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  • user 3:36 pm on June 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , one, , Stars,   

    London’s Fintechs: Top 10 Rising Stars 

    Although not as large as in the US, London has a burgeoning startup ecosystem that leads the European market. In the field of #fintech, though, London is the world’s number #one.

    The UK, which employs some 61,000 people in the financial #technology sector, ranks ahead of other competitors. In 2015, fintech generated £6.6 billion (US$ 9.41 billion) in revenue, and accounted for 32% of all revenues generated across in-scope regions.

    london fintech startups 2016

    Image credit: Tower Bridge in London by Mapics, via Shutterstock.com

    In a report commissioned by the UK&8217;s HM Treasury released earlier this year, EY argues that the UK&8217;s strong fintech ecosystem could be in part explained by its world-leading fintech policy environment. This prosperous environment includes supportive regulatory initiatives, tax incentives, and government programs designed to promote competition and innovation.

    London in particular has a number of very successful fintech startups which grew on to become unicorns. These billion-dollar ventures include Skrill, the popular e-commerce business providing online payments and money transfers services; Wonga, a payday loan company offering “short-term, high-cost credit;” TransferWise, a peer-to-peer money transfer service; Funding Circle, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace; and Markit Group, which provides independent data, trade processing of derivatives, foreign exchange and loans, customized technology platforms and managed services.

    Powa Technologies, once valued at US$ 2.7 billion, collapsed into administration in February this year after blowing through more than US$ 200 million of investors&8217; money. Powa Technologies, which provides mobile commerce and e-commerce services, was struggling to sign clients, struggling with management dysfunction and a demoralized workshop, according to a report by Business Insider.

    Powa, which appointed Deloitte as administrators following its failure, was eventually broken up and two of its units, namely PowaWeb and PowaTag, were sold to separate groups of investors.

    Like anywhere else, there are winners and losers, but today, we will focus on London&8217;s top 10 #rising #stars:

     

    WorldRemit

    worldremit logo london fintech startupsFounded in 2009, WorldRemit offers much cheaper international money transfer services than traditional players and further allows users to send money to and from smartphones.

    WorldRemit has raised over US$ 145 million so far and was valued at US$ 500 million in a US$ 100 million funding round last year, according to the Financial Times.

     

    RateSetter

    RateSetter london fintechRateSetter is a peer-to-peer lender that lets users lend their savings out to individual borrowers. The platform has lent over £1.2 billion (US$ 1.72 billion) since launching in 2009.

    RateSetter has raised over US$ 10 million in funding so far. The company is known for having introduced the concept of a &8220;provision fund&8221; into peer-to-peer lending and has recently announced plans to broaden its client list to include small and middle-sized enterprises.

     

    Crowdcube

    crowdcube london fintechFounded in 2011, Crowdcube is an equity crowdfunding platform that lets companies raise money by selling shares online, and people to purchase equity in unlisted, UK-registered, businesses.

    The platform has helped 400 businesses raise over £160 million (US$ 228 million) from over 280,000 investors since it launched in 2011. Crowdcube has raised US$ 18.6 million in funding so far.

     

    Zopa

    zopa london fintechFounded in 2005, Zopa is the world&8217;s oldest and Europe&8217;s largest peer-to-peer lending platform service that lets users lend money to others. Zopa, an award-winning loan provider, has lent over £1.53 billion (US$ 2.19 billion).

    Zopa is also a founding member of the Peer 2 Peer Finance Association industry group. The company has recently branched into the car loan refinance market and phone finance.

    Zopa has raised over US$ 55 million in funding.

     

    Seedrs

    seedrs fintech londonSeedrs is an equity crowdfunding platform for investing in startups and later-stage businesses throughout Europe. Founded in 2012, the platform lets users invest as little as £10 or €10 into the businesses.

    Seedrs has allowed £130 million to be invested in over 350 deals since the platform launched. In 2015 alone, 38,000 individual investments were made on Seedrs worth £64 million (US$ 91.5 million).

