Suhail Ahmad, MBA

Tech Investor and Advisor.

fintech

The Fight For Fintech

By SuhailPosted on Posted in Research ReportsTagged , ,

Fintech is a phenomenon. Just as with other sectors, the tentacles of technology have coiled their way into the financial services industry and traditional firms are feeling the squeeze. Dealmaking in the sector shows no sign of letting up. Research from the consultancy firm KPMG suggests global fintech M&A during 2017 was up sharply compared with 2016, itself a record year. In total, there were 336 such transactions last year worth a total of $18bn – that compares to 236 transactions worth $11.15bn over the previous 12 months.

Financial institutions have substantial firepower at their disposal as they survey forthcoming M&A opportunities. Almost a third of these organisations (31%) plan to allocate $500m or more to fintech investment over the next 24 months, more than double the number that allocated such large sums over the past two years. A further third say they are likely to allocate between $200m and $500m.

Click here to download the full report.

Fintech founders pessimistic

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

As Brexit looms, UK fintech founders are pessimistic about the country’s ability to remain a world leader in the field, according to a survey from the Digital Finance Forum.

Of 50 financial technology company founders surveyed by the Digital Finance Forum, 63% say the UK is the global leader in fintech. However, only 33% are optimistic that this will still be the case in five years.

Brexit uncertainty is a factor in the founders’ concerns about the future, with over two thirds of respondents saying they are worried or extremely worried about the impact of the EU exit on their businesses.

The FinTech bubble: Euphoria surrounds $1 billion Swiss ‘unicorn’ but there is no profit

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

The million dollar, or perhaps in this particular context, billion dollar question is, how can the new FinTech challengers become highly capitalized entities that are able to gain huge venture capital investment when there is no track record and no sign of profit?

In the financial technology sector, today’s massively high profile new startups which are paving the way ahead for the method by which retail and commercial customers will access financial markets are gaining vast sums of investment via various rounds of funding from large scale venture capital investors.

Read the article.

As London’s trading FinTech rockets ahead, investment in APAC fintech down in H1 2019

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

The new wave of FinTech companies that have begun to produce high profile alternatives to traditional banks and electronic financial services companies have absolutely captured the limelight over the past two to three years, resulting in a dynamic which is very unusual in the financial sector, that being vast investment from venture capital funds into absolutely new and untested ideas.

Particular technological and financial centers across the world have risen up to become extremely dominant in the development of new non-bank regions of excellence, including Singapore, Shanghai, Silicon Valley and the world’s leading force, London.

The Pulse of Fintech H1 2019

Read the article.

Curve launches first crowdfunding campaign

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

Curve, the over-the-top banking platform which consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and one even smarter app, is launching a seven figure crowdfunding campaign this September.

Curve is valued at a quarter of a billion dollars which positions the company firmly amongst the UK’s most exciting scaleups; Transferwise, Monzo, Revolut and Starling, and has raised over $70m to date.

Over 500,000 people have flocked to Curve and signed up to its All Your Cards in One smart card and app since it burst on to the fintech scene in 2018. The business is experiencing an extraordinary period of growth both in customer base and team size, growing to over 160 employees, and is set to double its customer base to around 1 million by the end of the year.

Read the article.

Global fintech investment doubles to €43 billion in 2018

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

FinTech funding has continued to boom in the UK, with the country seeing investment in the sector at the start of 2019 almost doubling on the levels seen over the first six months of 2018. The global FinTech sector could be set to see falling interest, however, following declines in both volume and value.

As financial institutions look to tackle complex problems such as shifting consumer expectations, regulatory burdens and heightened competition from digital upstarts, many are turning to innovative FinTech platforms for their salvation. The threat and opportunities created by disruptive FinTech firms has not been lost on a whole host of actors – from consultancy firms to accelerators seeking to profit from the action – meaning investment in the segment has boomed continuously in recent years.

Read the article.

UK fintech Curve to launch crowdfunding campaign

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

Curve, the multi-use banking platform which consolidates several cards and accounts into one smart card and app is launching a seven figure crowdfunding campaign this September.

With a valuation of $250m, it sits alongside the UK’s most exciting scaleups; Transferwise, Monzo, Revolut and Starling. The fintech has raised over $70m to date.

According to the business, over 500,000 people have signed up to its All Your Cards in One smart card and app since it launched in 2018. Curve currently employs 160 employees and is on track to double its customer base to around 1 million by the end of the year.

Read the article.

UK FinTech Investment Flying High in 2019

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

UK FinTech Investment Flying High in 2019. That is according analysis by consultancy firm Accenture, which found that the UK attracted $2.6bn (£2.2bn) in the first half of this year, with the number of deals jumping 25% to 263.

However, total global investment fell 29% from $31.2bn to $22bn, largely because there were no giant deals like Ant Financial’s record $14bn transaction in 2018.

Discounting that deal, the researchers said that global investment would have climbed by around a quarter in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

Read the article.

N26 is now one of the highest valued FinTechs globally

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

The last few months have been quite the whirlwind for N26 – we’ve celebrated reaching 3.5 million customers worldwide, launched in the USA and also revamped N26 Black to unveil N26 You. And today, we’re excited to announce our Series D funding extension by $170m to $470m. This is one of the biggest rounds ever raised in Berlin and one of the biggest European ones. We’re now valued at $3.5bn, making us the highest valued German startup. We also rank among the most valuable European startups and the top ten of the most valuable FinTech companies worldwide.

Read the article.

UK sights on Sydney fintech expansion

By SuhailPosted on Posted in FintechTagged , ,

New business opportunities for NSW and UK fintech and financial services companies were under the spotlight at yesterday’s London roundtable meeting between NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Elizabeth Truss and senior executives from leading UK financial firms. UK sights on Sydney fintech expansion.

The meeting focused on opportunities afforded by the start of open banking in Australia and the Australia–UK Fintech Bridge, which was established last year to set out a framework for ongoing cooperation between the two nations on fintech issues.

Read the article.