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Fintech

·Nov. 22, 2016

Singapore Provides S$1.15mn to Ten Fintech Firms at Fintech Festival

On November 14 to 18 Singapore held its first Fintech Festival providing S$1.15 million to ten fintech firms; supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Association of Banks in Singapore, awards were given ranging from S$250,000 to S$50,000; the top prize of S$250,000 for the MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore Open) was given to fastacash Pte Ltd; the Fintech Festival follows significant expansion in Singapore which now has the largest fintech hub in the world and numerous subsidies available to attract fintech startup companies. Source

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Fintech News Roundup USA

·Nov. 22, 2016

Overstock.com Offers Preferred Shares through Blockchain Subscription

Overstock.com is utilizing blockchain for a blockchain security offering; the offering is part of its preferred stock capital raising which provides investors the option to invest through the company's blockchain technology using a URL; this offering has confirmed subscriptions with the post-trade process being managed on a shared, distributed ledger; since Overstock.com is a publicly traded company, all details of the subscription process have been documented with the SEC. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 22, 2016

Germany Publishes a Report on Fintech

Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance has published a report on the emerging fintech sector; the report finds 433 fintech companies with 346 of the companies actively in business; robo advice had the highest annual growth rate; of the 433 firms, 13 were crowdlending companies with nine of the platforms actively in business; other highlights include transaction volume by segment and industry growth rates. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 22, 2016

Regional Factors Affecting Fintech and Bank Competition in Europe

In Europe, slowing venture capital investment in fintech has caused increased reliance from the industry on traditional banks; as Brexit concerns have affected the fintech industry, traditional banks have increased their investment with more corporate and strategic participation in venture capital deals in Europe for the third quarter of 2016; over the last five quarters significant large bank investors in fintech have included Citigroup Inc., Banco Santander SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; as the European market evolves with a number of regional factors continuing to affect both fintech companies and banks it is likely that more banking partnerships and fintech acquisitions will occur. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 22, 2016

Goldman Sachs, Santander, Leave R3 Blockchain Consortium

Goldman Sachs and Santander have announced they are leaving the R3 Blockchain Consortium; Goldman Sachs was one of the 12 founding members of the Consortium; the reasoning behind the move is unknown however speculators believe it is likely due to solicitation of $150 million from members. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup Regulation

·Nov. 28, 2016

Bank Indonesia Opens Fintech Office

The central bank of Indonesia has opened a fintech office; the central bank will use the fintech office to maintain its regulatory oversight while also providing support for new fintech startups; it plans to collect information on the industry for regulatory development; it will also facilitate the development of fintech companies and their introduction to the economy both in Indonesia and globally. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 28, 2016

India’s ICICI Bank Looks to Make 100 Villages ‘Cashless’ in 100 Days

Prime Minister Modi's plan to demonetize has put a lot of strain on much of Indian society, now the ICICI Bank is looking to ease that burden by helping to make 100 villages cashless in 100 days; the plan was born out of a successful program that made one village cashless in 2015; the 100 villages will be spread throughout the country and will help 10,000 people overall; local people will be able to use their mobile phones to transact with merchants and banks. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 28, 2016

Capital Float Starts Merchant Cash Advance Business

With demonetization in full swing, Capital Float has expanded their loan offerings to include businesses with card machines; the new program will allow vendors to take out a loan of up to 200% of their sales; loans will then be paid back based on a small fee from each transaction; the company expects a surge in loans based upon the new government program to remove large cash notes. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 28, 2016

Challenger Bank, Masthaven, Launches in the UK

Challenger bank, Masthaven, launched to offer savings and lending products that they say traditional lenders have ignored; they are the UK's first owner-owned bank where 80% of employees own the bank; the bank uses "smart technology" to help customers meet certain savings goals or decide on loan products they feel would be right for them; Masthaven has been around since 2004 as a specialty lender and will also break into the mortgage market in 2017. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Nov. 28, 2016

UK Reports 2.4bn British Pound Financial Innovation Investment in Its Autumn Statement

In its annual Autumn Statement, the UK Treasury reported investment of 2.4 billion British pounds for research and development in financial innovation; 2 billion British pounds will be allocated to an innovation fund and 400 million British pounds will go to a venture capital investment fund managed by British Business Bank; in comments regarding the Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond said the investment was to help the UK continue "leading the world in disruptive technology." Source

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