    Seedrs has raised over US$ 21 million in funding so far.

     

    iwoca

    iwoca fintech londoniwoca is an award-winning finance provider for small businesses in the UK, Poland, Spain and Germany. iwoca offers flexible credit, allowing businesses to get up to £100,000 in credit facility. The company is partnered with Alibaba to offer a trade finance product, e-Credit Line, to businesses purchasing from Chinese suppliers.

    iwoca has raised US$ 31 million in funding. The company was founded in 2011 by two ex-investment bankers from Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

     

    Atom Bank

    atom bank london fintechAtom Bank is what we call a &8220;neo-bank,&8221; a branchless, app-only bank. Founded in 2014, Atom Bank received its banking license in June 2015 and launched its app in April 2016.

    Atom Bank is backed by Spanish bank BBVA, Woodford Investment Management and Toscafund Asset, and has raised over US$ 196 million so far. Atom Bank is targeted at the millennial generation.

     

    Currency Cloud

    currency cloud fintech londonCurrency Cloud provides &8220;cross-border payments as a service.&8221; The company&8217;s platform leverages the cloud to provide access to and optimize across a multitude of payment networks and exchange rate providers, and at cheaper costs. Currency Cloud&8217;s technology powers some of the industry&8217;s biggest names including WorldRemit and TransferWise.

    Founded in 2012, Currency Cloud has raised US$ 35 million in funding.

     

    Tandem

    tandem bank fintech londonFounded in 2014, Tandem is an app-only bank which made headlines earlier this year when it successfully raised £1 million (US$ 1.43 million) in its first crowdfunding round in just 15 minutes.

    Tandem, which has yet to launch, has already been granted a banking license and has been valued at £65 million (US$ 92.9 million), according to Business Insider.

     

    SETL

    Setl blockchain fintech londonFounded in 2015, SETL develops and provides #blockchain infrastructure for finance firms.

    SETL has launched earlier this month the OpenCSD, a blockchain powered platform that enables market participants to run permissioned registry service for payments, settlement and clearing of cash and other financial instruments.

     

    If you are interested in learning more about London&8217;s fintech scene and emerging trends in digital finance, two events will take place in London in the coming months.

    London Fintech Week, which will take place between July 15 and 22, 2016, will dive into the city&8217;s thriving fintech community. The week-long event will tackle anything from blockchain tech, payments technologies, to capital markets and insurtech.

    Special Offer: Sign up now with code FTSW to get 15% discount for event registration!

    Another event, the Global Expansion Summit, will cover the broader digital economy on October 17 and 18.

    Special Offer: Sign up now with code FINTECHNEWS to get 20% discount for event registration!

     

    Featured image: Millennium Bridge in London, by Songquan Deng, via Shutterstock.com.

    The post London&8217;s Fintechs: Top 10 Rising Stars appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 12:18 pm on June 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , EyePopping, , , , , , ,   

    Citi Shows Off the Eye-Popping Power of Virtual Reality for Trading [VIDEO] 

    We’ll say this: #virtual #reality #trading looks cool. Citigroup released a #video earlier this week that #shows the potential (tremendous) #power of virtual reality to present data for trading. The example used is a trader at a workstation with a massive monitor — the #technology could equally be used with mobile devices &8212;Read More
    Bank Innovation

     

  • user 3:35 am on June 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply
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    Blockchain to Optimize and Secure Client Data Information – Part 2 

    Blockchain application in financial data and compliance

    Blockchain makes the top secured financial transactions controllable

    The financial services industry is another major area in which #client #information must be securely protected to prevent market manipulation. At the same time, however, compliance divisions must be aware of the identity of trading counterparties in order to mitigate potential money-laundering activity. As such, a system which balances both compliance requirements and trading anonymity is required.

