Tagged: united kingdom

April 30, 2024 @ 10:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK small business hiring continued to show signs of recovery in the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment, with employment rising 1.4% year-on-year (y/y) in the first quarter of the year (January-March 2024). According to the latest Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) data from global… Read More

April 29, 2024 @ 7:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Liz Oakes has been appointed and Carolyn Wilkins has been reappointed as external members of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has announced. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has appointed Liz Oakes as “an external member of… Read More

April 28, 2024 @ 11:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

British Business Investments announces a £15m facility to Catfoss Finance Limited. The transaction will be structured as “a block discounting agreement that will allow Catfoss to provide funding support to smaller businesses looking to acquire business-critical assets to accelerate their growth.” British Business Investments, a… Read More

April 28, 2024 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Powering embedded banking/BaaS, The Bank of London launches TBOL AI code assistant enabling rapid integration with banking APIs. The Bank of London officially introduces the TBOL Artificial Intelligence code assistant, using generative AI capabilities powering clients and developers “to build at speed, applications, products and services via The Bank… Read More

April 28, 2024 @ 1:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), the global card issuing platform that enables embedded finance solutions for the world’s innovators, today announced a partnership with OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, to offer a commercial card for OakNorth’s Business Banking customers. Thanks to the speed, flexibility… Read More

April 28, 2024 @ 9:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital bank Monzo is reportedly expanding its fundraising to £500 million as part of a round which includes capital from Hedosophia. This, according to an update from Sky News. Sources revealed on Sunday that Monzo might confirm as soon as this week that Hedosophia and… Read More

April 27, 2024 @ 4:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Manchester City has announced a new multi-year partnership with Quidd, one of the world’s  digital collectible platforms. Quidd is providing new experiences enabling people “to swap and collect digital cards, transforming the football culture pastime of collecting stickers and cards for the modern age through… Read More

April 27, 2024 @ 4:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK experienced a year-on-year (YoY) decline in venture capital (VC) funding deal volume and value during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 as investor sentiment remained weak, the GlobalData report noted. A total of 281 VC deals of worth $2.7 billion were announced during… Read More

April 26, 2024 @ 5:13 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The UK government has granted new powers to the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police forces, effective today, to seize, freeze, and destroy cryptoassets involved in criminal activities, Irish Legal News has reported. This regulatory update addresses the increasing exploitation of cryptocurrencies by criminals, including… Read More

April 26, 2024 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ahead of the anti-greenwashing rule coming into force on 31 May, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is supporting industry with guidance to help them meet the standard. The new rule is designed to protect consumers “by ensuring sustainable products and services they are sold… Read More

April 26, 2024 @ 7:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The British Business Bank has appointed Kristen McLeod CBE as its new Chief Strategy Officer, effective from September 2024. Kristen joins the British Business Bank from HM Treasury, “where she has served as Advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Growth, Investment and Business… Read More

April 25, 2024 @ 9:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Smart Pension, which claims to be one of the UK’s leading workplace pension providers, has appointed Claire Misata as Business Development Director. Claire will lead relationship development for Smart Pension “with trustees and Employee Benefit Consultants (EBCs). Her appointment follows Smart Pension’s recent announcement that… Read More

April 25, 2024 @ 8:59 am By Michael Wong  |  

Thailand-based payment solution company T2P Co Ltd announced a strategic partnership with Wise Platform, an infrastructure provider for banks, Fintechs, and enterprises. Announced Thursday, this alliance positions T2P as the first in Thailand to offer international money transfers without exchange rate markups or hidden fees… Read More

April 25, 2024 @ 8:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Allica Bank has revealed it has lent over £500 million in asset finance. Having launched its asset finance arm in January 2021, Allica says “over the past 12 months it has lent almost double the amount it lent in the previous two years combined.” This comes… Read More

April 25, 2024 @ 4:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

LendInvest Mortgages, the UK’s platform for mortgages, has cut rates across its Residential Mortgage suite as it goes further “to support homebuyer customers who may struggle to get a mortgage on the high street.” LendInvest notes in a blog post that the range now starts… Read More

April 24, 2024 @ 9:27 am By JD Alois  |  

PeppercornAI has raised £3.25 million in a funding round aided by the participation of Wealth Club, which invested £1.9 million in the Insurtech firm. The funding included high-net-worth investors and existing investors EHE Capital and Angels Invest Wales. Wealth Club offers sophisticated investors investment opportunities typically… Read More

April 24, 2024 @ 8:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance, in association with law firm Addleshaw Goddard LLP, is announcing a report on the use of model clauses to support the development of the Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) for commercial applications in the UK. VRPs are a form of payments instruction that “allows… Read More

April 23, 2024 @ 9:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to PensionBee’s latest Pension Confidence Index, Brits feel more positive than negative about their retirement prospects, for the first time in six months. Positive pension sentiment has “surged in the last three months, with the Pension Confidence Indicator soaring to +22 in March 2024.”… Read More

April 23, 2024 @ 8:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CoinMENA B.S.C., a crypto asset platform licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and sister company CoinMENA FZE, licensed by the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), proudly announces a partnership with Zodia Markets, a UK headquartered digital asset trading business, backed by Standard Chartered…. Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, says that inflation could soon “return to target, but risks remain.” Yael Selfin points out that the overall outlook for inflation “remains broadly positive, however there are several risks which could cause a setback.” Yael Selfin adds that Oil prices have… Read More