DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Monzo: 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a digital-only bank, Monzo operates entirely within a mobile app. In September, the company partnered with BlackRock , the asset management giant, to offer three funds to Monzo customers. Founded in 2015, it has more than nine million customers, making it the largest digital bank in the U.K. and the seventh largest U.K. bank by customers. In March, Monzo raised $430 million in a new round of funding led by CapitalG, the venture arm of Alphabet. It appointed Conor Walsh, a former executive at Block's Cash App division, as the CEO at Monzo U.S. in October.

Persons: Monzo, neobanks, Starling, —, CapitalG, Conor Walsh, Anil Organizations: BlackRock, Starling Bank, Zopa, Sutton Bank, Monzo, Financial Times Locations: Monzo, U.S

☆ Alphabet wants to invest in British fintech bank Monzo before it goes public
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Monzo, a British fintech bank, is in talks with Alphabet's private investment arm Capital G to raise what is primed to be its last funding round before a public listing. The bank touts around 8.5 million customers in the UK and is best known for its bright coral pink bank cards. Fintech funding in Europe dropped 70% to $5 billion from $17.1 billion in the first half of 2023, compared with 2022, according to Finch Capital. The prospective funding round is set to be the fintech's last private raise before a mooted public debut that would likely take place in late 2024 or 2025. The British bank reported £116.3 million in losses last year despite more than doubling its revenue.

Persons: Monzo, Catalyst, Monzo's, Cash, Conor Walsh, Anil Organizations: Business, Sky News, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Silicon, VC, fintech, Finch, London, Starling Bank Locations: British, London, Abu Dhabi, New York, Europe, Monzo, Starling

[1/2] Chairman Anthony Thomson (L) and Vice Chairman Vernon Hill pose with a dog outside the first branch of Metro Bank in Holborn in central London July 29, 2010. Metro declined to comment on Tuesday. A Starling spokesperson said the lender was making inroads into the big banks' market dominance. Metro is not the only smaller bank to have faced problems. One option is for smaller banks to gain scale through mergers and acquisitions.

Persons: Anthony Thomson, Vernon Hill, Toby Melville, John Cronin, Caius Capital, Jaime Gilinski, Dorita, Gilinski, Monzo, Starling, We've, Morgan Stanley, Gary Greenwood, Rupak Ghose, Shore Capital's Greenwood, Ghose, Shawbrook, Iain Withers, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Huw Jones, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Chiara Elisei, Nelson Bocanegra, Alexander Smith, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Yorkshire, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Metro, Caius, Varde Partners, Harvard, Forbes, Finance, Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, The Bank of England, Prudential, Authority, Shore Capital, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Shore, Financial, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Holborn, London, BOGOTA, Starling, Colombian, Latin America, Metro, Bogota

Persons: Anthony Thomson, Vernon Hill, Toby Melville, John Cronin, Caius Capital, Monzo, Starling, We've, Morgan Stanley, Gary Greenwood, Rupak Ghose, Shore Capital's Greenwood, Ghose, Shawbrook, Jaime Gilinski, Dorita, Iain Withers, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Huw Jones, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Chiara Elisei, Alexander Smith Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Yorkshire, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Metro, Caius, Varde Partners, Finance, Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, The Bank of England, Prudential, Authority, Shore Capital, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Shore, Financial, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Holborn, London, Starling, Metro, Colombian

☆ Britain's $4.5 billion digital bank Monzo debuts investments feature
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

MonzoMonzo, the $4.5 billion digital challenger bank, launched a feature that lets users make investments —marking its first foray into the massive financial investment market. Monzo Investments will allow users to start investing with as little as £1. With Monzo Investments, you can start from £1." MonzoThe investments pots feature will appear in a new part of the home screen on Monzo called Savings & Investments. Gautam Pillai, head of fintech research at the investment bank Peel Hunt, said Monzo's new investments feature could increase customer "stickiness."

Persons: Anil, Monzo Monzo, It's, Monzo, who've, they'll, Monzo's, they've, Zopa, Wise, we've, Gautam Pillai, Peel Hunt, Pillai Organizations: Investments, BlackRock, CNBC, Monzo, Monzo Investments, Savings, Starling Locations: Britain

☆ Standard Chartered-owned crypto firm Zodia launches in Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Zodia Custody, a company that helps large institutions store their crypto, launched in Singapore on Tuesday in a bid to tap into the country's rapidly growing digital asset market. The development makes Zodia the first entity that is owned by and partnered with banks to provide digital asset custody services for financial institutions in Singapore, Zodia said in a news release. Zodia is also part-owned by SBI Digital Asset Holdings, the crypto division of Japanese bank SBI. "Singapore is a market that has been no stranger to the crypto world for a long time," Sawyer said. Standard Chartered has a "fantastic brand" in Singapore, Sawyer said, adding that the backing of such a large institution has helped boost its conversations with major financial firms.

