Die Zurich Gruppe Deutschland hat das Berliner Insurtech dentolo Deutschland GmbH übernommen. Mit dem Erwerb stärkt die Zurich Gruppe Deutschland ihren Direktversicherer DA Direkt bei dem vorgesehenen Einstieg in das Geschäft mit Zahnzusatzversicherungen. Zurich übernimmt 100 Prozent der Anteile an Deutschlands führendem zahnmedizinischen Ökosystem mit einem bundesweiten Netzwerk aus 500 Zahnärzten. Über den Kaufpreis haben beide Seiten Stillschweigen vereinbart. „Im Rahmen der Strategie der Zurich Gruppe Deutschland ist es unser Ziel, die Marke DA Direkt stärker als eigenständige Marke für Kunden zu entwickeln, die ihre Versicherungsbedarfe weitgehend selber und Online-basiert steuern wollen“, so Dr. Carsten Schildknecht, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Zurich Gruppe…

N26 announce a  $170 million extension of our Series D funding round to $470m. The extension drives N26’s valuation to $3.5bn, making it the highest valued German startup. The Mobile Bank now also ranks among the most valuable European startups and the top ten of the most valuable Fintechs worldwide. All previous investors from the Series D funding round in January 2019 extended their investment in the company, thus underpinning their confidence in N26’s future growth and overall success. Among the participants are many of the world’s most established investors, including Insight Venture Partners, GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund), Tencent,…

Im Februar dieses Jahres hat Datastore  die erste Swiss Cyber Security Technology Startup Map lanciert. Sie umfasst 44 Technologie Jungfirmen, aufgeteilt in neun Bereiche. Mit der Swiss Cyber Security Technology Startup Maps soll die Map im Markt Sensibilisierung für die Schweizer Innovationskraft im Bereich der Informationssicherheit schaffen. Datastore arbeiten daran, bestehende Vorbehalte zur Zusammenarbeit mit Startups bei der Unternehmens IT abzubauen und zukunftsfähige Swiss made Lösungen zu stärken. Wir haben Cameron McNiff, Solution Area Manager Security bei Datastore, nach den persönlichen Erfahrungen aus den ersten Monaten rund um die Schweizer Security Jungfirmen befragt. Welche Erkenntnisse konntest Du seit Februar 2019…

Crypto related thefts, scams and fraud surged in the first quarter of 2019 to US$1.2 billion, or 70% of the entire year 2018 at US$1.7 billion, according to a report by cryptocurrency security firm CipherTrace. During Q1 2019, criminals stole more than US$356 million from exchanges and infrastructure, and losses from fraud and misappropriated funds amounted to US$851 million. Among these losses, exit scams robbed cryptocurrency users of nearly US$195 million, according to CipherTrace’s Q1 2019 Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Report. Among the major exchange thefts, New Zealand-based Cryptopia suffered a US$16 million heist in January, Singapore-based exchange CoinBene lost an…

Sygnum informed the nomination of Peter Wuffli, former Group CEO of UBS, to its Board of Directors subject to the formal election by an Extraordinary General Assembly of shareholders. As a member of Sygnum’s Advisory Council and an active investor from the outset, Peter Wuffli has already made important strategic contributions to building Sygnum. His appointment complements the Board’s already strong industry experience and supports Sygnum’s strategy for growth and sustainable value creation. Luka Müller-Studer, Sygnum Chairman & Co-Founder: “We are thrilled that Peter Wuffli is further strengthening his personal commitment to and involvement in Sygnum. His experience and knowledge…

As of now, Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are no longer just a niche technological curiosity. Old-school corporations like IBM are among top Blockchain employers; the biggest banks make direct Blockchain investments; VCs have invested more than $8.9 billion in Blockchain companies since 2014 and YTD for 2019. But it’s still pretty hard to find people that know the intricacies of how those systems work that are also changing very rapidly right now. There is a very small group of experts that stay in the know about it. The rising demand for the Blockchain experts is represented in the high median…

