FinTech News Issue #30 August 27th, 2015

Startups have been gaining traction against Wall Street's biggest banks but one advocacy group could slow their roll.

The growth in Fintech has been phenomenal during the last few years: 10 times more startups in London in 3 years, dozens of Fintech companies valued at more than $1bn, record breaking VC investments year after year.

Apps World is BACK for 2015 at London ExCeL (18-19 November) for the 7th year and it's going to be bigger, better and more fun than ever before! Join the Mobile Payments and Retail conference at Apps World 2015. Find out about the evolution of mCommerce and mobile banking. Is the future for banks and Fintech collaborative? How is innovation in payment technology having an effect on banking and retail strategies? Find out the answer to these questions and more. Register now! At the end of day two we’ll have a Fintech Start-up showcase, make sure you’re there to see the disruptors and pioneers in advancing payments innovation.

Book your FREE Expo pass to Apps World: Please enter PRIORITY CODE: FINTECHWEEKFREE here http://bit.ly/LondonFree

Book your discount delegate pass: Use Discount code I8RTYFTWK20 here http://bit.ly/AppsSEB

In February this year we organized the first FinTech Conference at STARTPLATZ. Since then a lot of things have changed. Starbucks has its own currency, Apple Pay launched in Europe, Kreditech got a million dollar deal with Peter Thiel. More and more banks join the FinTech Community. What are we up to in the next months? Who will win, who will lose? What the FinTech? Join us on Oct 8th at STARTPLATZ in Cologne. Get a 40% discount with following code: weekly_reader

The way financial services firms communicate to regulators isn’t that far away from bicycle messengers and fax machines, according to Adam Ross, the new boss of Box for Financial Services, which is expected to open at the company’s new New York City offices this fall.

The Fintech sector is booming. Every day we read about new companies, record unicorn valuations, new fundraising rounds, etc. Nevertheless, it is still really hard to understand who are the biggest players in the industry. Valuation is not a 100% reliable metric to assess a company’s real value and revenues are usually not disclosed. Therefore, we have decided to create a ranking system based on turnover (in other words, the amount exchanged on each platform).

The financial technology sector is booming and many companies are starting to leave their mark on the industry. Acquisitions are rampant in fintech, but there are many key players still operating independently. Although it’s difficult to reach the famed $1 billion valuation, many finch companies have already reached it.

The 70,000 passengers that pass through the Staten Island Ferry terminal every day now have access to a licensed bitcoin ATM, or BTM, and they won't even need a bank account to use it.

Japan’s fintech battleground won’t be cooling down anytime soon. Freee, an accounting software as a service startup led by ex-Googler Daisuke Sasaki, just confirmed a windfall of JPY 3.5 billion (US$28.7 million) in a series C round. Recruit Holdings, Japan Co-Invest, and a previous investor, Silicon Valley-based DCM, all participated.

EShares digitizes paper stock certificates along with stock options, warrants, and derivatives to create a real-time picture of who owns what at a startup.

Eleven companies, including Alibaba-backed Paytm and several telecoms, can now offer a wide array of financial services after being granted provisional approval by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central banking authority.

So far Fidor Bank of Germany is the only mainstream banking operation bold enough to put its money where its mouth is in respect of cryptocurrency. Fidor's charismatic chief executive Matthias Kröner calls bitcoin "a natural part of the digital lifestyle".

New government business adviser says Britain will easily surpass Silicon Valley in finance technology.

Financial technology, or fintech, is a boom industry right now, with investment flooding into companies reinventing the way we do payments, lending, investing, and more.

In any job search, preparation and preparedness are key. The most useful question you can ask yourself before any application or interview is often: ‘What do employers look for?’

Stone & Chalk will become a hub of activity for start-ups and assist banks and other partners identify potential acquisition targets or partners. It will also become an incubator for policy ideas to be taken to government to seek an improvement to the fintech sector and start-up community more broadly.

Observers say traditional financial institutions are increasingly seeking to work with the relatively nascent technology industry, and MAS is taking new measures to help drive the ecosystem.