    Indeed, regulators may find the anonymity of #blockchain a challenge to wholly approve, as it makes it difficult for them to conduct their ‘know your customer’ (KYC) checks to prevent money laundering. Blockchain’s close association with #Bitcoin, moreover, hasn’t helped matters, especially as the #cryptocurrency has been notoriously used in criminal activity, and even funding for terrorist activity.

     

    Blockchain offers solutions to AML

    In November, Israeli start-up Polycoin showcased its blockchain-based compliance service, which will provide a verification system for financial transactions. This will help compliance officers to handle their anti-money laundering (AML) and KYC requirements. Polycoin’s platform scrutinizes financial transactions to try and identify who they are from, and they are then placed into a ranking system. Those transactions deemed as being suspicious – such as an AML breach – will be identified by Polycoin’s platform, which will then send an alert to compliance for further investigation.

    Polycoin CEO Alfred Shaffir thinks his firm can provide a complete solution for blockchain compliance, and considers Polycoin’s innovations could have as profound an impact as digital financial crime prevention tool ‘NICE Actimize’ had in the late 1990s. As such, Shaffir is of the opinion that for any bank working with blockchain, transformation of compliance systems and procedures will be their first priority.

    Indeed, #banks have already responded positively to Polycoin’s proposals, with the start-up participating in the innovation accelerator project in Israel conducted by financial services giant Citi, while also being chosen as one of 10 participants out of 170 applicants for Finnish bank Nordea’s accelerator in Helsinki. Shaffir has stated that Polycoin has received much interest from those banks that are interested in integrating blockchain into their businesses in the future.

    Blockchain compliance specialist Tradle is simplifying the KYC process even further. Last August saw London’s Startupbootcamp #FinTech accelerator take place, where Tradle CEO Gene Vayngrib explained how blockchain #technology could ease the costly pain of compliance for banks. The company is creating a user-friendly smartphone interface that will allow documentation to be sent electronically, thus eliminating the need for inefficient paper-based communication. Furthermore, within each bank currently, separate KYC checks are conducted across products, divisions, locations and subsidiaries &8211; this lack of sharing elevates KYC costs unnecessarily.

    Vayngrib instead proposes a blockchain-based app called Trust in Motion which stores KYC #data on a permitted ledger and which all authorized parties can access when required. He calls it the Instagram for KYC, as clients can snap a picture of their ID documents (their passport, for example) and send it directly to the bank. Once the compliance officer verifies the pictures using authentication processes, the documents are digitally signed and put onto the blockchain which, assuming the appropriate authorizations have been granted, can be co-managed by the bank and the client for updates and reverifications.

     

    Blockchain automates AML procedures

    The technology could also be extended to include AML rules, whereby instead of having to prove to regulators that AML checks have been conducted by sending them mounds of data, automatic procedures can be established that perform AML duties such as the reporting of suspicious transactions. According to Vayngrib, the blockchain method wholly preserves the privacy of the data, while the regulator “could get information about suspicious transactions without banks sharing a lot of raw, private data with them”.

    While regulators will like the fact that blockchain’s verification process involves a network of users providing authentication and security, bankers on the other hand will not like this lack of privacy, particularly when it comes to sensitive trading data. Furthermore, financial institutions (and other companies) have suffered numerous data breaches in recent years that have cost them dearly.

    Even if several banks are operating on a shared private ledger (with only a limited number of network users), each bank will still want to keep data from every other user in the network. Banks are extremely secretive about the business they transact, as well as the clients with whom they conduct business, meaning that this information can’t be disclosed to competitors, even on a private blockchain.

