Fintech

London Fintechs Raising Funds in 2024 Won’t All Hire in London

Published

6 months ago

17 July, 2024

London Fintechs Raising Funds in 2024 Won't All Hire in London

Raise funds with a financial technology the start was It’s not an easy feat since the beginning of 2023But a number of London fintechs have been able to raise $40 million or more in Series A funding. These rounds are often designed to spur hiring… though rarely in the UK.

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FintechOS

Founded: 2017

Service: Low-code product management for banking/insurance

Funding: $60 million (Series B)

FintechOS is a fintech that was originally founded in Turkey, but is headquartered in London and New York. When it comes to hiring in 2024, its focus is… none of those positions.

There are currently only two open positions at FintechOS, both for software engineers, both in Bucharest. The most recent hires were also in Romania; among them, account director Bianca Palade, formerly head of the delivery management practice for Deloitte Digital. CEO Ted Blidarus said the money would be spent on upskilling staff, but also stressed the importance of a “sustainable business model.”

FintechOS reviews on Glassdoor state that the fintech has “great, hardworking people, especially engineers in the Bucharest office.” Complaints revolve around a potential chaotic nature of businesscommon among startups.

Lives

Founded: 2014

Service: Treasury and Payment Solutions for the Insurance Industry

Funding: $92.9 million (Series C)

Vitesse, a decade-long veteran of the InsurTech sector, is looking to expand globally. It has raised £73.1m to expand into the US, but has yet to start hiring there. Among the biggest names in 2024 so far is cybersecurity chief Rob Kinson, who has joined construction firm Galliford Try.

Vitesse currently has seven vacancies in areas such as finance and operations. The roles are all hybrid, with Tuesday and Thursday as mandatory office days.

Recent Glassdoor reviews for Vitesse praise the learning opportunities for younger employees, but suggest there are few career development opportunities beyond that. CEO Phil McGriskin has a 100% approval rating.

Monzo

Founded: 2015

Service: Digital Banking

Funding: $622.8 million (Series I)

The largest funding round in the UK this year belongs to one of the The Most Recognizable Names in Financial Technology. Monzo has been hiring aggressively over the past year and is expanding into the US as Vitesse. Monzo’s expansion, however, is already underway.

Monzo’s US division is led by Conor Walsh, who joined from CashApp last September. We talked about some of his US hires Here AND Herebut for engineers it’s focused on iOS developers: Anthony Guay comes from Japanese mobile market Mercari, while Shashi Lyange arrives after five years at Twitter/X.

Back in the UK, Monzo could see its hiring scene stolen by rivals. Annual reports have shown that Starling Bank hired around 200 more employees than Monzo in 2023, while Revolut recently announced it would move to a new office with 40% more usable surface area to facilitate growth.

Global Screening Services

Founded: 2021

Service: Transaction screening platform

Funding: $47 million (Series A)

The youngest fintech on this list by some margin, Global Screening Services (GSS) is a regulatory technology firm led by Tom Scampion, a former Deloitte partner and its former EMEA head of financial crime. This year, it has focused its hiring efforts on senior engineers in the UK.

GSS is hiring from other fintechs. It has hired two principal engineers from German digital bank 10x, Anish Patel and Martin Jordan, to serve as chief architect and principal platform engineer, respectively. Ashley Anderson, senior software, has also joined from Rob Rooney’s fintech HyperJar. GSS is advertising eight hybrids/remote vacancies In Productengineering and legal.

Bumper

Founded: 2013

Service: BNPL for automotive industry

Funding: $53.4 million (Series B)

Despite being the oldest fintech on this list, Bumper only reached Series B funding this year. BNPL has had a slow and steady 11 years and doesn’t even appear to be ramping up hiring yet.

Despite Bumper announcing it is expanding into more markets, it only has one current vacancy, a backend developer based in Turkey. It has made some senior hires in the UK this month, however; chief financial officer Alfie Samson has joined from data firm Conduktor, while legal and compliance officer Jonathan Westwood has arrived from Mortgage Advice Bureau.

Bumper has a very respectable 4.5-star rating on Glassdoor. Reviews praise the “energy” and “good vibes” of the company, but critics suggest it may have become too ambitious for its own good.

Finbourne Technology

Founded: 2016

Service: Investment Management Technology Solutions

Funding: $71.7 million (Series B)

The most recent major fundraising effort in the UK comes from Finbourne Technology. The fintech was founded by two UBS alumni, Thomas McHugh and George Beasley, a quant and a software developer, respectively.

As a result, it hires far more quants than the average fintech. In 2024, quants appear to be highly educated but relatively early in their careers; hires include PhD-level physicists from Imperial and PhD-level mathematicians from Bath. It has also hired interns in business analytics and product.

The fintech currently has 10 open positions in engineering, architecture, legal and sales. It is looking for C# engineers in particular and is open to flexible working arrangements.

Finbourne has a solid 4.4 out of five stars on Glassdoor, but some roles might be more enjoyable than others. Software engineers praise the “modern tech stack” and “relaxed atmosphere,” but one reviewer from a non-technologist complained about a “toxic” environment.

