Hot News
Visa Europe Opens Innovation Hub
Visa Europe has launched an innovation hub, promising to help startups build payments-related technologies and services, with the best being rolled out to the card giant's member banks, retailers and consumers.
Goldman a Lead Investor in Funding Round for Bitcoin Startup Circle
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is one of two lead investors in a $50 million funding round for bitcoin startup Circle Internet Financial Ltd.
Goldman adds its name to a growing list of Wall Street institutions exploring digital-currency technology’s potential to provide faster and cheaper financial transactions and payments.
Hong Kong's Financial Tech Startups to Get Boost with New Bank-Backed Accelerator Programme
Hong Kong’s efforts to build up its credentials in financial technology innovation are primed for a big boost, with the opening today of an “accelerator” programme for start-ups in the field by management consulting giant Accenture.
Social Trading Company ayondo Acquires 6m CHF for International Expansion
Swiss social trading company ayondo announced this week that it has received an additional 6 million CHF (~$6.4 million) from Singaporean private equity group Luminor Capital. The investment will go toward ayondo’s international expansion into Asia.
ayondo had a successful year in 2014, raising 9 million CHF (~$9.6 million) growth funding and entering into a partnership with ProSiebenSat.1’s venture arm, SevenVentures. The partnership helped to strengthen ayondo’s presence in the German market.
PayPal Brings Its Instant Checkout Service “One Touch” Across The Web
PayPal is rolling out seamless, one-touch payments across the web, allowing customers to checkout from a merchant’s website without having to enter in their user ID and password again. The system, called One Touch for Web, is an expansion of PayPal’s earlier efforts on mobile.
Tim Draper leads $1.2M investment in Bitcoin startup Hedgy
Hedgy, a Bitcoin company that hopes to tackle the cryptocurrency’s volatility issues, has emerged from Adam Draper’s Boost accelerator with $1.2 million in hand.
In addition to the funding, the company also announced that its block-chain enabled contracts are now available.
Top Articles
Why We Work in FinTech: Industry Insiders Weigh In
“FinTech is a mission to change the finance sector from its current state as a monopoly, to a more democratic, transparent sector that really serves customers. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, least of all, the traditional finance sector!”
CEO of Kantox, Philippe Gelis, expresses a kind of FinTech manifesto that’s sweeping through tech and finance. It can be heard echoing through the halls at young startups, filling headlines in the media, and even being whispered behind closed doors at major banks and investment firms (Gelis confirms that plenty of young people from Goldman Sachs and more have contacted him about job opportunities). The FinTech forces are alive and strong, and many former banking officials are leaving steady salaries and flocking toward the fledgling startup life – in the name of innovation (or so we think). But what’s really behind these forces, and do they have the power to last for years to come?
FinServ 25: The Most Influential Voices In Banking
Determining the most influential people in banking is not just about social media scores. With this in mind, more than 100 global leaders in the financial services industry were asked to identify the top 'influencers' who are leading the charge in an industry being disrupted. The influencers selected are considered thought leaders on critical topics such as mobile and online delivery, digital transformation, innovation, payments, customer experience and and multichannel marketing.
Industry Convergence In Financial Services Is Accelerating
These days everyone wants to create the next Uber for anything, and the word “disruption” is mentioned across boardrooms and management meetings in nearly all industries. But while discussing the true meaning of disruption and which fintech startups are worth keeping an eye on, incumbents are at risk of overlooking players that once were customers and partners that can quickly become new digital competitors.