    The post Blockchain to Optimize and Secure Client Data Information &8211; Part 2 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 12:18 am on June 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , DAO’s, , , , , Viability   

    $60 Million Hack Raises Questions About DAO’s Viability 

    This morning, the US woke up to a financial meltdown. But not the kind you’d expect. Early this morning, #cryptocurrency exchange operators got urgent orders to halt trading activity on ethers, the cryptocurrency behind the #blockchain platform Ethereum. The reason: nearly $ 60 #million of ethers were #hack (i.e. stolen). The hack hasRead More
    Bank Innovation

     

  • user 7:57 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
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    Bank of England Explores Blockchain, Says Digital Currency is Far Off 

    The #Bank of #England is continuing to explore distributed ledger #technology as part of a wider embrace of financial technology.
    fintech techcrunch

     

  • user 7:12 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Hybrid Mobile Financial Commerce & Services 

    AAEAAQAAAAAAAAKyAAAAJGFkY2RmY2EwLTFjNzItNDVlNS1iYTk2LTAzMjEzODQwNjI1Mw

    The evolution of financial payment systems has been a long but interesting journey characterised by sudden changes in underlying #technology. Financial payments and banking started in a very inefficient and traditional way which was slow but still acceptable to the customers due to the stage in the information age. Initially, almost all the fun and joy in terms one double zero percent in shape of activities in the #financial services (Except Non-Banking Services) space was attributable to #banks with all the revenue being collected by the same entities. With advancement in technology, organisations outside the banking industry diversified into financial services targeting margins in the space. These were organisations servicing millions of customers through broad distribution channels, be they #mobile operators, retailers or on-line merchants.

    The phrase mobile #commerce was originally coined in 1997 to mean “the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology Singapore’s e-commerce market will hit US$2.99 billion while m-commerce will reach US$1.18 billion by end-2014, clocking an annual growth of 38 percent and 65 percent, respectively, between 2011 and 2014, according to the latest stats released by PayPal with the average consumer forking out US$1,861 a year on purchases. By 2018.

    301c7de

    In the early days, banking services were basic; covering deposits, withdrawals, loan processing and interest capitalisation. These transactions were conducted in-branch and one had to physically visit a marble banking hall to conduct the banking transactions also same branch hall all the time. Access to banking services was restricted to the banks operating hours. Slowly, transactions evolved from being intra-bank to interbank with settlements being conducted through a settlement partner..

    The introduction of magnetic stripe technology upped the tempo by allowing transactions on ATMs and POS machines through debit and credit cards. ATMs brought about 24×7 access to banking services and the underlying technology evolved from simple cash dispensers to deposit handlers which allow customers to perform a multitude of transaction sets which were previously confined to a brick and mortar banking hall.

    The internet age brought about an era which took banking to the comfort of one’s home or office. However, internet banking was quickly coupled with mobile banking which was SMS based in the initial days. Mobile banking paved the unity and collaboration between mainstream banks and telecommunication companies. This fusion brought about the rise of mobile financial services. The most common form of mobile financial services is mobile money – Empowers a service provider with a set of distinct features that provides an intuitive and convenient way for managing service channels with various interfaces under single roof and covers airtime purchase, peer to peer transfers, bill payment and merchant payment. With these advancements, the mobile handset has become a critical channel to accessing financial services. Due to the heavy involvement of regulators in this space, most mobile money services focused on the banked customers. Mobile money services in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and many other African countries took a radical move and focused on the under banked segment of the market. Most of these operations were successful due to the extremely low banking penetration rate, flexible regulation, market need and low trust in banks. Today, mobile penetration has reached levels equal to or surpassing population levels of multiple countries across the globe. Financial services is a key need of any human being and it makes sense to enable multiple sets of financial tools and features on mobile phones.