With the promise of solving the volatility issue inherent to cryptocurrencies all the while retaining the main benefits of crypto and blockchain, stablecoins have been all the rage these past two years, with now more than 130 stablecoin projects in development, according to a new report by blockchain research company Blockdata. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to or backed by real-world assets. Stablecoins arose as an attractive solution to the volatility issue of cryptocurrencies, promising to make these usable for everyday means of exchange and as a store of value, but also provide liquidity to cryptocurrency exchanges as well…

Long gone are the days when crypto coins and digital tokens were solely affiliated with scammers, cyber-attacks and dark web purchases, as today, an increasing number of banks around the world are beginning to launch their very own digital coins, backed by blockchain technology. Among the key benefits, blockchain and digital tokens promise to bring improved efficiency, speed and cost-savings for both wholesale and retail banking, as well as facilitate cross-border transactions and every day purchases. These are 6 banks came around and launched their own coin. JPM Coin (JPMorgan Chase) JPM Coin is a dollar-backed cryptocurrency announced in…

Die deutsche FinTech-Branche boomt – allerdings kennt die Euphorie auch eine Kehrseite, die bislang kaum beleuchtet wird. Während einzelne Finanz-Startups immer grösser werden, geben viele andere oftmals unbemerkt auf. So zeigt der aktuelle Auszug des FinTech-Kooperationsradars von PwC, dass seit 2011 insgesamt 233 hiesige Finanz-Startups ihr Geschäft eingestellt haben. Dabei fällt auf, dass sich die Geschäftseinstellungen nicht erst in diesem oder dem vergangenen Jahr häufen, sondern dass dieser Trend schon 2017 begann. Hatten bis dahin nur einzelne Finanz-Startups aufgegeben, stieg die Zahl der Geschäftseinstellungen laut PwC-Kooperationsradar vor zwei Jahren auf 62 steil an. Im Jahr darauf verschwanden dann schon 74…

BlockState hat eine Studie durchgeführt, in der die weltweite Entwicklung der Tokenisierung von Wertpapieren untersucht wird. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen, was viele Branchenkenner vorhergesagt haben: Mit bereits 64 erfolgreich durchgeführten Security Token Offerings ist der Trend ein klares Zeichen dafür, dass Blockchain-basiertes Fundraising aus den Kinderschuhen herausgewachsen ist. “Tokenisierung wurde häufig als Allheilmittel für alle Probleme gesehen, die im Zusammenhang mit ICOs und Utility Tokens stehen. Es gilt jedoch zu bedenken, dass sich der Markt noch im Anfangsstadium befindet”, sagt Paul Claudius, Gründer und Geschäftsführer von BlockState. In der Studie wurden über 120 durchgeführte, aktive oder geplante STOs analysiert. Bei der…

Regulatory technology, or regtech, is an emerging field within the fintech industry that utilizes information technology to enhance and streamline regulatory processes. The main functions of regtech are regulatory monitoring, reporting and compliance, with companies in the space using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to enhance transparency and consistency, as well as standardize regulatory processes. Ever-increasing regulatory burden, rising compliance costs, along with regulators’ and the industry’s growing interest in automation, have created an environment ripe for disruption by emerging regtechs. Today, regtech is one of the fastest growing segments of fintech, and by 2020, KPMG estimates…

Following a capital increase at 21.finance AG, Bank Frick now holds a majority in the Liechtenstein-based fintech company of 50.14 %  of the share capital. Founders Max J. Heinzle and Udo Oksakowski hold just under 30 per cent of the shares. The remaining shares are in free float. Bank Frick already acquired a stake (25%)  in 21.finance AG in September 2018, buying just over 25 per cent of the Liechtenstein fintech company’s shares. 21.finance AG digitises and automates processes on the area2Invest investment platform in compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements. Open for discussions with new partners “We believe…

