Tagged: united kingdom

UK GDP Ekes Out Positive Number for February

The UK economy barely posted a positive figure in February, according to the Office for National Statistics.  Monthly GDP is said to have grown by 0.1% in February 2024, following growth of 0.3% in January 2024. The consecutive growth indicates that the UK has exited… Read More

UK Consumers Four Times More Likely to Save than Spend – Consumer Spending Report

Half of consumers say they have cut non-essential spend in the first quarter of the year and consumers are four times more likely to save than spend, according to new research from KPMG UK. KPMG UK’s Consumer Pulse survey tracks the quarterly confidence and spending… Read More

Digital Bank bunq Reports New Funding with Plans for US Expansion

Digital bank bunq has reported a net profit of €53 million for 2023 as part of its annual report. bunq also revealed that it acquired additional funding of €29 million from its existing backers. This is reportedly part of Bunq’s efforts for expanding business operations… Read More

UK Mortgage Market Showing Recovery Signs – Research Report

According to new data from Experian, mortgage applications in the first two months of 2024 showed positive signs that consumers are returning to the market, with numbers increasing 20% against the same period last year. The data shows that the market is still some way… Read More

Mimo, a Payments, Money Management Provider for SMEs, Raises £15.5 Million

Mimo, a UK-based platform that supports global payments, cash flow, and financial management for SMEs and finance professionals, has raised £15.5 million in funding. Northzone led the funding round. Other investors include Cocoa Ventures, Seedcamp, and Upfin VC, with an asset-backed facility arranged by Fost…. Read More

Performance Finance Gains £15 Million From British Business Bank

Performance Finance Limited has received a £15 million facility from the British Business Bank.  Performance Finance will use the funds to support to smaller businesses to accelerate their growth. Performance Finance provides financing for professionals like opticians, dentists, solicitors, vets, and surgeons. This includes business loans,… Read More

UK FCA Reports Consumers are Struggling to Pay Bills

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a report on consumer debt. The FCA states that 7.4 million people are struggling to pay bills and credit card debt (January 2024).  While this is lower than the 10.9 million in January 2023 who were encountering… Read More

The Third Way: A New Model for Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

The world of finance is at a crossroads. With its legacy systems and ingrained practices, the traditional financial system (TradFi) struggles to keep pace with the rapid innovations of decentralised finance. At the same time, decentralised finance (DeFi), while promising increased accessibility and transparency, often… Read More

Salt Edge Says Open Banking and Open Finance Are Diverging

While the number of users benefiting from Open Banking continues to increase worldwide, there is a divergence between the concept of Open Banking and Open Finance – at least according to Salt Edge. Salt Edge is an open banking platform that provides services interested in… Read More

UK’s Lloyds Bank Is Introducing Ready-Made Pension to Make Saving for Retirement Easier

Lloyds Bank is launching Ready-Made Pension in order to make saving for retirement easier. Just two fifths (42%) of the UK population know “how to contribute more into their pension,” according to new research from Lloyds Bank. The same study also found “that of those… Read More

Payments Provider Mercuryo Joins CryptoUK

Advocacy group CryptoUK has added a new member – Mercuryo, a payments provider. Mercury enables payments by supporting businesses with both fiat and crypto solutions via a single API integration. Mercuryo has partnered with digital asset firms like Ledger, MetaMask and Trust Wallet. CryptoUK says Mercuryo… Read More

UK’s Lending Standards Board Announces Appointments of Key Non-Executive Directors

The Lending Standards Board (LSB) has added a wealth of policy and governance expertise to its Board with the Non-Executive Director appointments of broadcaster Iain Dale, economic authority Paul Johnson CBE and charity sector leader Caron Bradshaw OBE. Iain, Paul and Caron replaced Liz Barclay… Read More

Ecommpay Introduces Direct Debit Capabilities with GoCardless Embed

Ecommpay, an international Payment Service Provider and UK & Europe direct bank card acquirer, has launched Direct Debit payments across BACS and SEPA with bank payment company GoCardless. By using GoCardless Embed — the fintech’s white-labeled solution that allows payment service providers (PSP) to integrate… Read More

UK’s PensionBee Research Reveals Consumers Support Shareholder Resolutions Ahead of AGM Season

A study by PensionBee reveals a strong belief among pension savers that shareholder resolutions can convey robust messages to management and address areas of concern, ahead of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) season. The nationally representative study of 1,000 UK pension savers showed “a… Read More

ClearBank Reports Increase in Income and Deposits, Posts Annual Pre-Tax Profit for FY 2023

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking for financial institutions, today presents the results from its 2023 Annual Report. It shows ClearBank’s first full year of profitability, “with strong growth in income, platform and transaction fees, deposits, and clients.” In a challenging and… Read More

Payments Provider Zilch Partners with Checkout.com

Zilch has announced a partnership with Checkout.com. The “multi-year contract” is expected to boost Zilch’s growth and “accelerate towards their endgame of capturing total share of consumer wallet.” Checkout.com supports 45 currencies and coverage in over 45 markets.  Checkout.com is said to offer fast and… Read More

British Business Bank Extends ENABLE Funding Facility with Time Finance

The British Business Bank has agreed a facility increase that will provide £29.4m of funding to smaller UK businesses, through an existing ENABLE Funding transaction with independent specialist finance provider, Time Finance. The additional funding brings the total small business funding “available through the facility… Read More

Investment Scams in the UK Claim Over £2M Per Week – Report

Metro Bank is advising about investment scams which is its Scam of the Month for April – last year the Bank reported over six victims every week. UK Finance reports investment scams at “over £2m per week and Metro Bank has already seen over £4m… Read More

UK’s LendInvest Mortgages Reduces Rates and Announces BTL Offer to Support First-time Landlords

LendInvest Mortgages, the UK’s platform for mortgages, has announced a limited edition Easter incentive for its Buy-to-Let landlord customers as it reduces rates up to 15bps. The limited edition offer is targeted “at first-time landlords, and offers free valuations on Small HMO properties up to… Read More

Digital Securities Draft Guidance Revealed by UK FCA, Bank of England: Digital Securities Sandbox Nears

sand, sandbox

While everyone understands that securities will inevitably become digital, policymakers have been slow to provide an ecosystem to support the nuances intrinsic to the transition from analog. Eventually, digital securities will become the dominant sector of digital assets, and clear-cut rules are needed. Today, the… Read More

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