News
Mobile banking is set to overtake branch use in the next two years, as a boom in the fintech sector drives an increasing number of customers to digital formats.
Research by data consultancy CACI revealed 25m customers, or almost half the UK’s adult population, are currently banking on mobile formats. But this figure is set to rise further in the coming years, with mobile expected to surge past branches and desktop banking to become the most commonly-used banking channel for the majority of UK adults by 2021.
The findings highlight the growing popularity of digital banking, which has been pioneered by fintech challengers such as Monzo, Revolut and Starling.
Mobile savings accounts are set to become the latest battleground in the war between traditional banks and their younger rivals, according to the report, with more than 75% of new savings accounts expected to come from online channels by 2024.
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The chief executive of Starling Bank has lost her position as a major shareholder in the British fintech giant, following a large funding injection in February 2019.
Anne Boden, who founded Starling in 2014, ceased to be a person with significant control in the bank in April 2019, according to filings on Companies House.
A spokesperson for Starling told City A.M. the change was a result of the bank’s series C funding round in February, in which Boden had to dilute her shares in order to accommodate its two investors.
The fintech firm stands out from other tech companies, in that it has eschewed the typical venture capital route and until recently had relied solely on investment from Austrian billionaire Harald McPike.
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Boohoo has overtaken online fashion retail rival Asos in terms of overall stock market value.
Asos, which has been around for longer, has a market capitalisation of £2.16 billion. Its shares change hands for around 2,574p each. Boohoo shares are currently trading at a cheaper 212.4p each, but there are more of them and they all add up to a company valued at £2.47 billion.
Boohoo's acquisition strategy has been a big help. The company bought PrettyLittleThing (which has been seeing a phenomenally fast growth rate), as well as Nasty Gal and MissPap.
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Instagram, the photo sharing platform, has announced that it will be inserting ads into its Explore feed, the page which allows users to discover new content that could interest them.
The Facebook subsidiary, which is currently on the lookout for new sources of revenue, reassured its more than 1 billion users that the new ads will be introduced "slowly and thoughtfully in the coming months."
Acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram began to feature advertising in 2013. Video ads were introduced two years later.
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The Hut Group has acquired a 12,000 sq. ft. unit in a Grade II listed building in Manchester city centre to build a ‘World of THG’ where it can showcase its health and beauty brands.
The owner of online destinations like Lookfantastic.com and beauty brands including Espa, is increasingly amplifying its investment in premium retail space. Earlier this year, the company announced a £50 million purchase of the King Street Townhouse and Great John Street Hotel, and works are now underway to build a global content creation studio at Icon Manchester Airport.
One of the UK’s fastest-growing private companies, The Hut Group also plans to build a massive business campus in Manchester that will be home to up to 10,000 jobs to support its growth.
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Taster, the London-based company behind a range of highly-successful delivery-only online restaurant brands, has announced a $8 million Series A investment from Battery Ventures, Heartcore Capital, LocalGlobe, Marc Ménasé (Founders Future) and other existing investors.
Founded in 2017 by Anton Soulier, previously one of the first employees at Deliveroo, Taster creates and operates online restaurant brands available through on-demand food delivery platforms.
The company is experiencing 30% growth month-on-month, and currently operates three different restaurant brands across London, Paris and Madrid. Taster has a team of 115 employees, of which 100 are chefs, and has served over 400,000 meals to date.
The investment will be used to recruit new talent, and it also plans to launch three new online restaurant brands by the end of the year, as well as expanding its coverage across the entirety of Paris, London and Madrid by the end of 2019.
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Celsius Network, a London-based cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform, acquired BSave, a digital platform providing earned interest income on cryptocurrency.
As part of the acquisition, Celsius will now have access to the yield generating algorithms originally developed by BSave, and will retain key talent, employees and developers from the original team. Additionally, the 45,000 pre-existing BSave members will join the Celsius platform, boosting the community and adding utility to the CEL token.
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Just six months on from its last capital plug, digital bank Monzo has raised £113m from major US tech investor Y Combinator in a round that values the startup at more than £2bn.
Through its Continuity fund, Y Combinator joined the round alongside other investors including Latitude, General Catalyst, Stripe, Passion Capital, Thrive, Goodwater, Accel and
Orange Digital Ventures.
At an increase of more than £1bn since its last valuation in October, the new figure puts Monzo ahead of its largest rival Revolut – last valued at $1.7bn (£1.3bn) in April 2018.
A spokesperson for Monzo said it will use the funding to continue strategies already in the pipeline, such as its recent US expansion.
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UltraSoC, a Cambridge, UK-based technology startup whose products put intelligent self-analytic capabilities in the systems-on-chip (SoCs) at the heart of today’s consumer electronic, computing and communications products, closed a £5m equity funding round.
The company intends to use the funds to:
– recruit hardware and software engineers at its headquarters in Cambridge, UK, and design centre in Bristol UK,
– open an engineering centre in Warsaw, Poland to develop its data science and machine-learning technologies,
– expand its network of customer support engineers globally, and
– increase its commercial presence in key markets, including Europe, the USA, Japan and China.
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Direct Line Group has partnered with digital bank Starling to allow current account customers to apply for home insurance directly though Starling’s in-app Marketplace.
The partnership comes as part of Direct Line Group’s commitment to making insurance easier and more accessible for customers.
Starling’s Marketplace allows data to be shared securely with other organisations which gives customers who have opted in access to a suite of financial products that help them manage their money.
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