General News

March 17, 2025 @ 9:25 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Capgemini Research Institute’s World Retail Banking Report 2025, published this week, reveals a critical shortcoming in how retail banks appeal to the demands of digital-native, urban clients between the ages of 18-45. According to the report, while 73% of these credit card customers are motivated primarily by… Read More

March 13, 2025 @ 10:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

OakNorth – the digital bank for entrepreneurs, released its latest Annual Report, revealing pre-tax profits of £214.8m (appr. $271.6m) in 2024 (FY23 £187.3m / $236.8m). OakNorth provided over £2.1bn ($2.6bn) of gross “new lending in 2024, continuing its track-record of supporting ambitious and innovative businesses… Read More

March 13, 2025 @ 4:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant policy reversal, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has scrapped its controversial proposal to routinely “name and shame” firms under investigation. In the US, it is common for regulators to name the firms or individuals under investigation. If a case is settled… Read More

March 13, 2025 @ 12:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

SuperCrowdLA, touted by organizers as the nation’s premier impact crowdfunding conference, is scheduled to return from May 1-3, 2025, at Expert Dojo in Santa Monica. The three-day event aims to highlight mission-driven investment strategies, marketing techniques, and storytelling frameworks that have collectively played a role… Read More

March 12, 2025 @ 10:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently revealed that US consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraudulent schemes in 2024. This latest figure from the FTC marks a significant 25% increase from the previous year, highlighting a concerning escalation in financial losses despite ongoing… Read More

March 10, 2025 @ 11:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

To address the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, Verizon Business (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced a partnership to accelerate the development and delivery of advanced cybersecurity solutions. The agreement aims to help businesses of all sizes mitigate a range of growing threats, “from… Read More

March 10, 2025 @ 8:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK labor market conditions continued to weaken midway through the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global. While declines in both permanent placements and temp billings eased, they remained “marked overall as… Read More

March 10, 2025 @ 8:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The number of Trojan banker attacks on smartphones surged by 196% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to a Kaspersky report. Cybercriminals are shifting tactics, relying on “mass malware distribution to steal banking credentials.” Over the past year, Kaspersky detected more than “33.3… Read More

March 9, 2025 @ 7:31 pm By Michael Wong  |  

E-commerce technology startup Platter has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round to support its mission of helping online brands operate more profitably. The round was led by Animal Capital, with participation from Visionary Ventures and several e-commerce veterans, including Ben Jabbawy, Kyle Hency,… Read More

February 26, 2025 @ 4:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australia’s digital banking platform, Ubank, has reportedly rebuilt its mortgage broker platform to streamline the digital home loan lodgement process and deliver a compelling online experience for brokers and their customers. More than technology, Ubank explained that the new broker platform is the cornerstone of… Read More

February 22, 2025 @ 6:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

N26 announced that new Metal customers will benefit from an ECB-linked interest rate, currently 2.75% per annum, on their Instant Savings. N26 Instant Savings reportedly comes with “no additional costs, no deposit limits, and full flexibility to withdraw funds at any time.” With an N26… Read More

February 22, 2025 @ 12:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

While some of the largest banking institutions continue to support office mandates (and frustrate some workers who aren’t to keen about it), global Fintech Revolut appears to be headed in the opposite direction. Revolut, the London-based Fintech, told its 10,000 workers that it was planning… Read More

February 18, 2025 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

ShopMate is pleased to announce its partnership with DNA Payments, a leading provider of advanced payment solutions. Through this partnership, ShopMate is enhancing its support for retailers by integrating an “efficient payment solution into its EPOS system, ShopMate Pay.” ShopMate Pay will be available to… Read More

February 17, 2025 @ 11:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

QuEra Computing, the firm focused on neutral-atom quantum computing,  announced it has completed a financing of more than $230 million. The funds will be used to accelerate the development and production of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, “reinforcing the company’s position at the forefront of quantum… Read More

February 14, 2025 @ 2:02 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

An anonymous study of 35,000 users of the finance app Piere suggests Millennials doubt President Donald Trump’s cost-of-living promises as credit debt rises and milestones are delayed, a new report finds. Five out of six do not expect him to reduce their cost of living…. Read More

February 14, 2025 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Four of the 12 UK nations and regions recorded business activity growth in January, according to the NatWest Growth Tracker. The NatWest Regional Growth Tracker Business Activity Index is described as the “fact-based indicator of regional economic health, tracking the monthly change in the output… Read More

February 13, 2025 @ 7:43 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Results of an anonymous analysis of one million users of social finance app Frich find that significant numbers of Generation Z consumers are developing poor financial habits, partially due to a negative view of the future. Many are “doomspending”, maxing out credit cards and not… Read More

February 11, 2025 @ 9:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Validus Risk Management, a software and tech-enabled services platform for financial risk management, announced that it has secured a $45 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity firm. The minority investment will enable Validus to accelerate its go-to-market efforts, expand into… Read More

February 8, 2025 @ 8:57 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Research from Optalysys, a company developing secure computing through the acceleration of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology, has found that growth is being held back at UK financial services firms due to concerns over data security. A survey of more than 250 IT decision-makers working in… Read More

February 8, 2025 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent collaboration between AdviserSoftware‎‎, part of FTRC, and InterGen Data, an AI-based financial lifetime events prediction service, has shed light on the potential risks associated with using DeepSeek, a popular AI tool. The analysis, conducted by Robert Kirk, founder and CEO of InterGen Data,… Read More