In Q1 2024, public markets surged, led by tech giants, while the fintech sector maintained its momentum, a new report by London-based corporate finance advisory Royal Park Partners shows. The report highlights that Royal Park Partners’ RRP Fintech Index, which tracks the performance of key fintech verticals, saw a 4% increase from its December 2023 value, a sustained growth which highlights the continued strength and expansion of the fintech sector, the report says. Across the fintech verticals covered by the RPP Fintech Index, insurtech recorded the strongest growth, rising by a remarkable 61 ..read more

A new paper by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) presents the think tank’s vision for a new financial system dubbed the “Finternet”. This new financial system involves multiple financial ecosystems interconnected with each other to empower individuals and businesses, and leverages innovative technologies such as tokenization and unified ledgers to expand the range and quality of financial services, lower barriers between financial services and systems, and promote access for all, the paper says. Released on April 15, the paper lays out the BIS’ vision for the Finternet, arguing that ..read more

Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments provider, has announced a partnership with Mastercard to bring virtual cards to Online Travel Agents. As part of the Mastercard Wholesale Program, which reduces costs for travel businesses through virtual card technology and an innovative pricing model, customers of Checkout.com will be able to pay their suppliers more easily and benefit from higher conversion rates by issuing virtual cards. George Simon “Mastercard remains committed to powering the travel economy with digital payment solutions that provide greater flexibility, visibility, and ..read more

Securitize, a leader in tokenizing real-world assets announced last week the successful completion of a $47 million funding round led by BlackRock. The strategic investment also includes funding from Hamilton Lane, ParaFi Capital, and Tradeweb Markets. This investment underscores Securitize’s industry pioneering efforts in digitizing capital markets with blockchain technology. The contributed capital will fuel Securitize’s continued innovation and expansion as it further solidifies its position as a leader in the digital asset securities ecosystem. As part of the investment, Joseph Chalom, Bla ..read more

Lange schauten Herr und Frau Schweizer – oftmals sogar neidisch – auf die Anlagemöglichkeiten vieler EU-Nachbarstaaten. Das gebührenfreie, monatliche Ansparen in börsenkotierte Fonds (ETFs) war bis anhin in der Schweiz nicht möglich. Nun hat das Warten ein Ende. Allerdings, vorerst nur für ein par wenige ausgewählte Invesco ETF. Invesco und der Banken-Challenger neon erweitern ihre Partnerschaft. Ab sofort bieten sie ETF-Sparpläne an, die gebührenfrei gehandelt und ohne Depotgebühren gehalten werden können. Die gemeinsame Initiative zielt darauf ab, den Zugang zu ETFs weiter zu demokratisieren ..read more

Venture capital (VC) funding increased by 11% in Q1 2024, driven by massive deals in generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), including Amazon’s US$2.75 billion investment in Anthropic and Alibaba’s US$2.5 billion investment in Moonshot AI, new data released by business analytics platform CB Insights show. This surge underscores the ongoing enthusiasm for gen AI among investors, with major tech players viewing it as a pivotal innovation catalyst, promising efficiency enhancements and new market opportunities. This momentum in gen AI builds on the sector’s remarkable performance in 2023 dur ..read more

ComplyAdvantage, a leader in financial crime intelligence, announced its acquisition of Golden. Golden is a San Francisco-based innovator automating the construction of one of the world’s largest knowledge graphs, which shows interconnected data points and their relationships for the purpose of analyzing complex information. Financial institutions and other regulated entities are required by law to ensure the people and organizations they choose to do business with are legitimate and that the transactions they facilitate are legal. ComplyAdvantage uses AI and machine learning to parse through ..read more

In a new report released on April 16, the World Economic Forum explores the potential of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) to address challenges in financial markets, improve settlement efficiency and tap into new market opportunities. The report, titled Modernizing Financial Markets with Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC) and produced in collaboration with Accenture, outlines key areas wCBDCs can provide unique value, highlighting their potential to establish a “global settlement window” to synchronize different settlement times. It also discusses how wCBDCs coul ..read more

PayPal Ventures, the investment arm of the online payment firm, plans to increase its investment activity to keep up with technological advancements, seeking investment opportunities in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, employee benefits and stablecoins, James Loftus, managing partner at PayPal Ventures, told Global Venturing in an interview. Discussing PayPal Ventures’ strategies and investment focuses for the years to come, Loftus said the fund will be shifting towards placing more emphasis on early-stage ventures, especially in Series A rounds. This move aims to ga ..read more

The Gulf region has historically been depended on the oil sector, an industry prone to price fluctuations and which is heavily influenced by geopolitical circumstances. But recent years have seen a shift toward greater diversification as Gulf investors aim to reduce reliance on oil revenues and seek a hedge against local volatility. Against this backdrop, Europe has emerged as an attractive destination for Gulf investors to diversify their investments. The region boasts a more balanced economic landscape, and has a stable and mature investment environment with established legal frameworks, reg ..read more