    Mobile Money Solution has got the edge over existing solutions in this domain because of it’s economical and ubiquitous, Flexible & Scalable nature. Singapore’s e-commerce sector will further increase by 13 percent annually while m-commerce will grow 15 percent. To continue its growth and begin to fulfil the promise of an e-money economy, industry stakeholders must work together to unleash convergence, drive customer acquisition, and refine enable technology. Mobile money must have a clear appeal to consumers, the public sector, and the private sector. The Mobile Money system identified a number of key lessons for all of the industry’s stakeholders. Primary among these was that mobile money’s development value rests in its ability to facilitate financial sector inclusion. To do so will require financial institutions and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to work together with regulators on a country-by-country basis. Smartphones, tablets, and, in the near future, watches, eyewear and other wearables, will emerge as new points of sale. Online retailers with a well planned, flawlessly executed, and tightly integrated mobile presence stand to gain the most. More impulse buys come from mobile, with clothes, books, and music noted as leading impulse buys. In 2014, mobile commerce was expected rise to $57 billion (Google as source). By 2017, mobile is poised to represent nearly a third of all digital sales at $115 billion (Google as source). In 2013, physical and digital retailer, Target raked in 43 percent of its digital sales from mobile-only users(www.internetretailer.com)

    Savvy mobile shoppers use their devices for more than just clicking the “Buy Now” button. According to a 2013 survey from Deloitte, smartphone owners used their devices to find store locations (56 percent), check and compare prices (54 percent) and get product information (47 percent). Mobile is disrupting the way we browse a store’s showroom. Over a third of users report consulting mobile devices in-store to compare retailers and one out of five go mobile in the store to view products on the store’s website. More importantly for retailers, mobile shoppers were prepared to spend 27 percent more on holiday gifts than non-smartphone owners.

    The mobile movement isn’t just for traditional retailers. By integrating mobile into insurance claims processing, the process has become 30 percent more efficient. Looking ahead to 2015, over 80 percent of insurers plan to be using mobile technologies in claims, customer service and field sales.(http://www.baselinemag.com)

    On a lighter side Recession & Depression are not synonyms as use of them are way apart like if you don’t make money in business thats recession and if your neighbour makes money from same business thats depression

    Banks lost out on revenue from mobile transactions as MMS became increasingly popular. Major success factors of MMS being the flexibility to transact at anytime, anywhere and with access to make payments to utility bill companies, airtime sellers and merchants. To maintain relevance, banks started working on technology based payment solutions in collaboration with card companies and opened their doors to all customers and services. This brought about the merger of mobile money services, mobile financial services and mobile banking services. With this fusion, cross border remittances, peer to peer transfers, payment for water, DTH, electricity, internet subscriptions, income tax transactions can be completed within seconds.

    Of late, we have seen companies like Apple bringing NFC functionality on mobile handsets in a bid to claim a share of the mobile payment industry. Whenever an entity outside the telecommunications industry offers a joint payment service with an MNO, the resultant is a hybrid mobile financial and banking service.

    Technology is moving beyond 24×7 access so the MFIs (Cross Border & Oceans Remittances, micro loans, micro savings, micro insurance, share trading and ecommerce) should consider occupying this scape. If we evaluate payment channels we see that mobile handsets (via SMS, USSD, NFC, QR Codes, WAP, APP), ATMs, POS, internet, debit/credit card companies and money transfer agencies are widely accepted and available for payments along with Money Transfer for Inter/Intra banks/cities/currencies/countries/continents.

     

  • user 3:53 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: $12M, ClearTax, , , , , , ,   

    India’s ClearTax raises $12M to expand into new financial services 

    tax #ClearTax, which helps Indians file their tax returns online with minimum stress, is on a roll this year. The Bengaluru-based company, which graduated Y Combinator two years ago, announced a $ 12 million Series A round today, just one month after closing a $ 2 million seed round following an initial $ 1.3 million raise. Read More


    fintech techcrunch

     

  • user 3:35 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , ,   

    Blockchain To Optimize and Secure Client Data Information – Part 1 

    As #data becomes increasingly powerful, meaningful and valuable, concerns over its security are on the rise. Indeed, ‘big data’ has become the recent buzz-term to describe the ever-expanding, often-unstructured nature of important #information, and has opened extensive discussions over how to approach ensuring data integrity is maintained.

