Tagged: united kingdom

March 3, 2025 @ 8:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Prograd, a UK-based side hustle platform for Gen Z in the UK, empowering users to master financial basics through “engaging education” while earning money through online side hustles, has raised £755,470 (at the time of writing) of its £800,000 target via Crowdcube from 46 investors…. Read More

March 2, 2025 @ 5:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  The venture capital  or VC funding landscape in the UK market saw a year-on-year (YoY) decline in deal volume by “12.6% from January 2024 to January 2025, with the number of deals dropping from 87 to 76.” Despite this decrease in deal volume, the… Read More

February 28, 2025 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely reported that multiple bank apps were not accessible by consumers. These include the Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, TSB, and Halifax Bank—all of which fall under the Lloyds Banking Group. Reportedly, Nationwide Building Society was also impacted. The issue is now apparently… Read More

February 28, 2025 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Innovate Finance, the industry body for UK based Fintech firms, has recently announced the launch of RegTech UK with the aim of improving the regulatory and policy environment for a sector that will be a core component of future growth in the UK. Under the… Read More

February 27, 2025 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Research from PensionBee reveals that Londoners are far more enthusiastic about using artificial intelligence (AI) to help manage their finances compared to the rest of the UK. A nationally representative survey of 1,000 UK adults examining attitudes toward AI in pension customer support revealed “that… Read More

February 26, 2025 @ 9:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

More than a third (38%) of finance brokers say lower taxes are needed in order to boost SME growth this year in the UK, according to iwoca’s latest SME Expert Index. The latest research report from European Fintech firm iwoca has noted that this is… Read More

February 25, 2025 @ 7:32 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The British Business Bank has agreed to a further £100 million increase to its existing ENABLE Guarantee transaction with leading Fintech Oxbury Bank, a UK bank with a singular focus on farmers, food production and the rural economy. The ENABLE Guarantee program encourages additional lending… Read More

February 23, 2025 @ 11:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a step toward enhancing public sector payments, the UK government has reportedly opened bidding for a £49 million contract to embed open banking technology into its Gov.UK Pay platform. Announced on February 19, 2025, by the Government Digital Service (GDS), this procurement initiative aims… Read More

February 23, 2025 @ 5:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed a hefty £104.5 million fine on four global banking giants—Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)—for “illegally” sharing sensitive details regarding UK government bonds, known as gilts, between 2009 and 2013. Unveiled… Read More

February 23, 2025 @ 5:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Klarna, the AI-powered payments and commerce network, has entered a new partnership with Combined Independent Holdings (CIH), the UK arm of Euronics—Europe’s electrical buying group—to integrate Klarna’s flexible payment options into Euronics.co.uk. This collab marks the start of a rollout that will aim to extend… Read More

February 20, 2025 @ 8:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Five fintechs have been selected to take part in NatWest’s Fintech Growth Program. After the launch in December and after a process of pitches, presentations and interviews, TunicPay, Ask Silver, mmob, Aperidata and Sprive were selected to take part in the program supported by NatWest…. Read More

February 20, 2025 @ 8:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Crowdcube has reportedly returned to growth in 2024 following a challenging year in 2023. In filings with Companies, full accounts covering 2023 revealed a troubling picture. For 2023, Crowdcube generated revenue of £7,549,480 and an operating loss of £6,650,910. In 2022, revenue was reported at… Read More

February 20, 2025 @ 8:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Total UK fintech investment has reportedly declined to $9.9 billion in 2024, down a considerable 27% from $13.6 billion in 2023, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech, a comprehensive report on fintech investment trends. KPMG noted in the research report that geopolitical uncertainty, high levels… Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 1:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

VC math, or valuations of private firms, has long been more of an art than a science. The friction between investors and firms raising capital is well known. Too low, and money is left on the table. Too high and a future down round, or… Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 12:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct  Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) have published a statement on the rise and usage of digital wallets. The two regulators note that the use of digital wallets has grown in recent years, with card transactions using a digital wallet… Read More

February 14, 2025 @ 1:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum met this past week in London. The entity aims to pursue regulatory cooperation while preserving financial stability and protecting participants. The event was co-chaired by HM Treasury, and the Director General for Financial Services and the European Commission Director General… Read More

February 14, 2025 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

SyndicateRoom, an online investment platform that was recently acquired, has distributed an email touting a portfolio company that has experienced an 11X increase in valuation. SyndicateRoom offers access to private firms via a portfolio model. The company tracks the most successful professional investors to help… 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 @ 12:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

ClearBank is powering Capital on Tap’s embedded banking solution. Capital on Tap is a cards platform that focuses on SMEs. According to a note from ClearBank, Capital on Tap will now be offering savings accounts and loans from their chosen banks. The new savings accounts… Read More

February 13, 2025 @ 11:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the UK Office for National Statistics reported GDP for Q4 2024 at 0.1%. Although rather tepid, it topped the expectations of no growth or an economic contraction. In Q3 2024, GDP delivered no growth in the UK. The data indicated that the services sector… Read More