Persons: Zodia, StanChart, Julian Sawyer, Sawyer, blockchain, Crypto, Zodia's, Coinbase Organizations: Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, SBI, CNBC, Starling, Chartered, Arrows, United, United Arab Emirates Locations: Singapore, British, Asia, Africa, Japan, Pacific, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, India

☆ Cash in or lose out: Banks are turning to AI, cloud computing, and Web3 to gain competitive advantage and customer loyalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AI and cloud tech are giving some banks an edge over competitors and enticing brand loyalty. Traditional banks that ignore this reality risk losing loyal customers to digital banks that have emerged over the past few years, research suggests. Digital transformation is a must for banksWith online banking now the norm, digital transformation is no longer optional for banks. Legacy banking systems were not designed to provide the banking experience that people expect today," she said. As a result, banking customers and employees can view transactions in real time and deliver "a more seamless and personalized experience" for all stakeholders, she added.

Persons: Banks, Victoria Newton, Newton, Laura Merling, Merling, Jay Venkateswaran, WNS, Eno, Goldman Sachs, Nigel Vaz, Publicis, Publicis Sapient Nigel Vaz, Venkateswaran, Vaz, James Whybrow Organizations: Service, Starling Bank, Arvest Bank, Banking, Capital One, Microsoft, Bank of America, Amazon Web Services, Google, Economist Intelligence Unit, Arvest, Software AG, Software Locations: Wall, Silicon, It's, Starling, WNS, Morgan

☆ Wise shares spike 18% as higher interest rates help fintech triple profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Online money transfer firm Wise's shares soared nearly 18% Tuesday as the company reported a spike in profits thanks to rising interest income. The company said in a statement to the stock market that its profit before tax tripled to £146.5 million ($186.5 million). Wise benefited from surging interest rates, which last week were raised by the Bank of England to 5% as policymakers grapple with persistently high inflation. Like other fintechs, Wise has been able to accrue income from interest on funds sitting in customer accounts. Overall income reported by the firm rose to £964.2 million, up 73% year-on-year.

Persons: Wise, Kristo Kaarmann, Kaarmann, Harsh Sinha, Sinha Organizations: Bank of, Starling Bank, Customs, Financial, BBC Radio, BBC Locations: Bank of England, Abu Dhabi

So what's hot in fintech right now? One area fintech companies are getting excited by is an improvement to online checkout tools. Callan Carvey, global head of operations at Cleo, said the firm's AI connects to a customer's bank account to get a better understanding of their financial behavior. "A job that typically would take around one or two weeks can now be completed in 30 minutes, right. Several fintech executives CNBC interviewed spoke of how they're not interested in launching products tailored to crypto as the demand from their customers isn't there.

Persons: MacKenzie Sigalos, hasn't, they've, Starling, Richard Davies, Davies, Niklas Guske, —, B2C fintechs, David Singleton, Guske, dazzled, Cleo, Callan Carvey, Carvey, Teo Blidarus, Taktile's, Hiroki Takeuchi, Takeuchi, Changpeng Zhao, they're, Jack Zhang, Zhang, Prajit Nanu, cryptocurrencies, Banks, Nanu Organizations: Bank, fintechs, CNBC, Business, Allica Bank, B2B, Tiger, Schroders Capital, Atom Bank, Schroders, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, cryptocurrencies Locations: Amsterdam, MacKenzie Sigalos AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, British, Atomico, U.S

☆ British digital bank Monzo hits monthly profitability for the first time after spike in lending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In its annual report for the year ending February 2023, Monzo reported net operating income of £214.5 million ($266.1 million), almost doubling year-over-year from £114 million. Losses at the bank nevertheless came in at a substantial £116.3 million — though this was slightly lower than the £119 million net loss Monzo reported in 2022. Still, the company managed to reach profitability in the first two months of the year. Starling Bank reached that milestone for the first time in 2021. Fellow fintech Allica Bank reached monthly profitability last year.

