Robinhood, a popular app for trading stocks without fees, has raised US$110 million in a Series C funding round led by DST Global, the Russian firm led by billionaire Yuri Milner. The round gives Robinhood a valuation of US$1.3 billion. The startup joins 22 other fintech unicorns that are valued at US$1 billion or more. Founded in 2013, Robinhood operates a mobile app that allows customers to buy and sell stock on US exchanges commission-free. Robinhood also offers a premium plan called Robinhood Gold which starts at US$10 per month and comes with a number of advanced features and services…

The massive mortgage industry is mainly dominated by banks and large mortgage lending firms like Quicken Loans. However, since the past few years, tech-focused startups have been attacking the antiquated and painful mortgage process. These have built a variety of tools and services to improve mortgage technology, poor customer service, and slow mortgage approvals. Mortgage represents a huge opportunity for tech startups, with around US$1.5 trillion of new mortgages originated annually in the US and about US$10 trillion of mortgages outstanding that require servicing, and that is just primary residential mortgages. Digitalizing the mortgage process doesn’t just benefit borrowers, who…

Several fintech events are scheduled in the coming months that will tackle some of the hottest trends in the financial technology sector including cryptocurrencies, blockchain, investing, peer-to-peer lending, trade finance as well as the regulatory landscape and Switzerland’s position in the global fintech landscape. Today, we look at the top ten upcoming fintech events that are taking place in Switzerland. Startup Weekend Fintech Geneva April 21. -23., 2017 Fintech Fusion, Geneva Startup Weekend events all follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the…

Singapore’s fintech scene is on a “high level” and there are learning points for Switzerland, according to Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer. “We are a little bit not in the same speed like you… but I think we can go step by step.” During his current journey across Asia, the Swiss Finance Minister stopped by Singapore and visited the city-state’s fintech hub Lattice80. Speaking to the media, Maurer said that it was important for smaller countries like Singapore and Switzerland “to have good relationships.” “Today is a step to network between the two countries,” Maurer said. “I think it is…

Tighter regulation, fast-paced customer demands, market shifts and disruptive technologies are amongst the many forces that have been changing the wealth management industry, creating a new playing field for professionals. Notably, the emergence of digital technologies for delivering services is forcing wealth managers to invest in digital capabilities and modernize their core banking platforms or run the risk of falling behind. In particular, technologies such as mobile, social, analytics and the cloud are changing the landscape, providing wealth manager with an unique opportunity to reinvent their traditional ways of doing business by better understanding and serving customers, improving business processes…

In der Vergangenheit wurden Kredite und Hypotheken in einem langen und mühsamen Prozedere offline bei Banken oder Kreditgenossenschaften abgeschlossen. Heute gibt es eine Reihe von zusätzlichen Anbietern, einschliesslich Online-Hypotheken-Anbietern, die im Vergleich zu normalen Bankinstituten oft bessere Konditionen offerieren. Die Generation der „Millennials“ ist offen gegenüber neuen digitalen Absatzkanälen und verlangt nach und nach eine Verlagerung auf die digitale und mobile Ebene. Sprich, man will nicht mehr in die Filiale gehen, sondern am liebsten alles bequem von zu Hause aus erledigen. Dies spart Zeit und Kosten auf beiden Seiten und hat den Finanzsektor dazu gebracht, in neue Technologien zu investieren,…

Lykke, the Swiss startup developing a global blockchain-powered marketplace, has added support for ChronoBank’s TIME token trading. Lykke plans to support a market for ChronoBank’s Labour-Hour (LH) tokens as well. ChronoBank is a blockchain project aimed at transforming the way people find work and are rewarded for their labor. It seeks to disrupt the HR, recruitment industry through the use of time-based currencies utilizing the latest developments in blockchain technology. “This is a fantastic project,” said Richard Olsen, founder and CEO of Lykke. “When we conceived of Lykke, I had in mind that, among many different assets available, people would…