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Fintech

Lloyds and Nationwide invest in Scottish fintech AI Aveni

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

FinCrypto Staff

Lloyds and Nationwide invest in Scottish AI fintech Aveni

Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide have joined an £11m Series A funding round in Scottish artificial intelligence fintech Aveni.

The investment is led by Puma Private Equity with additional participation from Par Equity.

Aveni creates AI products specifically designed to streamline workflows in the financial services industry by analyzing documents and meetings across a range of operational functions, with a focus on financial advisory services and consumer compliance.

The cash injection will help fund the development of a new product, FinLLM, a large-scale language model created specifically for the financial sector in partnership with Lloyds and Nationwide.

Joseph Twigg, CEO of Aveni, explains: “The financial services industry doesn’t need AI models that can quote Shakespeare, it needs AI models that offer transparency, trust and, most importantly, fairness. The way to achieve this is to develop small, highly tuned language models, trained on financial services data, vetted by financial services experts for specific financial services use cases.

“FinLLM’s goal is to set a new standard for the controlled, responsible and ethical adoption of generative AI, outperforming all other generic models in our selected financial services use cases.”

Robin Scher, head of fintech investment at Lloyds Banking Group, says the development programme offers a “massive opportunity” for the financial services industry by streamlining operations and improving customer experience.

“We look forward to supporting Aveni’s growth as we invest in their vision of developing FinLLM together with partners. Our collaboration aims to establish Aveni as a forerunner in AI adoption in the industry, while maintaining a focus on responsible use and customer centricity,” he said.

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Fintech

Fairexpay: Risk consultancy White Matter Advisory acquires 90% stake in fintech Fairexpay

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

FinCrypto Staff

Treasury Risk Consulting Firm White Matter Alert On Monday he announced the acquisition of a 90% stake in the fintech startup Fair payment for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help White Matter Advisory expand its portfolio in the area of cross-border remittance and fundraising services, a statement said. White Matter Advisory, which operates under the name SaveDesk (White Matter Advisory India Pvt Ltd), is engaged in the treasury risk advisory business. It oversees funds under management (FUM) totaling $8 billion, offering advisory services to a wide range of clients.

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White Matter Advisory, based in Bangalore, helps companies navigate the complexities of treasury and risk management.

Fairexpay, authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Cohort 2 of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) Regulatory Sandbox, boasts features such as best-in-class exchange rates, 24-hour processing times and full security compliance.

“With this acquisition, White Matter Advisory will leverage Fairexpay’s advanced technology platform and regulatory approvals to enhance its services to its clients,” the release reads.

The integration of Fairexpay’s capabilities should provide White Matter Advisory with a competitive advantage in the cross-border remittance and fundraising market, he added.

The release also states that by integrating Fairexpay’s advanced technology, White Matter Advisory aims to offer seamless and convenient cross-border payment solutions, providing customers with secure options for international money transfers.

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Fintech

Rakuten Delays FinTech Business Reorganization to 2025

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

FinCrypto Staff

Rakuten (Japan:4755) has released an update.

Rakuten Group, Inc. and Rakuten Bank, Ltd. announced a delay in the reorganization of Rakuten’s FinTech Business, moving the target date from October 2024 to January 2025. The delay is to allow for a more comprehensive review, taking into account regulatory, shareholder interests and the group’s optimal structure for growth. There are no anticipated changes to Rakuten Bank’s reorganization objectives, structure or listing status outside of the revised timeline.

For more insights on JP:4755 stock, check out TipRanks Stock Analysis Page.

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Fintech

White Matter Advisory Acquires 90% Stake in Fintech Startup Fairexpay

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

FinCrypto Staff

White Matter Advisory Acquires 90% Stake in Fintech Startup Fairexpay

You are reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

White Matter Advisory, which operates under the name SaveDesk in India, has announced that it is acquiring a 90% stake in fintech startup Fairexpay for an undisclosed amount.

This strategic move aims to strengthen White Matter Advisory’s portfolio in cross-border remittance and fundraising services.

By integrating Fairexpay’s advanced technology, White Matter Advisory aims to offer seamless and convenient cross-border payment solutions, providing customers with secure options for international money transfers.

White Matter Advisory, known for its treasury risk advisory services, manages funds under management (FUM) totaling USD 8 billion.

Founded by Bhaskar Saravana, Saurabh Jain, Kranthi Reddy and Piuesh Daga, White Matter Advisory helps companies effectively manage the complexities of treasury and risk management.

The SaveDesk platform offering includes a SaaS-based FX market data platform with real-time feeds for over 100 currencies, bank cost optimization services, customized treasury risk management solutions, and compliance guidance for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and other trade regulations.

Fairexpay is a global aggregation platform offering competitive currency exchange rates from numerous exchange partners worldwide. Catering to both private and corporate customers, Fairexpay provides seamless money transfer solutions for education, travel and immigration, as well as simplifying cross-border payments via API and white-label solutions for businesses. Key features include competitive currency exchange rates, 24-hour processing times, extensive currency coverage of over 30 currencies in more than 200 countries, and secure, RBI-compliant transactions.

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