Top 10 US Fintech Firms Now Worth $130bn; Outperforming “Financial Incumbents” Says VC Firm

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Fintech, Personal Finance

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

Fintech firms had a stellar year in 2017.

To those of you who are thinking “well, I know about the hype, but where’s the proof?”, a new tracker from VC firm Matrix, the Matrix U.S. Fintech Index is a weighted index that tracks the performance of a portfolio of 10 of the leading fintech companies in the US.

The index reveals that, not only, in 2017, did these firms crash through the $100bn dollar mark in terms of total market capitalisation (it is closer to $130bn now), collectively, they also delivered 89% returns over the course of 2017. Read more “Top 10 US Fintech Firms Now Worth $130bn; Outperforming “Financial Incumbents” Says VC Firm”

HSBC Expat Explorer Survey Puts Singapore Top Of The League In 2017

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Moving Abroad, Travel

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

I had the pleasure of spending 3 weeks here in August last year and based on my experience, it seems hardly surprising that Singapore tops HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey in 2017.

Singapore is in first place for the second year running, ahead of Norway (6th in 2016), New Zealand (2nd) and Germany (10th). An eclectic top 10 also includes the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Austria, and the United Arab Emirates. Read more “HSBC Expat Explorer Survey Puts Singapore Top Of The League In 2017”

Being An Entrepreneur On The Cote D’Azur; You’re Probably Right To Be Tempted

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, General, lifestyle and fashion, Moving Abroad, Travel

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

Monaco, Cannes, Marseille, Nice, St Tropez; France’s Cote D’Azur hosts some world-famous cities and towns as well as picturesque, sleepy on the surface villages that stretch towards Ventimiglia, in Italy, in the East, and Marseille in the West.

The quality of life on the Cote D’Azur is high; there are plenty of activities, events and festivals, celebrating food, life and culture; there are yachts, superyachts, casinos, nightclubs, fast cars, good food, and all the other trappings of the glamorous Mediterranean that you might expect. It can also be surprisingly down to earth ad friendly. Read more “Being An Entrepreneur On The Cote D’Azur; You’re Probably Right To Be Tempted”

Even Tech Savvy Singaporeans Struggle To Calculate Overseas Money Transfer Rates Correctly, Say TransferWise

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, money transfer

According to a report released earlier this month by Transferwise, the peer-to-peer international money transfer platform featured on The Money Cloud, 75% of Singaporeans are unaware of the real costs of sending money overseas.

Singapore’s citizens enjoy a reputation for being financially literate, well organised and capable when it comes to their finances, but even they struggle to understand the mysterious fees that banks have a habit of adding to their customers’ international money transfer arrangements. Read more “Even Tech Savvy Singaporeans Struggle To Calculate Overseas Money Transfer Rates Correctly, Say TransferWise”

La Cote D’Azur; The Perfect Break For Entrepreneurs & Expats? Plus 5 Top Hotels For Nice

Edmund Ingham lifestyle and fashion, Moving Abroad, Travel

It wasn’t the easy ride he expected, but was it worth it, and should you try it? Edmund Ingham writes about his trip to the Cote D’Azur in snowy December, and his tips for entrepreneurs and expats. 1st in series.

It’s 6.45am and, stepping off the National Express at Stansted Airport, I am feeling smug. Having woken up at 5am and strolled to the bus stop at Stratford, a few minutes from my Airbnb overlooking the Olympic Park, I have arrived on time and have 70 minutes to clear security, and get to my gate. Read more “La Cote D’Azur; The Perfect Break For Entrepreneurs & Expats? Plus 5 Top Hotels For Nice”

The 5 Reasons You’ll Be Sure To Make International Payments In 2018?

Edmund Ingham lifestyle and fashion, Personal Finance, Travel

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

“Why would I need to send money abroad?”

Famous last words. International money transfer is one of those things that we rarely plan for, so when the inevitable happens and we have to make a transfer overseas, we have a tendency to panic, rush the process and end up paying a severe financial penalty. Read more “The 5 Reasons You’ll Be Sure To Make International Payments In 2018?”

MasterCard’s Digital Prepayment Platform For Millennials Is Holistic, But Restricted & Might Even Worry Millennials

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, lifestyle and fashion, Personal Finance

MasterCard’s new product – a holistic digital platform that offers a range of “money management” capabilities, such as balance checking, budgeting, setting savings goals and near real-time payments to peers – has just launched in the US.

The US may not be about to embrace a new set of digital payments service directives such as those Europe faces, with the introduction of PSD2 on January 18th, but it’s encouraging to see that the region is preparing for a shift in the way that its population wants to bank.

There’s just one catch, however. Read more “MasterCard’s Digital Prepayment Platform For Millennials Is Holistic, But Restricted & Might Even Worry Millennials”

What Does 2018 Have In Store For Bitcoin? 5 Bold Predictions

Edmund Ingham blockchain, Breaking News, Fintech, Personal Finance

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

Bitcoin has been the talk of the second half of 2017, but can the digital currency continue to exert the same fascination, and the same obscene (to some, to others it’s undervalued!) valuation as we enter a new year?