Swiss crowdlending platform Swisspeers and foreign exchange marketplace Amnis have announced a new partnership to offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland new financing and repayment options. In particular, Swisspeers now offers SMEs the option to choose the currency in which they want the credit to be paid out: Swiss francs or euros. As of the third quarter of 2017, SMEs will also be able to choose whether they want to repay their loans in CHF or EUR. Investors, on the other hand, will solely invest in CHF and repaid in CHF as well, implying that they won’t be…

Ein neues Startup “PR Fina” vermittelt  Kreditsuchende mit kompetenten und seriösen Kreditvermittlern und Kreditanbietern in der Schweiz. Diese sollen gebührenfrei und unverbindlich eine Beratung und Offerten von Schweizer Kreditspezialisten erhalten. Mit dieser Bündelung von mehreren seriösen Angeboten für den Verbraucher will das Unternehmen die Kreditsuche für Schweizer Kreditnehmer vereinfachen. Aus den Medien und Verbraucherschutzkreisen ist es bereits bekannt: Unseriöse Unternehmen mit undurchsichtigen AGBs und ohne kantonale Bewilligung für die Kreditvermittlung sorgen für Schlagzeilen.  Der Sitz dieser Unternehmen ist meistens im Ausland mit einer Schweizer Telefonnummer, welche dann durch eine Rufumleitung in Callcentern im Ausland landet. Der Kreditinteressent kann bei solchen…

Financial technology has been one of the main priorities for development in Singapore, with the sector receiving a lot of governmental support. This has encouraged both domestic growth and attracted some of the biggest technology companies in the world to open fintech labs in the city-state. So far it has been a success, with Singapore ranked as the second leading fintech hub in the world in 2016. It is therefore a great place for any fintech business to make its base, but there are other countries around the world providing support and offering fantastic opportunities for fintech start-ups. Canada Venture…

Here is a infographic showing the top 20 venture capitalists worldwide and where they have invested their money. The list comes from the research firm CB Insights. NYT included in an article the top 20 out of CB Insights Top 50 List and added a selection of their deals. We tried to make out of this date an infographic.

FUSION, operating Switzerland’s First Fintech Startup Accelerator Fintech FUSION, hosted their Annual Demoday at the Fer Geneva. With over 300 people in attendance the startups from the Class of 2016 presented their achievements midway into the programme. FUSION also announced the opening of 3 new vertical accelerators and of its San Francisco office in partnership with Polytech Ventures. After 4 months of intensive mentorship, insightful workshops, pivoting, hard work and acceleration, the startups were ready to pitch in a room full of Investors, senior corporate executives, Academia, Mentors & members of the Press.  FUSION Launches PropTech Fusion Together with Investis…

We all want to be satisfied. We want to be happy. Each generation and culture, however, interprets “happiness” differently. Being satisfied is something personal and personalised. Whoever manages to create happiness and/or satisfaction for others, fosters their trust. By: Eric Salzmann For private banking, trust is key. Can a private bank foster the satisfaction and happiness of a customer? If so, is it thanks to the high yields? Is it thanks to the negotiated mortgage? Is it thanks to the risk optimisation, the research? With regard to today’s products, private banks hardly differ anymore. All products offered to the customers…

Europas Verbraucher bezahlen bis zu 6,5 Mio. Euro im Jahr an versteckten Kosten für die Nutzung von Banking-Dienstleistungen. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine aktuelle Studie, die im Auftrag von Azimo von dem unabhängigen Institut Censuswide durchgeführt wurde. Das Londoner Fintech-Startup Azimo ermöglicht einen kostengünstigen und schnellen internationalen Geldtransferservice in über 195 Länder. Befragt wurden 3.693 Teilnehmer ab 16 Jahren aus Grossbritannien, Deutschland, Frankreich und Spanien zu dem persönlichen Nutzungsverhalten digitaler Finanzdienstleistungen und neuen Banking-Produkten. Mit 86 Prozent ist sich die Mehrheit der Befragten einig, dass die flächendeckende Etablierung von benutzerfreundlichen und digitalen Lösungen helfen könnte, intransparente Kosten zu umgehen. Die Studie…

