Report from the Federal Reserve explores blockchain for payments, clearing and settlement; paper includes information obtained from interviews with approximately 30 industry stakeholders; says distributed ledger technology could improve processes for payments, clearing and settlement however implementation and adoption of the new technology present challenges. Source
Betterment has increased its assets under management (AUM) by approximately $1 billion in eight months; AUM is currently $6.2 billion; diversification to new client segments has significantly helped the firm to grow; beginning as a consumer focused platform, it now has a Betterment for Business platform with approximately 300 customers; the early expansion to businesses primarily underserved by legacy providers is likely to be an advantage for the firm as robo advisor offerings increase. Source
Deutsche Bank has hired Elly Hardwick as head of innovation and Philip Milne as chief technology officer for innovation; both will help to improve internal and external communication and integration of new technologies for the bank; Hardwick will lead the bank's innovation activities and manage the Deutsche Bank Labs; Milne will facilitate communication between the Deutsche Bank Labs and the bank's internal technology organization. Source
RealtyShares closed investment for its Diversified Marketplace Equity Fund on Monday; the platform offers a range of crowdfunded investments including both debt and equity; the Diversified Marketplace Equity Fund offers investors exposure to middle market equity real estate investments in a diversified portfolio with 10 to 20 property investments. Source
A study by Ernst and Young and DBS Bank finds Chinese fintech companies are advanced in their financial innovation services which they are developing for a strong consumer demand; this demand is being driven by minimal access to credit, increased internet users and few regulatory barriers; success is occurring in numerous fintech markets with an increased focus on the payments industry. Source
Business commerce and supply chain finance platform, Tradeshift, received an undisclosed equity investment from Santander InnoVentures; the capital will be used for expansion of their current platform and for growing the ecosystem around their B2B marketplace; Tradeshift is a business commerce platform where companies can buy, sell and tailor their B2B solutions. Source
The new head of Ant Financial's international operations, Douglas Feagin, helped ink a deal with 930,000 merchants across Europe to help Chinese travelers use Alipay; Doug Feagin explained to the Financial Times why the deal was done: "120 million Chinese travelers went abroad in 2015 and that's growing at 18% a year. The vast majority of whom use Alipay."; Alipay has now expanded into India, Europe and Southeast Asia; it is still looking to go public in the near future. Source
Atom Bank, a digital-only bank, has been growing significantly, now announcing a new mortgage offering; the company will offer residential mortgages through brokers; adds to its small business lending product; company recently announced it has 100 million British pounds in deposits; in the UK it is one of the region's most well-funded digital-only banks with over 135 million British pounds of capital raised from company investors. Source
Partech Ventures has raised 100 million euros for its Partech Entrepreneur II investment fund; funds are used to invest in seed funding for startup companies; investment was raised from 90 entrepreneurs, business angels, senior managers of tech groups, and public and private participants; the fund invests in disruptive companies with the potential for major technological innovations; the company plans to use the funds to invest in 80 startups with company investment averaging three per month; the firm has been an active investor in marketplace lending companies. Source
Businessagent.com is seeking to raise between 200,000 British pounds and 750,000 British pounds through a fundraising campaign on Angels Den; the platform currently aggregates and facilitates equity crowdfunding and debt financing; the firm plans to use the funds to improve user data, expand its broker and sales team, build new relationships and develop a secondary market; on December 8 the firm received investment from Malcolm Burne, who will support the firm's plans for a secondary market; Burne is an expert in secondary market trading for private investments. Source