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
Planning personal finances: how Europeans manage their money
Posted onEuropean 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
Amazon, FedEx and GM Explore P2P Offerings
Posted onPeer-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
Loans originated in Poland: the untapped reservoir of profit on VIAINVEST
Posted onVIAINVEST stands out in the P2P crowd with its unique loan portfolio – consumer loans listed on the platform are issued by the alternative financial services provider VIA SMS Group in four European countries and available for investments only on VIAINVEST. The interest rate for listed loans is set between 10% and 12%. If you have been around for a while or checking platform features for the first time, you may have also noticed that there is another feature that distinguishes VIAINVEST from other platforms – in order to be compliant with the legislation in both VIAINVEST home country and loan origin countries, VIAINVEST applies taxes to your income generated on the platform and helps you to manage your taxation procedure. This approach may seem unusual, as the majority of platforms choose to interpret existing legislation in such ways that would allow skipping this uncomfortable issue and leaving tax liabilities to investors. Yes, taxation on the platform may seem uncomfortable and frightening at first, but luckily Tax/Residence Certificate may exempt investors from paying the tax on the platform. Unfortunately, there are several special cases, where legislation obliges us to withhold the tax even if the investor has provided Tax/Residence Certificate. What does it mean for investors and is the taxed amount as big as it seems? Continue reading Loans originated in Poland: the untapped reservoir of profit on VIAINVEST
EU’s Fintech Action Plan for More Innovative Financial Market
Posted onThe 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
A Glimpse of the Equity, Debt and Crypto Market Landscape
Posted onThere 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
Fintechs Flock to IPO Market in 2018
Posted onEver 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
The State of Fintech in Southern Europe
Posted onIn 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
Fintechs and Traditional Finance Finding Common Ground
Posted onFintech is a trendy industry for startups to choose, many of which came on the scene in the wake of the Financial Crisis, which rely on technology innovation to bridge the gap between traditional finance and their customers, including both individuals and merchants. Continue reading Fintechs and Traditional Finance Finding Common Ground
Fintech and SMEs – what has changed?
Posted onTechnology is growing at an exponential rate, and no industry can escape the impact of it. As we have explored in other posts, finance is not an exception. After the boom observed over the past few years, fintech is now becoming increasingly mature, and the impact that is having on small and medium-sized enterprises is more and more evident. Continue reading Fintech and SMEs – what has changed?