Tagged: united kingdom

April 26, 2025 @ 1:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s digital bank Zopa has reported solid performance for 2024, doubling its full-year profit before tax to £34.2 million, up from £15.8 million in 2023. This milestone, announced on April 24, 2025, marks the Zopa bank’s second consecutive year of profitability, underscoring its robust growth… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 11:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle-market businesses, announced the UK launch of Prime One Tech; professional indemnity and cyber coverage for technology companies “with up to £1 billion in annual turnover, providing limits of up to £5… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 3:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s PensionBee, a firm focused on the consumer retirement market, has issued a statement following the release of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Small Pots Delivery Group’s report, which lays out a clear framework for “consolidating small pension pots.” Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer… Read More

April 24, 2025 @ 4:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

TwentyFour Asset Management, the London-based specialist fixed income boutique of Vontobel, has expanded its offering with the launch of a new asset-backed finance (ABF) fund. Managed by TwentyFour’s asset-backed securities (ABS) team, the fund has reportedly been launched in response to “growing client demand for… Read More

April 22, 2025 @ 4:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nearly three-quarters (72.5%) of UK businesses have seen an increase in online fraud over the past 12 months, according to a new survey commissioned by Veriff. The global identity verification firm’s UK Fraud Industry Pulse Survey, which polled 200 fraud professionals “across financial services, technology,… Read More

April 19, 2025 @ 10:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

M&G announced a partnership with platform technology provider FNZ, paving the way for “greater access” to its flagship £64 billion PruFund range through many of the UK platforms, powered by FNZ. FNZ, the end-to-end wealth management platform, partners with over 650 of the world’s financial… Read More

April 17, 2025 @ 11:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Fintech Wise (LON: WISE), the global technology company building (what it claims to be) the best way to move and manage the world’s money, recently unveiled the launch of ‘Spend with Others’, a feature that has reportedly been designed to simplify shared spending for… Read More

April 16, 2025 @ 9:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New analysis and research from UK’s online pension provider PensionBee highlights an increase in pension contributions in 2024, despite ongoing pressures on household budgets. On average, savers contributed “£285 (19%) more to their pensions in 2024 compared to 2023, taking the average up from £1,192… Read More

April 16, 2025 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Artificial intelligence startup Portia AI has raised £4.4 million in funding led by General Catalyst with the participation of First Minute Capital and Stem AI. Portia AI is a provider of AI development tools offering an open-source SDK. The company says users can “build production-grade… Read More

April 15, 2025 @ 9:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has established its presence in the USA and Asia Pacific. This new move is said to be part of its new strategy. The FCA is the top securities regulator in the UK and uniquely holds a mandate to ensure… Read More

April 15, 2025 @ 8:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

BBVA has granted £15m in venture debt to Plum, reaffirming its role as a key lender to the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is considered to be an important region in its broader strategy. In line with this, last October the banking institution had reportedly “set… Read More

April 13, 2025 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Smart Pension, one of the UK’s workplace pension providers, and Dalriada, one of the UK’s independent pension trustee firms, have launched a small-scheme consolidator solution that will aim to “improve value for members of Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) schemes.” The solution aims to address issues… Read More

April 12, 2025 @ 5:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Research from Barclays Eagle Labs shows Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol contain the strongest clusters of high-growth companies outside London, demonstrating “how local entrepreneurial and tech incubator networks are showing up for growth.” The Tech in the UK 2024 report from Barclays Eagle Labs shows “where… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a paper on trading apps and consumer behaviour. Today, apps are the norm not the outlyer, but it was not too long ago trades were completed by phone, and then by accessing a website. As smartphones are… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 7:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global, indicated that hiring activity across the UK fell again in March. Recruiters reported that weaker confidence “around the economic outlook, tighter client budgets and fewer job openings led to notable falls… Read More

April 10, 2025 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

With an FCA license in hand, a new London HQ, and three UK clients set to go live by year-end, Upvest says it is entering its next phase of growth in Europe’s “most dynamic” investment market: the UK. Leading the charge is Symmie Swil, a… Read More

April 9, 2025 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

NatWest has announced a minority investment in Yonder, a credit card platform that provides customer experiences through “lifestyle-led rewards.” Yonder provides a financial lifestyle platform “that brings together people, money and experiences.” Predominantly targeting young professionals and expats, their platform offers its members “a range… Read More

April 9, 2025 @ 8:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

New research from PensionBee reveals that almost half of older savers don’t fully trust using artificial intelligence (AI) to help manage their finances. A nationally representative survey of 1,000 UK adults explored “attitudes towards AI in pension customer support.” The research findings reveal that 45%… Read More

April 8, 2025 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

As a regular user of Companies House, this author believes the database needs more than some make-up. It needs a major overhaul. Companies House makes the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR system look like a supermodel in comparison. That’s a heavy lift. From posting documents with opaque… Read More

April 7, 2025 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Innovate Finance, an association that advocates on behalf of the Fintech industry in the UK, has issued a statement calling on the UK government to create a National Anti-Fraud Centre to battle the financial fraud crisis. The cost of payments fraud is said to be… Read More