Die GLKB will das das von Finova entwickelte «Loan Advisory»  neu auch für das Firmenkundengeschäft einsetzen. Seit Dezember 2018 steht die digitale Kreditberatung bei der GLKB bereits dem Privatkundengeschäft im Piloten zur Verfügung. Das Go-Live ist im dritten Quartal 2019 geplant; im Anschluss steht die neue digitale Kreditberatungslösung auch allen anderen Banken oder Finanzdienstleistern zur Verfügung. Finnova und die GLKB haben mit der «Loan Advisory» den Kreditberatungsprozess neu entwickelt und durchgängig digitalisiert. Mit dieser neuen Software können sämtliche Finanzierungsgeschäfte für Privat- sowie für Firmenkunden in einem digitalen Workflow von der Tablet-gestützten Kundenberatung über die Kreditprüfung bis zur Qualitätssicherung ohne Systembruch…

SIX Fintech Ventures has acquired a stake in PXL Vision AG, a Zurich-based start-up that began as a spin-off from the ETH Zurich and offers solutions in the area of online user verification. SIX Fintech Ventures acquisition was made in parts, to digitise its portfolio, one of the key focus areas for the Swiss financial center. Aside from lead investor SIX, other investors in this seven-figure pre-seed round include Zürcher Kantonalbank and a private business angel. PXL Vision AG’s Daego solution is a technology that enables seamless online verification of users’ identity with no media break. Daego allows the automatic creation and administration…

More then 1’300 decision makers representing 56 countries attended the sixth edition of Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA). DIA, is one of the largest ‘must see’ insurtech event in Europe and  took place 25-27 June in Amsterdam. In only a few years DIA has evolved in the go-to place to get inspired on insurance innovation and to move this forward. The world’s leading carriers were all present and the event once again sold out, making this the insurtech summit of the year and confirming its position as the ‘must see event’ in insurtech and innovation in insurance. 7 DIAmond Award winners:…

Nestlé will break new ground in supply chain transparency through a collaboration with OpenSC – an innovative blockchain platform that allows consumers to track their food right back to the farm. Through this collaboration, Nestlé becomes the first major food and beverage company to announce that it will pilot open blockchain technology in this way. This is part of Nestlé’s journey towards full transparency. Founded by WWF-Australia and The Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures, OpenSC has developed a platform that will give anyone, anywhere access to independently verifiable sustainability and supply chain data. The initial pilot program will trace milk from…

Avaloq has just made two new high-ranking appointments into its global operations. Mathias Schütz is to take over as Avaloq’s Country Head for Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein from mid-August. He will also become CEO of Avaloq Sourcing (Switzerland & Liechtenstein) AG, the Swiss service centre for the Avaloq Group. In addition, Marc Stähli will join Avaloq on 1 July as its new Global Head of Sales. Mathias Schütz will be responsible for the company’s domestic market operations. As CEO of Avaloq’s service center, he will also further develop the company’s provision of SaaS (software as a service) and…

The market for digital assets is growing again and will reach a market capitalization of US$ 323 billion by June’s end, and on the crypto fundraising front, US$3.3 in capital has been raised as of May 2019. While digital assets reached their lowest market capitalization in 21 months in February 2019, their value had more than doubled (US$ 262 billion) by the end of May 2019. Digital assets benefited from the ongoing clarification of regulatory frameworks and renewed interest in cryptocurrencies from institutional investors and established companies. Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital asset in terms of market capitalization, regained…

London-based Finastra strives to provide banks and financial firms with powerful solutions that allow them to meet consumers’ changing needs and expectations in the digital age. Last month, the company launched out of beta an open banking cloud platform, which it claims allows banks to more freely link into its larger network of innovation and enables them to bring digital solutions to market more quickly and at lower cost. “When you think about fintechs today, they attach to a bank,” Martin Haering, chief marketing officer at Finastra, told American Banker. “They have to wait a lot of time before they…

Historically inundated with paper trails and inefficiencies, trade finance is a centuries old industry that’s ripe for disruption. One particular technology that’s been increasingly adopted by financial institutions and companies to improve processes, increase efficiency and reduce costs, is blockchain. For this first edition of our Fintech Infographic of the Week series, we look at the state of blockchain for trade finance, the various consortia that have launched, the companies involved, and the enterprise blockchain platforms available, in an infographic about created by 101blockchain.com. Blockchain for trade finance Trade finance refers to financial transactions, both domestic and international, related…