London beats Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris to be named best city in Europe for digital startups – Nesta November 9, 2015 London has been named as the best city in Europe for digital startups, according to Nesta’s European Digital City Index. The capital beat rivals Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam to be named as the number one destination for digital entrepreneurs looking to start and scale up a digital business. This comes as the Mayor of London [...]
Fintech start-up acquirer Silver Falcon to float on London Stock Market November 9, 2015 Silver Falcon, a shell investment company that is aiming to acquire fintech start-ups is today floating on the London Stock Market. The newly formed company is aiming to take advantage of London’s booming fintech startup scene, that in September City AM reported had seen record investment so far in 2015 of £357m. The directors of Silver [...]
City A.M. Awards 2015: Celebrating the best of the business world November 2, 2015 It has been a memorable year for the City, with milestones seemingly being met every week. In the last few months alone we’ve reported on some impressive trends and grounds for celebration. Financial services are powering a jobs boom, with employment in the City at an all time high. London’s tech sector has attracted record amounts [...]
London is Europe’s science and tech capital, and this is why I chose to invest in it October 28, 2015 London is on the up. The capital’s population has hit an historic high at 8.6m people. The Mayor of London’s office predicts that by 2050 that number will reach 11m, with London serving as a magnet for talent from across the globe. But London’s success also creates significant issues: not least how to create jobs [...]
Move over bankers: Fintech workers have seen some of the fastest salary growth this year October 26, 2015 They may not yet be on a par with bankers, but the UK's tech workers shared a bonus pot of £3.25bn in 2015, while their basic salaries have grown five per cent over the last financial year. The average IT worker's bonus is £6,681, equivalent to 12 per cent of average salary, which is up [...]
Are the CMA’s provisional recommendations enough to increase competition in the banking sector? October 22, 2015 Omar Ali, head of UK financial services at EY, says Yes The CMA’s provisional remedies will encourage competition in a market that’s already much more competitive than it was. We now have several credible challenger banks, a burgeoning fintech sector and a switching service better than most markets. But the CMA is right to [...]
Now Virgin Money is getting into the money transfer business October 19, 2015 Challenger bank Virgin Money is expanding its services and getting into the money transfer business for the first time, underpinned by technology from fintech startup World First. The new service will let customers make international transfers with no transfer fees and Virgin promising to offer better rates than quotes offered by high street banks. Virgin Money [...]
The government just made it easier to hire foreign tech talent with a new “tech nation” visa scheme October 16, 2015 The government is making it easier for the UK's growing technology industry to hire talent from outside the European Union by creating a new "tech nation" visa scheme. There are four key components to the new scheme: a fast-track route that will enable rapidly-growing companies easier access to the right candidates when it is most needed [...]
Barclays is teaming up with blockchain startups Chainalysis and Wave as the bank’s bitcoin experiment expands October 15, 2015 Barclays has signed contracts with two blockchain startups in what the bank is calling a “game-changer”. This is one of the first times a major bank has opened up for such a cooperation with blockchain clients, as many bitcoin companies have had difficulties gaining access to banking services. Barclays chief design and innovation officer Derek [...]
Blockchain platform Setl hits one billion daily transactions – 1,000 times faster than Bitcoin’s blockchain October 13, 2015 Blockchain platform Setl claims to be capable of processing one billion transactions per day – matching every electronic payment made globally. Scaling up to this extent makes blockchain an even more attractive rival to traditional financial systems, as the booming fintech sector is increasingly seen not just as a viable but a cheaper alternative. The company [...]