Companies like TransferWise, Venmo and PayPal have forced banks in Europe to look at creating their own affordable real-time payments service; the idea is in the early stages but it shows the effect that fintech players can have on the traditional banks; the service would also look to head off the increased competitive threat from open banking which is set to begin in early 2018. Source.
In an effort to ensure it can keep operating after Brexit, British money transfer company TransferWise will open a new...
In an interview with Tearsheet Bradley Leimer, managing director and head of fintech strategy at Explorer Advisor & Capital says companies are underestimating content; most VC’s focus on who can be the next Robinhood or TransferWise when there is plenty of opportunities in the market; companies can use customer data to better educate and better target consumers for a specific financial product; there are a lot of interesting companies in the market who can find their niche to perform and offer consumers more choose. Source.
Financial Times highlights TransferWise and Funding Circle who are growing their market share in the UK; Transferwise has collected $280 million from investors and Funding Circle has surpassed high-street banks in net new lending; Funding Circle lent £114 million in the three months to September; Samir Desai, co-founder and chief executive of Funding Circle stated, "If I was a big bank, I would be really worried about this..." Source
According to McKinsey $10 trillion is sent across borders by consumers and small businesses every year; however it is an...
TransferWise is privately launching a borderless account and debit card; the move is beginning to draw comparisons to other fintech companies like Revolut; the account will be rolled out in a small launch then a full launch thereafter; the account will give you access to local bank details for the UK, US, Australia and Europe, as well as allowing you to hold and convert 28 currencies; the move is not seen as replacing the current account but is instead a partner account; the account would allow people working in different countries to convert to their local currency without the hassle of additional fees or having to join a local bank. Source.
This week’s PeerIQ Industry Update continues their coverage of earnings, this week focusing on Amazon; Square acquired e-commerce service provider...
Crowdfund Insider compiles a list of responses from fintech firms and how they are handling the current crisis; while fintechs...
ICBA selects first fintechs for new accelerator program Partnerships, UX improvements and speed will drive money transfer in 2019 Brexit...
Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) has also invested in Netflix, Snapchat and Twitter; with the newest round of funding the company's value is expected to increase to over $1 billion; it has previously raised a total of $116 million; the firm is currently doing more than GBP1 billion ($1.29 billion) of transfers per month on its platform; new initiatives include opening a Singapore office, launching a borderless business account and adding its service to Facebook Messenger. Source