Try as we might to gaze into our crystal balls, it is very hard to predict what factors may affect the short term price, long term adoption, or medium term public perception of bitcoin, yet these are the very factors upon which the cryprocurrency stands or falls.

Below, we list 5 things that we think could affect bitcoin fortunes in 2018, and examine what the potential fallout might be. Sadly we cannot tell you what the price of one bitcoin will be at this time next year, but the below may help you frame your own thoughts and predictions. Read more “What Does 2018 Have In Store For Bitcoin? 5 Bold Predictions”

Banking On The Future Of Fintech? The Money Cloud Joins Panel Discussion At Treasury Leaders’ Summit

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Fintech, The Money Cloud News

Are rumours of the death of the banking industry being greatly exaggerated? Is the fintech industry ready to consign the infrastructure and techniques of traditional banking services to history? Or could there be a “third way”, where banks and fintech work together to usher in a new age of value exchange.

One where disruptive tech ensures the banking industry as we know it survives, but having, somewhat noisily, undergone a tech revolution?

This was a question put to the audience at a panel discussion last week at the Treasury Leaders’ Summit in Canary Wharf, which I took part in on behalf of The Money Cloud, and as a future technologist and fintech “expert”. Read more “Banking On The Future Of Fintech? The Money Cloud Joins Panel Discussion At Treasury Leaders’ Summit”

10 “Mega Trends” That Will Drive The Future Of Payments

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Fintech, Payments

The results are in!

Accenture Consulting has revealed the ten trends that they believe will drive the future of payments, thanks to the results of its Payments Pulse survey of 1,500 consumers in the United States – and each trend is intriguing in its own way.

From Gen Z-ers, to the power of “The Network”, to outhinking the “criminals making it their full-time job to out-innovate the payments industry”, it would not be an exaggeration to say that 2018 could genuinely be the most exciting and disruptive year for payments that we have ever known.

In this post we take a look at some of the trends more closely and assess their likely impact. Read more “10 “Mega Trends” That Will Drive The Future Of Payments”

Fitbit Pay On Ionic; Health Fanatics Can Make Contactless Payments With A Flick Of The Wrist

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, lifestyle and fashion, Payments

Fitbit, the health and fitness app that tracks your activity, exercise, sleep, weight and a myriad of other elements all designed to help you feel great in body and soul, is a class leader in a field that, despite the tech world’s best efforts, has sometimes struggled to live up to the hype.

Wearables, and the internet of things were two of the most talked about new tech phenomena of 2016, but this year progress has been teeth-grindingly slow, and public expectations have been dampened somewhat. We will have to wait for our talking fridges, it seems.

There are few standout companies that have successfully implemented wearables and / or contactless / IoT technology and created something life-enhancing and meaningful – but Fitbit is certainly one. Read more “Fitbit Pay On Ionic; Health Fanatics Can Make Contactless Payments With A Flick Of The Wrist”

5 Reasons Bitcoin Is On The Up & Up (&Up?)!

Edmund Ingham blockchain, Breaking News

Surely it cannot be long now before the rights to “Bitcoin – The Movie” are sold. If recent history is anything to go by, if somebody sold them now at the current bitcoin / dollar exchange rate, for £1 million, by the time of the film’s release they could be worth as much as…well, nobody knows in reality, but nearly everybody has an opinion now.

A movie would also be a great opportunity for the Winklevoss twins to reprise the roles they had in the last movie about entrepreneurs, disruptive products, billionaires and controversy – The Social Network. In this version, however, it looks like the twins could be the stars of the show.

To find out why, plus 4 more reasons to be cheerful about bitcoin, read our 5 reasons below outlining why its perfectly possible that the price of bitcoin which keeps on going up, and up, and up, and down a bit (hard / soft fork?), and then up again – is not finished yet – not, perhaps, by a long shot. Read more “5 Reasons Bitcoin Is On The Up & Up (&Up?)!”

Facebook Messenger Pay Arrives In The UK & France – Infographic Reveals How Brits Feel About Being Paid Back

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, General, Payments, Personal Finance

2 years after it was launched in the US, Facebook Messenger Pay has finally crossed the Atlantic. Now it’s possible to make a P2P transaction across the platform in both France and the UK, simply by tapping the blue plus icon to the left of the chat bar, and choosing the green cash icon.

