Mimiro raises $30M for ML crime risk platform
Mimiro is a financial crime risk intelligence platform spun out from ComplyAdvantage, the larger regulatory technology firm. In early 2024, the business announced a Series A funding round led by...
Fintech
Covers digital banking founders, blockchain patents, regulatory compliance, and the acceleration of digital change during COVID-19.
Swipii acquired by Paymentology in 2021
Swipii was a loyalty platform for small independent shops that replaced paper stamp cards and single-brand point schemes with card-linking. Customers earned cashback or rewards automatically when they paid with...
The Technology Trends That Defined 2020 and Why They Lasted
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Within weeks, niche tools became essential utilities. Zoom Video Communications reported 300 million daily meeting participants that April,...
Monzo and 4 other neobanks: 5-year shift
The cohort of digital-only banks that entered retail banking from the mid-2010s promised to replace high-street incumbents with mobile apps, transparent fees, and instant account opening. By mid-2024, the sector...
N26's Failed Pivot to an Alternative Investment Bank
N26, the German digital bank founded in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, spent much of 2021 and 2022 telling investors it would become more than a current account...
Monzo quits Halifax arena deal after backlash
In June 2019, UK challenger Monzo announced a 10-year naming rights agreement to rebrand Halifax, Nova Scotia's Scotiabank Centre as the 'Monzo Centre.' The deal collapsed within days. Monzo retreated...
UK challenger banks: growth, regulation, and profitability
After the 2008 financial crisis, a wave of app-only banks set out to prove that a smartphone could replace a branch. They grew fast, raised billions, and forced incumbents to...
Curve FCA halts crowdfunding over pre-approval claims
In 2023, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) paused Curve's crowdfunding on Crowdcube because the firm had used the term 'pre-approval' in its pitch materials. The FCA prohibits firms from...
Laybuy's 2024 admin ends Footasylum deal
New Zealand based buy now pay later firm Laybuy entered UK administration on 24 June 2024. FRP Advisory were appointed administrators of Laybuy Holdings (UK) Limited. The provider ceased trading...
UK Open Banking Mandates Bank Data Sharing
Open banking is a regulatory and technology framework that compels banks to share permissioned data with licensed third parties through standardised application programming interfaces (APIs). It is not an industry...
Walmart Patented Blockchain Coin, Never Launched
In 2019, Walmart filed a patent for a blockchain-based digital currency and registered trademarks for Walmart Coin and Walmart Token. The news triggered a wave of speculation that the retail...
Tappit's Rise, Pivot, and Collapse in Cashless Events
Tappit entered administration in February 2024 and its business and assets were immediately sold via a pre-pack deal to Fintech Topco Limited, a new entity formed by its existing backer...
