Monzo secures additional £60m in funding December 2, 2020 Digital bank Monzo has topped up its earlier fundraising round with an additional £60m in funding, bringing its total raised this year to £125m. The challenger bank had previously closed a £65m top-up in June at a reduced valuation of £1.2bn, down from £2bn. The latest funding, first reported by TechCrunch, is effectively a top-up [...]
Pride and paradox: How to celebrate business success in the midst of a pandemic December 2, 2020 Though we have all read countless stories of under-pressure businesses this year, we should not forget the many companies that have benefitted from 2020’s radical shift in human behaviour. 12 months ago, the average person on the street had no idea about “Zoom”, for example. Since then, the video conferencing brand has become a household [...]
Revolut offers UK customers the opportunity to be paid a day early December 2, 2020 Revolut is now offering its customers the opportunity to be paid a day early in a move that will prove popular as people struggle with pandemic uncertainty. Revolut customers that receive a salary payment via Bacs credit – which the majority of the population does – will be able to access their salary a day [...]
Dial “Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise” for this economic emergency December 2, 2020 Never before has a chancellor had to stand in the House of Commons and present quite such dire economic news: the largest fall in output in 300 years; the highest level of borrowing in our peacetime history; and unemployment set to rise by over a million in the next six months. Amid this economic emergency [...]
Challenger lender Koto launches in the UK for left-behind consumers December 2, 2020 A challenger lender focused on providing credit to freelancers and self-employed has today launched in the UK following an investment round. Koto, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, has closed a £1.3m funding round which it says it will use to expand and acquire its first 50,000 users. Kotto hopes to cater to “near prime” [...]
Foreign direct investment in UK to slow as investor priorities shift November 30, 2020 Foreign direct investment (FDI) is set to slow over the next 12 months, as Covid-19 impacts financial services firms’ investment plans in the UK. Last year investor sentiments placed financial services as the driving force of UK growth – the sector attracted 99 projects, equating to more than a quarter of all FDI in Europe, [...]
Without an eye on social value, Europe risks losing the global fintech race November 30, 2020 Europe has been left behind in Big Tech. The scene is overwhelmingly dominated by US companies, with China potentially coming up from the rear. The question is whether Europe has the potential to avoid the same fate in digital finance — a sector that is likely to play a big role in future economic development. [...]
The rush for Tech Nation visas is misguided — why limit recruitment by geography? November 30, 2020 Earlier this month, it was reported that applications for the Tech Nation visa into the UK spiked almost 50 per cent this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, Britain’s tech sector continues to attract talent from around the world. In the last two years alone, almost 2,000 people have applied for the visa, which grants tech [...]
UK has ‘significant’ ethnic wealth gaps, latest data suggest November 27, 2020 Wealth in the UK is divided along ethnic lines, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggest. White British headed households were the wealthiest ethnic group, according to data collected between 2016 and 2018. White households had a median net worth of nine times that of Black African households, the least wealthy ethnic [...]
Challenges for small businesses when sending employees overseas on assignment November 27, 2020 | City Talk For small businesses with global vision, expat employees may be part of your roadmap but what are the challenges you might expect to encounter when sending an employee overseas on assignment and how can you overcome them? Selection Process Selecting the right employee for an expat assignment is critical to success for businesses of all [...]
