December 2019

06Dec

UK. Digital Bank Revolut Partners With Smart Pension to Offer Business Pensions Functionalities

Digital bank Revolut announced on Thursday it has teamed up with authorized by the pensions regulator, Smart Pension, to launch its new business pension offering. Users will now be able to set up their business accounts and pension auto-enrolment within minutes through this collaboration. “When you sign up for a Revolut for Business account before April 30th 2020, your employees receive a preferential rate on their pension fees. Workplace pensions and automatic enrolment are compulsory for businesses across the UK, and the introduction...

December 6, 2019
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05Dec

Lessons fromm M-Pesa for Africa’s new VC-rich fintech startups

In African fintech, the fourth quarter of 2019 brought big money to new entrants. Chinese investors put $220 million into OPay and PalmPay — two fledgling startups with plans to scale in Nigeria and the broader continent. Several sources told me the big bucks had created anxiety for more than few payments ventures in Nigeria with similar strategies and smaller coffers. They may not need to fret just yet, however: lessons from Africa’s most successful mobile-money case study, M-Pesa,...

December 5, 2019
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03Dec

Major pension plans join investor group pumping $229M into fintech fund

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) are among a group of at least 14 investors pumping $229 million into an international fintech fund run by Portag3 Ventures, an early-stage investor established by companies under the umbrella of the Desmarais family’s Power Corp. The disclosed institutional and strategic investors committing the new funds also include insurance companies and financial institutions from Canada, France, Israel and the United States. Among them...

December 3, 2019
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November 2019

22Nov

Can fintech bridge the inequality gap

We know Silicon Valley likes to think it is making the world a better place. So it is no surprise that Facebook wanted to ram home the message that Libra, its digital stablecoin, is going to help the world’s poor. From the White Paper: Our journey is just beginning, and we are asking the community to help. If you believe in what Libra could do for billions of people around the world, share your perspective and join in....

November 22, 2019
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21Nov

Should ‘Fintech’ Fear Big Tech’s Push Into Banking?

This is the web version of The Ledger, Fortune's weekly newsletter covering financial technology and cryptocurrency. Sign up here to receive future editions. All of a sudden, Big Tech is rushing into financial services. Google plans to offer "smart" checking accounts, powered by Citigroup and Stanford Federal Credit Union. Apple released a credit card with Goldman Sachs. Facebook yet clings to Libra, its audacious digital payments dream. This is the web version of The Ledger, Fortune's weekly newsletter covering...

November 21, 2019
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15Nov

UK. Have we reached “peak fintech”?

Fintech has become so ubiquitous you can’t go outside without seeing an advert for a new payments card or a new app for money transfers, pensions or investments. Not only that, the United Kingdom has over 1,600 fintech firms – a number which is forecast to more than double in the next decade – that employ over 75,000 people and have raised more than £12 billion over the last five years. For all the growth, however, the industry’s reach...

November 15, 2019
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14Nov

How Fintech’s Third Wave Will Change How You Bank

The origins of today’s boom in consumer-focused “fintech,” or financial technology, trace back to the global economic meltdown in 2008. Since that disaster struck, the industry has evolved through three discrete phases, says Jason Brown, CEO and cofounder of Tally, a fintech startup, on Balancing The Ledger, Fortune’s show covering the intersection of finance and tech. The first wave met demands resulting from the aftermath of the financial crisis: A need for credit fueled alternative lenders. Online and peer-to-peer...

November 14, 2019
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04Nov

These are the hottest fintech startups and companies in the world

It's a fascinating time for fintech. What was once a disruptive force in the financial world has become standard practice for many industry leaders. Fintech industry funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3. Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the scene. And some fintech companies, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition. Now...

November 4, 2019
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04Nov

Evidence on Usage Behavior and Future Adoption Intention of Fintechs and Digital Finance Solutions

By Johannes M. Gerlach (Chair of Financial Services, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine-University) & Julia K. T. Lutz (Chair of Financial Services, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine University) Financial Technology Companies are gaining popularity and becoming more relevant within financial services industries worldwide. This growth can be encouraged by the EY FinTech Adoption Index, which indicates a global average FinTech Adoption of 33.0% in 2017. With regard to Financial Technology Companies and Digital Finance Solutions, this...

November 4, 2019
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01Nov

The Disruptive Impact of FinTech on Retirement Systems

By Julie Agnew, Olivia S. Mitchell This volume examines how technology is transforming financial applications, and how FinTech promises a similar revolution in the retirement planning processes. Robo-advisors and mobile savings apps are a few harbingers of innovations to come. Nevertheless, these changes will bring with them new ethical and regulatory considerations, design challenges related to promoting adoption by an older population less trusting of technology, and concerns over data security and privacy. Our contributors take stock of the disruptive...

November 1, 2019
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