Business banking startup Anna Money raises £8.5m from Kinetik February 5, 2019 Financial admin startup Anna Money has landed £8.5m in funding from Kinetik, as the banking app aims to take on the big leagues. Anna, which offers a digital admin assistant, current account and banking debit card for small businesses, said it is preparing to launch several new tools in anticipation of HM Revenue & Customs' [...]
What’s holding back the female entrepreneurs? February 4, 2019 Achieving gender equality in economic opportunities is a struggle that has many dimensions. Not only is there a pay gap between men and women who are salaried employees, stark gender gaps also exist in the area of entrepreneurship. In particular, more men report being business owners than women, and even when women are business owners, [...]
Under the neon lights of Tokyo, the City is forging closer relationships with Asia February 4, 2019 Next week will see me travel to one of the busiest cities on earth, home to nearly 40m people and more square footage of advertising and media than anywhere else in the world: Tokyo. My visit is part of a 12-day trip to four Asian cities that will also take me to Seoul, Hong Kong, [...]
The bonus is on you: Santander’s recent saga highlights the problems with deferred rewards February 4, 2019 Star investment banker Andrea Orcel was about to take the top job at Santander. And then he wasn’t. It turns out that the bank hadn’t quite realised how expensive Orcel would be, resulting in an unprecedented U-turn, as the board announced that Santander wouldn’t be hiring him after all. While Jose Antonio Alvarez will continue [...]
HSBC, Goldman and Lord Fink back City fintech firm Bud February 4, 2019 Fintech startup Bud has closed a $20m (£15.3m) funding round from investors such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs and former Man Group boss Lord Stanley Fink. Other investors included Investec’s INVC fund, ANZ Bank, the corporate venture arm of Banco Sabadell and 9 Yards, the venture capital firm which lists former chancellor George Osborne among its [...]
JP Morgan takes minority stake in London startup Smart Pension February 4, 2019 Banking behemoth JP Morgan has made a strategic investment in workplace pensions startup Smart Pension, the firm will announce today, as part of a fresh equity funding round. The size of the round was undisclosed, however Smart Pension said it had raised around £50m to date. JP Morgan took a minority equity stake as part of [...]
Starling Bank courts Irish banking licence as it launches euro accounts February 4, 2019 London digital challenger bank Starling is today kicking off preparations to apply for an Irish banking licence, as it launches support for euro currency accounts this week. Offered to its users based in the UK, the euro account will be available alongside Starling’s existing pound account in order for customers to hold, send and receive euros with [...]
Revealed: The 10 fintech startups in Barclays’ 2019 Techstars accelerator February 1, 2019 It's that time of year again: Barclays has unveiled the 10 startups that have made the cut for its annual fintech accelerator programme, powered by venture capital giant Techstars. Now in its sixth year, the 13-week programme puts the young companies through an intensive training course with access to mentorship from Barclays and industry experts, and [...]
Former Marketinvoice boss raises $30m for fintech startup Complyadvantage, backed by Index and Balderton January 30, 2019 The fintech startup formed by the co-founder and former chief executive of London firm Marketinvoice has closed a $30m (£22.8m) funding round today, backed by Revolut investors Index Ventures and Balderton Capital. Complyadvantage uses artificial intelligence to analyse the risk of financial crime for some of the world’s largest banks. The startup will use the funding to [...]
Software is the UK’s most popular sector for angel investment, report shows January 30, 2019 Software has retained its position as the top sector for angel investment in the UK, a new report has revealed. Software was the best performing sector for both investment and pitches in 2018, according to an analysis of 100,000 businesses by the Angel Investment Network (AIN). Read more: UK fintech Featurespace raises £25m in latest funding [...]