Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

African startups raise $2.7bn in VC funding

Startups in Africa's fintech market have secured more than $2.7bn in venture capital (VC) funding in the last two years, according to a recently released report.

30 August 2023

News/sustainable

Fintech and sustainability at the heart of UK and Singapore’s Financial Dialogue

HM Treasury and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) held the eighth UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in London yesterday, discussing further collaboration in sustainable finance and fintech.

28 July 2023

News/wholesale

Commerzbank makes blockchain-based trade finance transactions

Commerzbank has completed a blockchain-based Letter of Credit transaction for a client on the Contour digital trade finance platform.

27 July 2023

News/wholesale

Santander invests in trade finance network Komgo

Santander has invested in Komgo as part of a wide-ranging partnership with the digital trade finance network.

30 June 2023

News/payments

Visa acquires core banking platform Pismo for $1bn

Credit card behemoth Visa has splashed out $1bn to acquire Brazil-based core banking platform Pismo.

29 June 2023

News/wholesale

Wells Fargo backs $70m fund to help underserved SMEs access credit

Wells Fargo is backing a new $70 million “equitable access fund” from Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) that will target underserved high-potential but credit-challenged small business owners.

29 June 2023

News/wholesale

JP Morgan invests in trade finance fintech

Wall Street bank JP Morgan has made a strategic investment in a fintech startup focused on trade finance.

21 June 2023

News/startups

Austrade and SFA launch fintech collaboration initiative

The Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) and Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) have launched a joint programme to foster fintech innovation in both APAC countries.

28 April 2023

News/wholesale

HSBC trials confidential computing to boost global trade finance

HSBC and not-for-profit blockchain tech consortium Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) have carried out a proof-of-concept using "confidential computing" for trade finance.

20 April 2023

News/payments

Lloyds Bank strikes deal with Enigio to digitise trade finance documentation

Lloyds Bank is to bring blockchain to bear on trade finance documentation, using technology from Swedish firm Enigio to dematerealise promissory notes, bills of exchange and bills of lading.

04 April 2023

News/wholesale

IBM and Maersk switch off TradeLens blockchain logistics platform

Maersk and IBM are to shut down the TradeLens blockchain platform for global supply chains in the face of market apathy towards the project.

30 November 2022

News/wholesale

Swift and MonetaGo tackle trade finance fraud

Swift has teamed up with vendor MonetaGo to launch a trade financing validation service for the messaging network's 11,000+ members.

28 October 2022

News/devops

JP Morgan teams up with Cleareye.ai for digitising trade finance solution

JP Morgan has announced their partnership with Cleareye.ai to bring ClearTrade, a trade financing digitising solution, to banks. The platform will be integrated into JP Morgan’s Trade Processing System that has rolled out in the APAC region and will be launched globally in the coming months.

21 September 2022

News/sustainable

UK banks suffering due to lacklustre sustainable trade finance – Pole Star

90% of UK banks and 56% of Swiss banks have lost business in the trade finance industry due to lack of decarbonisation financing terms, according to research from Pole Star. The maritime, governmental, and financial technology solutions company is calling for environmentally-driven regulation for banks falling behind on sustainability and carbon emission reductions.

16 September 2022

News/payments

Lloyds completes UK's first digital promissory note purchase

Lloyds Bank is bringing a 4000-year-old debt instrument into the 21st century, completing the UK's first transaction using a digital promissory note purchase.

18 August 2022

News/crypto

Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Market secures FCA registration

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved crypto brokerage Zodia Market’s registration application on the UK Financial Services Register, allowing the Standard Chartered-backed business to officially launch.

28 July 2022