In less than a year, the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) will be implemented across the European Union member states. An infographic by the European Payments Council (EPC), explains all you need to know about PSD2. Infograpic first appeared on bankingtech.com

Im Monats-Rhythmus veröffentlicht Swisscom zusammen mit e-foresight eine Marktübersicht der Schweizer FinTech Start-up Landschaft mit einer Kategorisierung nach Handlungsfeldern sowie relevanten Incumbents. Folgende Handlungsfelder stehen im Fokus: Crowdfunding Crypto Data Driven Insights Insurance Investing and Asset Management Market Information and Advisory Portal Payment Others Kriterien für eine Platzierung des Start-ups auf der Map: Ein FinTech Start-up ist vor weniger als 10 Jahren gegründet, in der Schweiz ansässig, fokussiert sich auf Geschäftsmodellinnovationen und neue Technologien im Finanzsektor und hat noch nicht den Zielreifegrad erreicht. Neu zählt die März Übersicht 192 Schweizer Fintech Startups, das sind 5 mehr als im Februar. Neu…

The blockchain and fintech events are announced daily. Most of these events are just another day at the office, but every once in a while you there is an event of epic proportions….  ANNOUNCING: The CoinsBank Blockchain Cruise! The CoinsBank Blockchain Cruise will be held on one of the most luxurious cruise ships on the planet – Anthem of the Seas (by Royal Caribbean). Before getting in to the details of the cruise, let’s get a little information on the company behind this amazing event. CoinsBank is your all-in-one gateway to blockchain services. This industry leading company offers every kind…

The Baltic region, which consists of the three countries in northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, has seen its fintech scene grow significantly in the past few years. One segment in particular is peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. Today, these countries host numerous platforms focusing on consumer lending, business loans and invoice factoring, among many other areas. Here is our pick of the top eight most promising peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms in the Baltic states. Viainvest VIAINVEST is a new peer-to-peer lending marketplace provided by Latvia-based VIA SMS Group. The platform…

Die folgenden sechs Tipps helfen Unternehmen besser zu ihrem Crowdlending-Kredit zu kommen. Alwin Meyer vom P2P Lending Fintech Startups Swisspeers hat die entscheidenden Punkte zum Gelingen einer Crowdlending-Kampagne hier zusammengefasst. 1) Aktuelle Finanzbuchhaltung, klare Erwartungen Starten wir mit dem wichtigsten, wenn vielleicht auch langweiligsten Teil: den Zahlen. Die professionelle Buchhaltung und sauber geführte Bücher sind eine Grundvoraussetzung für die Kreditfähigkeit einer Firma. Sauber heisst, dass die Regeln der einwandfreien Buchführung nach Schweizer Standards eingehalten werden und die Zahlen der Realität entsprechen. Meist ist das für die erfolgreiche Geschäftsführung sowieso nötig. Die ordentliche Buchhaltung ist deshalb sehr wichtig, weil man aussenstehenden Investoren…

Roman Zollet von Namics war an der FUW Konferenz FinTech 2017 – Drivers of Change im Dolder und hat auf ihrem die Konferenz zusammengefasst.  Hier die Highlights: Die Konferenz stand unter dem Motto Drivers of Change und die Themenschwerpunkte sind Megatrends (mobile Web, Personalisierung, AI), digitale Strategien, API Banking und RegTech. Die Liste der Referenten reicht von Vertretern der FINMA, CS, PostFinance, Swiss Life, Swisscom, Google hin zu vielen CEOs und Biz Dev Verantwortlichen von FinTech-Unternehmen. Interviews, Panels, Impuls-Referate und eine Keynote stehen auf dem Programm für die knapp 180 (angemeldeten) Teilnehmer. Hier unsere Take-Aways des Vormittags: 1.) Interview mit…