The FCA has been busy taking care of the fast-changing Fintech sector. The regulator has good reason to be vigilant. Our friends at AltFi run a tale with what looks like a happy ending. Lanistar, a new fintech start-up with big ambitions and some controversy, has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide payments services. […]
While the mainstream banks look to be – ay long last – pulling out of their decline, the challenger banks continue to challenge very successfully. The latest news comes from our friends at AltFi. Digital challenger Starling Bank maintained its hold in the final quarter of last year as one of the most switched-to UK banks of […]
Act first, reflect later. That seems to have been the motto of the UK government during the pandemic. It’s a strategy that’s worked very well for vaccinations, but the attempts to throw money at the financial services sector appear to be just that, and little more. Our friends at AltFi report some (relatively) good news: […]
Digital bank Revolut is in the vanguard of bringing the alternative-finance sector into the mainstream. Its latest move takes it closer to becoming a one-stop-shop for all of its users’ financial needs. Our friends at AltFi carry the tale: The fintech, which is well on its way to becoming a financial ‘super app’, has added 11 […]
Further to yesterday’s news item, the big equity crowdfunding deal on the other side of the alternative-finance fence has hit the regulatory rocks. AltFi reports: Just hours after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threw a wrench in Seedrs and Crowdcube’s plan to merge, both platforms have agreed to terminate the merger. “We’re obviously disappointed with the CMA’s findings but we […]
The equity side of crowdfunding is in crisis, with the proposed merger between Seedrs and Crowdcube subject to high levels of scrutiny. Both parties to the deal say the success of the merger is crucial to their continued survival. To offer a little context, we set out an excerpt from an earlier News item on […]
Financial regulatory authorities are trying hard to keep up with – or even stay ahead of – the pace of change in the digital aspects of FinTech. Increased vigilance is the least that should be happening, for a number of good reasons. Our friends at AltFi report on one of them here: The pandemic has […]
Today we offer tidings of a new launch, very much a product of its time – offering what are very much the products of our times. Our friends at AltFi report: Ikigai, a new fintech offering wealth management and e-money accounts, has launched in the UK. The company, which previously raised £2 million in a […]
Here’s another consequence in the current surge in the Bitcoin price, which has traded as high as $60,000 in recent days. We’re not making any investment comment, other than to say as purely personal observation, that despite hearing the many gung-ho radio adverts to attract punters, this isn’t an IPO the writer of this News […]
The new tax year, beginning 6th April, will see the launch of the UK government’s new debt finance programme. The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) will replace the existing three lending programmes set up in the immediate aftermath of the onset of Covid-19 in the UK a year ago. The RLS will replace the Coronavirus Business […]