Category: Talking fintech

The unicorn club, which once was just part of the Silicon Valley myth, is now a reality also in Europe, where the number of unicorns (a term used for private technology companies valued at $1 billion or more) is now growing constantly. This is something that has to be taken as great news for the growth of the market. Here we take a look at those unicorns that are operating within the industry in Europe. Continue reading Who Are European Fintech Unicorns of 2018?

The past few decades of technology development show some noticeable trends like centralization with the creation of tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook, as well as decentralization that fostered the development of cloud computing, the rapid growth of peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, and and the most recent hype – the outbreak of the distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain, that enables cryptocurrencies and promises complete decentralization. Continue reading Blockchain for Business: A Brief Intro to Hyperledger

European financial institutions are now facing challenging times. With new game-changing regulations like PSD2 and MiFID II entering into force, open banking is no longer a utopia. New rules are going to cause a shock for financial incumbents that are not prepared to embrace innovation, adding up some considerable competition from fintech startups and more established firms that will definitely take advantage of new geographies and lower barriers to enter the market. Continue reading Which European Banks are Leading the Investment Flow in Fintech?

Cross-border payments startup Ripple and Spanish bank Santander made headlines for a recently inked partnership in which the pair have developed a new blockchain-fueled payments app. It’s already been rolled out across Spain, the UK, Brazil, and Poland to start and will be expanded further in the coming months. They have their sights set on Portugal next. Continue reading Digital Payments Innovation Heats Up

European countries have always shown meaningful differences in their savings and investment habits, with significant changes observed in the past decade, especially during the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2011 euro area sovereign debt crisis. Here we take a brief look at what are habits of Europeans regarding planning their cash flow, as well as explain few personal finance management solutions that have emerged in recent years along with the development of fintech. Continue reading Planning personal finances: how Europeans manage their money

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has already made its mark on fintech. It’s taken market share from banks and inspired companies like KeyCorp, which has USD 138 billion in assets, to overhaul its consumer lending platform to stay relevant. In fact, Ron Suber, who is known as the Godfather of Fintech, told American Banker that Key needs this upgrade to go head-to-head with the likes of fintech and Amazon.

Now the P2P model is spilling over into other industries, from e-commerce and payments, to the auto sector and transportation. Let’s explore some of the latest developments. Continue reading Amazon, FedEx and GM Explore P2P Offerings

The Fintech Action Plan published by the European Commission earlier this March with an aim to ensure more competitive and innovative financial sector will bring positive changes for everyone in fintech. This action plan indicates that the EC considers digital innovation as a key driver for the development of financial services in Europe. Continue reading EU’s Fintech Action Plan for More Innovative Financial Market

There are different ways how investors can access the debt markets for steady returns. The bond market is a traditional way to access this asset class, including buying bonds that are issued by government agencies or companies. The higher the credit risk, the higher the interest that is paid on loan. As of Q4 2017, a 10-year US government bond was paying approximately 2.3% in yearly interest. Continue reading A Glimpse of the Equity, Debt and Crypto Market Landscape

Ever since the Financial Crisis, it’s been open season on banks. Fintechs such as peer-to-peer lenders has proven to be leaner and meaner than their traditional finance counterparts, democratizing the online lending process for investors and borrowers alike even before the blockchain was a thing. Continue reading Fintechs Flock to IPO Market in 2018

In early days of fintech, the growth Southern European market was slower compared to the rest of the continent. That initial gap has been at least partially compensated by robust growth in certain countries recently. With a stage of maturity that is still far from what we see, for example, in the UK, where the market is now entering in a consolidation phase, Mediterranean countries enjoy a lot of room to grow and opportunities for acceleration. Continue reading The State of Fintech in Southern Europe