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

bunq, a Dutch digital banking platform, has started describing itself as “the first AI-powered bank in Europe.” However, like most firms that claim to leverage AI, there is more hype than actual value being delivered to consumers. During the past few years, artificial intelligence has… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

High growth businesses generally own few tangible assets, but can be rich in IP and intangible assets, according to an update shared by NatWest Group. These businesses can find it difficult “to use their assets as collateral to secure growth funding, especially when compared with… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 4:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CoinShares International Limited (Nasdaq Stockholm: CS; US OTCQX: CNSRF) announced it has exercised the option to acquire Valkyrie Funds LLC, the U.S. digital asset manager’s investment advisory business specializing “in actively managed cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, from Valkyrie Investments Inc.” CoinShares‘ decision to exercise this option… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 7:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CaixaBank and KfW IPEX-Bank are jointly providing HOCHTIEF financing for the interim construction financing of the PPP project Frankfurt (Germany) judiciary center. The project volume is in the low three-digit million range and “includes the parallel construction of two new judicial buildings in the Frankfurt… Read More

January 13, 2024 @ 4:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Spectrum Markets, the pan-European trading venue for securities saw a surge in overnight activity on products “linked to bitcoin, in the hours following the SEC’s announcement approving the first spot bitcoin ETF.” The volume of bitcoin-linked instruments “traded on Spectrum Wednesday was five times higher… Read More

January 13, 2024 @ 10:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

According to Office for National Statistics data published recently, there is now a record number of people in the UK “aged over 90 in England and Wales, up by 2.1% in 2022 to 550,835 people,” the team at PensionBee noted. The number of centenarians (people… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 8:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ransomware incidents reported to UK financial regulators doubled in 2023, according to an extensive update shared with CI. A Picus Security FOI analysis of cyber incidents reported “to the Financial Conduct Authority reveals an increase in ransomware incidents in the first half of 2023.” Picus… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 3:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Andaria, a fintech company, is pleased to announce its collaboration with Mastercard (NYSE: MA) to empower its embedded finance proposition. This alliance with Mastercard signifies a considered to be “a major milestone and a pivotal role in Andaria’s mission to enhance the quality of its… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 2:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Pacaso, the technology-enabled real estate marketplace that helps people buy, co-own, and sell a vacation home, announces its operational expansion into Paris, marking the company’s inaugural entry into the vibrant French real estate landscape. With the introduction of Paris, Pacaso marks its “expansion into 40… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 12:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Currencycloud, the experts simplifying business in a multi-currency world, has partnered with multifi, the UK-based cashflow management platform, in order “to provide UK-based small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with an enhanced international payment solution, allowing them to seamlessly convert and send funds to their global… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 10:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

OVO Network, a specialist in high-end, self-catered chalets in the Alps, has selected Mangopay, a modular and flexible payment infrastructure provider for marketplaces and platforms, to streamline the end-to-end payment process for its holiday property rental services. Mangopay will provide an optimized payments integration, “tailored… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 5:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

GoCardless, the bank payment company, has extended its relationship with JustGiving to become the online donation platform’s exclusive open banking payment provider, replacing American Express. The move will see JustGiving use both the fintech’s Instant Bank Pay feature “to collect instant, one-off gifts and its… Read More

January 9, 2024 @ 8:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Financing a new business can be one of the biggest hurdles entrepreneurs face, according to an update shared by UK’s Starling Bank. Some 85% of UK startups launched in the last three years “have relied on the founder’s personal capital as the initial source of… Read More

January 7, 2024 @ 6:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BBVA is looking to spot and train the best in-house talent in the use of the large language models (LLMs) that are behind the success of the likes of ChatGPT, as it drives the exploration of projects based on generative artificial intelligence. To succeed in… Read More

January 6, 2024 @ 10:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

New data from Nationwide shows that cash usage continues “to rise as many households respond to the cost-of-living crisis by budgeting with physical money.” That data also shows where the building society is “the last remaining branch in town, the growth in usage is at… Read More

January 5, 2024 @ 8:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is set to become the next “great place” to invest in as Western European businesses “seek new places to nearshore, offshore, or get access to growing consumer markets,” according to an update from iBanFirst. iBanFirst, a global provider of foreign… Read More

January 5, 2024 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed the acquisition of 6point6, a U.K. technology consultancy, specializing in cloud, data, and cybersecurity. The acquisition enhances Accenture’s strategy and architecture capabilities, “with a particular emphasis on central government, defense and security, and financial services.” The acquisition was previously “announced… Read More