     

    Data Security

    One of the primary appeals of #blockchain is the security it provides, which prevents such data from being hacked. The data is fed into the system, where an encrypted code – known as a ‘hash’ value – is created for each initial transaction. Unique hashes are then combined (which allows large amounts of data to be processed), before being placed onto the block’s header along with a timestamp. At this point, the header becomes #part of a cryptographic puzzle which must be solved by the blockchain’s network of users – through a trial and error process, from trillions of possibilities – before it is finally added to the blockchain. This layered system of security, therefore, is being sought after by industries in which #client information is of a highly personal and/or valuable nature.

     

    Blockchain application in healthcare

    One of the most eagerly anticipated applications of blockchain is in healthcare, an industry which has long needed to undergo data optimization. In late January 2015, US health insurance provider Anthem learned of a massive cyberattack to its IT system, which ended up compromising a staggering 80 million patient and employee records. Because only one entity was being used to keep records of sensitive client health information, all data became readily available to the hackers from this single source.

    The blockchain, however, uses cryptography to enable security in record-keeping, as well as sometimes using a system of ‘multi-signatures’, whereby gaining approval to the blockchain – and access to client data – requires the approval of several authorised users. Moreover, this can apply to all client data. Given the intensely private nature of such information, it requires the utmost protection, which blockchain can provide. Information relating to the client’s identity, medical history, specific diagnoses, treatments undergone and much more can thus be protected.

     

    US companies lead the early blockchain explorations in healthcare

    The US is currently leading the way in much of the early explorations, although the Dutch health giant Philips Healthcare is also investigating blockchain’s scope for use in the health industry. Little has been revealed about Philips’ project, other than it is in collaboration with Tierion, a start-up which is facilitating the collection and storage of big data on the blockchain. Tierion uses a system called chainpoint to ensure that all the data can be verified by blockchain receipts and timestamps. Meanwhile, California-based blockchain company Gem is also examining blockchain’s healthcare potential.

    Gem CEO Micah Winkelspecht believes blockchain’s true benefit will be realized once independent parties within the health industry can be connected to the ledger to manage the lifecycle of a hospital bill. The blockchain, therefore, could be used to manage payments for numerous parties, including “insurance companies, hospital billing departments, lenders, and patients”, and Winkelspecht is now in discussion with relevant stakeholders within the health industry to explore this possibility. From there, Winkelspecht attests that blockchain can then be used “to manage the lifecycle of a patient’s medical record”, among other uses.

    US blockchain company Factom, which is currently working with the Honduran government to provide greater security for the country’s land registry data, has also partnered with medical records and services solutions provider, HealthNautica, whose clients include hospitals and physicians, in order to use blockchain to enhance the security of medical records and achieve efficiency in claims processing. HealthNautica’s data, ranging from medical bills and client-physician communications to claims and disputes, will be cryptographically encoded by Factom, which produces a digital fingerprint of the data which is time-stamped and verified.

    Patient confidentiality is maintained throughout because at no point is client data seen by third parties, Factom included. HealthNautica president Shailesh Bhobe calls Factom’s blockchain #technology the “perfect fit” for improving the security of its data, while board member Andrew Yaschuk believes that if health insurance companies are also educated on the merits of blockchain, all parties can be involved in verifying claims data while still protecting client confidentiality.

    The post Blockchain To Optimize and Secure Client Data Information &8211; Part 1 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 2:42 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    The Emerging Value Chain Ecosystem in Marketplace Lending 

    In ye olden days it was called P2P #Lending. You can still see the vestiges of that model in services such as Lending Club and Prosper. Everything happened on one service. However as these marketplaces grew, a networked #ecosystem has started to emerge. We are 100% confident that this networkedRead More
    Bank Innovation

     

  • user 2:42 pm on June 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
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    The evolution of the mobile payment 

    mobilepay It’s anticipated that there will be more than 4.8 billion individuals using a #mobile phone by the end of 2016. Because of this enormous growth, we can expect to see the mobile payments industry and startups in the space evolve to meet the growing demands of users. To understand how big this industry is going to be, you need to understand the history of mobile payments and their… Read More


    fintech techcrunch

     

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