Facebook said in a blog post that it is “not just the transactional act of paying someone back, it’s the emotional importance of doing so”, and said that this is backed up by research they have conducted on Messenger, which you can see in the infographic below. Read more “Facebook Messenger Pay Arrives In The UK & France – Infographic Reveals How Brits Feel About Being Paid Back”

SEPA’s New Instant Credit Transfer Facility Allows Up To €15,000 To Be Transferred EU-Wide In Just 10 Seconds

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, General, money transfer

“As of today, nearly 600 payment service providers (PSPs) from eight European countries are offering instant payment solutions based on SCT Inst.” EPC announcement, Nov 21st

What is SCT Inst? As of 21st November, the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Credit Transfer Scheme has become operational. The scheme “allows the electronic transfer of up to €15,000 Euros to be transferred across Europe in less than ten seconds, at any time and on any day of the year, including weekends and holidays.” Read more “SEPA’s New Instant Credit Transfer Facility Allows Up To €15,000 To Be Transferred EU-Wide In Just 10 Seconds”

62 Of The Most Insane Facts About Bitcoin – In An Infographic!

Edmund Ingham blockchain, Breaking News, Fintech

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

price of bitcoin moves so fast these days, that no sooner is a new analysis of the sometimes controversial, often entertaining digital currency published, we have to tear the arguments down and rehash the theory to justify the latest surge in price. Read more “62 Of The Most Insane Facts About Bitcoin – In An Infographic!”

Challenger Starling Shows Banks How It’s Done With Recent Integrations To Yoyo Wallet and Flux

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Personal Finance

There is an awful lot of hype surrounding the fintech industry; some of it unjustified.

Many startups and enterprises are simply jumping on the “disruptive – in a good way” bandwagon, without offering products or services that are clearly differentiated from the ones offered by the big banks – or noticeably cheaper, faster, or more efficient.

But that is certainly not the case with Starling Bank. Read more “Challenger Starling Shows Banks How It’s Done With Recent Integrations To Yoyo Wallet and Flux”

Virtual Bank Services & Digital Dashboard Assistants Will Be The Fintech Trend To Watch Going Into 2018

Edmund Ingham Fintech, The Money Cloud News

Despite the looming threat of Brexit, 2017 has been another tremendous year for fintech in the UK. Since it began, more than £1 billion of investment has poured into the country, and most notably, into London – more than double the amount compared to the same period last year.

It should not surprise anybody; fintech is, often quite literally, a big deal over here – the hottest ticket in town. In fact, there are only 3 cities in the world –  San Francisco, Beijing, and New York, who are attracting more VC fintech investment currently than London, which is ahead of the likes of Mumbai, a city increasingly pushing the cashless agenda, and Singapore, one of Asia’s most exciting fintech hubs.

What areas are VCs, angel investors, and even the big banks themselves, investing into?

Read more “Virtual Bank Services & Digital Dashboard Assistants Will Be The Fintech Trend To Watch Going Into 2018”

Fintech East Finally Meets West! Camden Market Signs Historic Deal To Integrate WeChat Pay At Point Of Sale

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, lifestyle and fashion

Camden Market, London’s fourth biggest tourist attraction is breaking the mould by permitting users of WeChat Pay to use their e-wallets to make purchases.

WeChat Pay is hugely popular in China – in 2017 alone, €1.5 trillion of payments were processed via the app globally – and according to recent research the service accounts for 40% of the entire Chinese mobile payment market.

The app is especially popular with Chinese tourists and WeChat have been making concerted efforts to extend its reach into Europe, where Chinese visitors spend more than European and US tourists combined. Luxury goods are particularly popular – Asia accounts for 50% of all luxury purchases made in Europe. Read more “Fintech East Finally Meets West! Camden Market Signs Historic Deal To Integrate WeChat Pay At Point Of Sale”

Glint – The App That Lets You Buy, Spend & Share Gold – Launches In London

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Payments, Personal Finance

Ever since the global financial collapse of 2008, banks, currencies, and even governments seem to have gone down and down in our estimation – in fact, it’s quite possible that they have never before been held in such low regard.

First the public’s money was used to bail out the banks, then we were forced to accept record low interest rates, high inflation, and “austerity” as the norm.

This financial malaise has carried on for nearly a decade, but, luckily, the emergence of fintech and the disruption of services that it has wrought has suddenly put us all back in charge of our finances. Now it is the banks that must pander to our needs; now, if they slip up, we, the public, have options. Read more “Glint – The App That Lets You Buy, Spend & Share Gold – Launches In London”

Standard Chartered Is Introducing A Chatbot In Hong Kong With The Brains To Manage Your Money – Just Don’t Expect Miracles

Edmund Ingham Breaking News, Fintech, General, Personal Finance

This content is brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

Not so long ago, chatbots were the most talked about new tech on the block. It was believed that soon we would be able to conduct conversations with digital assistants as easily as we could with our PAs.

Well, things haven’t quite turned out that way. Microsoft’s attempt to launch a “twitter bot” in 2016, known as Tay, was nothing short of disastrous, Hackers were quickly able to disrupt and distort the bot’s conversational gambits until Tay began to spout offensive gibberish. Read more “Standard Chartered Is Introducing A Chatbot In Hong Kong With The Brains To Manage Your Money – Just Don’t Expect Miracles”