December 10, 2016 @ 3:10 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC) announced last month that six P2P platforms were registered and would continue to be overseen by the Government of Malaysia, making Malaysia the first ASEAN country to regulate P2P financing.  The six platforms include B2B FinPAL, Ethis Kapital, FundedByMe Malaysia, ManagePay Services, Modalku Ventures,… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 8:35 am By Jessica Pham  |  

LGBT is the first Reg CF Title III offering on Mr. Crowd, a FINRA approved Reg CF crowdfunding platform. LGBT Weddings, Inc. (LGBT) will launch its crowdfunding campaign later this week in efforts to raise growth capital for the business. LGBT is based in California and was founded in… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 1:40 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Hopsters: “Craft brewery with brew-your-own-beer experience, bar and restaurant.”  The company may also claim the title of “fastest raise in Reg CF history”, according to Wefunder. Hopsters Brewery launched its crowdfunding campaign on November 22, and it raised $615,000 in two weeks.  Even more impressive,… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 10:53 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Economic migrants rely on remittances to ensure that their families are well off at home and to maintain ties to their home countries.  Fees imposed by big banks and traditional remittance institutions eat into foreign workers’ hard-earned incomes, however, so startups focused on money transfers… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 9:01 am By Jessica Pham  |  

The London Crisp Company describes itself as “An amazing brand, with amazing crisps and popcorn, that showcase the most amazing city on Earth”, and it just raised 338 percent of its goal on Seedrs — £337,910 out of a goal of £100,016 (approximately $428K out of $127K).  The… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 3:04 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School Karen Gordon Mills along with VP of Strategy at Fundera, Brayden McCarthy, have recently posted a working paper on SME lending. Mills is also the former Administrator of the Small Business Administration – a post she held during the Obama administration just… Read More

December 4, 2016 @ 8:35 am By Jessica Pham  |  

In a follow-up to the Ezubao (Ezubo) shutdown, five people affiliated with the Chinese P2P lending platform that is accused of a Ponzi scheme are on trial for gold smuggling.  This is the first court case that is a part of a scandal that robbed investors of between… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 7:56 am By Jessica Pham  |  

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond delivered the annual autumn statement late last month and underlined the UK’s numerous economic weaknesses that the Brexit vote only enunciated.  As Brexit negotiations continue between now and 2019, Britain will have to tackle its poor productivity record, particularly… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 6:55 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Timelio is a Melbourne-based fintech startup looking to disrupt traditional lending models by allowing businesses to turn invoices into cash by selling their invoices online on a P2P marketplace.  It raised $5 million via an equity funding round last month.  The investment is backed by the Thorney… Read More

November 29, 2016 @ 9:12 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

November is National Entrepreneurship Month and Suffolk University in Boston celebrated by organizing experiential courses on crowdfunding.  During Global Entrepreneurship Week on November 14, students partaking in the programs launched campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo to support their startups.  Seven startups and campaigns have launched… Read More

November 29, 2016 @ 8:50 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Victor is looking to disrupt the “flying on demand” jet charter market with a similar business model to that of Uber.  The company describes itself as such: “On-Demand Private Jet Charter. The widest choice of jets, times, routes and prices, all at your fingertips, with… Read More

November 25, 2016 @ 9:11 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Phunware, a U.S. tech startup based in Austin, Texas, raised $22 M earlier this month from Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the strategic investment fund of the Government of Malaysia. Khazanah is not a stranger to investing in companies beyond the Malaysian borders; it has also invested in companies… Read More

November 24, 2016 @ 11:00 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Alternative finance startup OpenTap is aiming to disrupt an environment where many creditworthy borrowers do not have access to short-term personal loans from the traditional financial services sector.  Founded in 2015, OpenTap is based in Chennai, India and seeks to grant access to short-term credit for… Read More

November 24, 2016 @ 10:00 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Bank Indonesia (BI) in Jakarta announced last week the opening of its Fintech office, which will aim to evaluate existing and conduct research on new fintech models, products, and services.  The office not only allows the central bank to maintain its risk management and consumer protection… Read More

November 22, 2016 @ 10:28 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

PwC launched earlier this month a new Fintech tool called the Vulcan Digital Asset Services, which digitizes everyday banking, commerce, and personal currency and asset related services.  Currently, specific services available include digital asset wallets, international payment processing, and investment and trading services.  In the near… Read More

November 22, 2016 @ 8:20 am By Jessica Pham  |  

eOriginal, Inc., a service for businesses that need to verify “secure, legally compliant and enforceable electronic asset documentation”, announced earlier this month that private equity firm LLR Partners has led investments in the company totaling $26.5 million.  The 20-year-old company will use the capital to expand its… Read More

November 19, 2016 @ 5:06 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Accenture recently highlighted that Fintech investments in the Asia-Pacific region have accelerated over the past six years, growing from $103 million in 2010 to nearly $10.5 billion by the end of September 2016. Fintech investments in Asia are outpacing those in Europe and the U.S…. Read More

November 16, 2016 @ 2:15 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

New York-based Fintech firm Droit Financial Technologies secured a $16 million in Series A investments earlier this month from Goldman Sachs, Pivot Investment Partners, and Wells Fargo. Principal trading firm DRW also participated. Droit is a New York-based Fintech firm focused on providing enterprise solutions for OTC… Read More

November 14, 2016 @ 11:23 am By Jessica Pham  |  

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) kicked off its Fintech Forum today with remarks by Chair Mary Jo White, followed by Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar and Commissioner Kara M. Stein. Chair White told the audience that “with power comes responsibility”, namely that new fintech products should… Read More

November 11, 2016 @ 9:20 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Fintech is emerging as the next big transformation in India India and the UK held a joint Tech Summit on November 7-9 in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India emphasized close collaboration between the two nations during his remarks because it was “vital that India… Read More