Insurance and insurtech companies are seeking synergies in the industry as technology is evolving; at the Intelligent InsurTech Europe conference this week in London, industry participants discussed the many ways companies are partnering and developing new services; the industry conference revealed many large companies are investing in insurtech through incubators and direct investment; in-house innovation labs are also a prevalent trend occurring with large insurance companies; most large insurance companies are finding it important to partner and invest with insurtech companies in order to stay current with the industry’s evolving landscape. Source
According to a new research report by KPMG and CB Insights, the number of deals and total value of venture capital investment dropped in Q3 to $2.9 billion down from $9.4 billion in Q2; the report points out that the significant drop was due in large part to a $4.5 billion investment to Alipay owner Ant Financial in Q2; while Asia investment remains strong, UK investment was hurt due to Brexit uncertainty and the US market saw a decline due in large part to the presidential election; overall investment trends remain positive as the amount invested for 2016 is on track to surpass 2015. Source
Innovate Finance has reported global investment in fintech trending higher; details reported to Crowdfund Insider cite an increase of 27% in 2016 with investment for the year at $15.2 billion with 839 deals; UK fintech investment has slowed while investment in China has been increasing; Innovate Finance says China has reported the top three fintech investment deals globally with funding for Alipay, Lufax and JD Finance; in the US, insurtech firm, Oscar, has led investment fundraising with funding of $400 million. Source
Mckinsey has released a new report on fintech; report focuses on seven changes in fintech that could affect the industry; factors include expanding scope, increasing diversity, improving collaboration, impending consolidation, normalizing valuations, shifting regulations and emerging ecosystems. Source
According to Lawrence Wintermeyer, head of Innovate Finance, 30 fintech startups had their funding cancelled or postponed by investors since the Brexit vote, forcing them to seek urgent funding elsewhere; in addition to local investors pulling their capital, startups have also said that funding from international investors has stalled due to the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit process; while the UK struggles, other European cities like Berlin have been actively recruiting firms to relocate. Source
Factor 21 has done a management buyout with funding from Mobeus; the private equity firm provided a 9 million british pound funding line for the buyout; Jonathan Gregory of Mobeus will join Factor 21 as investor director; Factor 21 has been in business for over 15 years and has provided invoice funding of over 2 billion british pounds; the management buyout funding will help the firm grow business at its two regional offices. Source
The world's oldest central bank is now looking to the future; Riksbank is looking to issue a national digital currency as they have seen a 40% drop in use of notes and coins since 2009; they do not view the digital currency as a replacement for notes; the new currency would be viewed as complementary; challenges lie ahead as there is no blueprint for this; Cecilia Skingsley, deputy governor at the Riksbank, told the Financial Times, "This is as revolutionary as the paper note 300 years ago. What does it mean for monetary policy and financial stability? How do we design this: a rechargeable card, an app or another way?" Source
Wirecard is a German payments provider that has helped to set up the current boom in fintech and banking apps in Britain; Wirecard is seen as the infrastructure behind many fintech startups that have raised hundreds of millions of pounds in the UK; companies use Wirecard to sublet their banking license and because they are able to issue cards from Visa and Mastercard. Source
Ernst & Young announced its annual Fintech Asia 100 list at the Singapore FinTech Festival; Next Money, Ernst & Young and Visa all contributed to the list; statistics from the list reported 26% of the individuals were female, 38 entrepreneurs, 41 CEOs, 15 different markets, India with the most members on the list at 18, and Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China with 15. Source