Persons: Monzo, James Davies, Anil, Starling, Monzo's Organizations: CNBC, Starling Bank, Allica Bank

☆ Allianz picks acceptable time to quit N26
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Allianz (ALVG.DE) is striking a blow for forlorn investors of privately held startups. While that would be a 68% discount to N26’s $9 billion valuation as of October 2021, Allianz’s exit route looks agreeably straightforward. N26 has enough cash to finance its operations until the end of 2024, when it is expected to reach profitability. The fight between banks for consumer deposits will force N26 to offer better interest rates for its customers, limiting its profit margin going foward. More to the point, Allianz doesn’t have to inform N26 of an intention to sell.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 11 times since December 2021 in a bid to curb soaring inflation, which has squeezed living standards. Anil said last month's banking sector turmoil, sparked by the failure of SVB which spooked investors, could contribute to a broad shake-up in the digital finance sector. "The Bank of England looking at the regulations... is the sensible course to do," Sam Everington, senior executive at British digital bank Starling, told the event in London. Digital finance company bosses said they were confident the sector could weather tough economic conditions, but that pressure was building on business models. Lisa Jacobs, CEO of fintech Funding Circle, said much of the digital finance industry had only ever known low interest rates, but she was confident the industry could still show its value.

☆ Revolut posted its first annual profit after missing multiple deadlines to release its financials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based fintech Revolut posted its first annual profit for the year ending 2021. Despite repeatedly missing reporting deadlines, Revolut could soon cinch a UK banking license. Revolut, the London-based fintech firm, has posted its first annual profit after missing multiple deadlines to release its financials. Revolut posted a net profit of £26.3 million ($31.8 million) for the full year 2021, according to its latest annual report. Revolut's annual profit makes it the second UK challenger bank to achieve profitability after London-based Starling Bank.

☆ Investment banks approach Monzo over potential IPO as $4.5 billion fintech plots investing push, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investment banks have been in talks with Monzo over a future IPO, sources told Insider. The London-based fintech has also been in discussions to grow its wealth and investment offering. A number of leading investment banks have held initial talks with British fintech unicorn Monzo about a public listing that could take place as early as next year, sources say. Some investment banks have opted to cull teams of staff focused on M&A and stock issuance in recent months, most notably Goldman Sachs. The fintech has also been on the lookout for acquisitions and partnerships in the wealth and trading space, two sources told Insider.

☆ Revolut close to finalising 2021 accounts as fintech seeks U.K. licence - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Stefania Spezzati | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Fintech firm Revolut Ltd. is close to finalising its long-overdue 2021 financial accounts, a move that could pave the way for the start-up to obtain a UK banking licence, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Revolut is set to publish financial accounts for the year ended December 2021 - which were due last summer - at the end of January after auditing firm BDO LLP’s final sign-off, the people said. The Revolut filing will likely show a rise in 2021 revenue from clients’ subscriptions and exchange rate fees, the person said. The accounts may help the entrepreneur to convince UK regulators that Revolut is ready for a banking licence after a two-year wait. Britain is a key market for Revolut, which aims to become a global financial firm.

☆ This startup that provides insurance to SMEs just raised $54 million. Check out the 23-slide pitch deck Superscript used to land the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insurance tech startup Superscript has raised $54 million in fresh funding. Superscript has raised fresh funds despite a downturn in the wider insurance tech market. London-based insurance tech startup Superscript has raised $54 million in fresh funding. The company, which was founded in 2015, provides insurance products to small and medium businesses (SMBs) and high-growth tech startups. Superscript's funding round was led by existing investor BHL UK, owner of Comparethemarket, with participation from insurance company The Hartford.

☆ 'Investors changed the rules of the game overnight.' The CEOs of Rapyd, Revolut, Wefox, and Klarna look ahead to fintech in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After a bruising year for the sector, fintech startups are prioritizing profitability. The CEOs of Revolut, Klarna, Wefox, and Rapyd outlined the new reality for consumer-facing fintech. "Investors changed the rules of the game overnight," Rapyd CEO Arik Shtilman told Insider. "Investors changed the rules of the game overnight," Arik Shtilman, CEO and founder of $15 billion fintech Rapyd told Insider at the Slush conference in Helsinki. Regardless of whether a focus on profitability has been pushed by investors or not, the tide has now turned for the fintech sector in Europe.

☆ Neobanks battle to lure UK savers with juicy yields as interest rates rocket to a 14-year high
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"We've re-entered the era where banks use better savings rates to acquire customers," Simon Taylor, head of strategy at fintech startup Sardine.ai, told CNBC. The Bank of England on Thursday hiked its main interest rate by 50 basis points, to 3.5%, its highest level in 14 years. They mean savers can get higher rates of returns on their deposits. However, those with mortgages, credit cards and personal loans to pay are charged higher interest. It is not the first time an internet-based bank in the U.K. has bumped up rates on savings to higher levels.

Search resuls for: "Starling Bank"

18 mentions found