Simply joins the Innovate Finance community
Simply joins the Innovate Finance communityDec 02, 2022
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Tide acquires Funding OptionsTide, the digital business banking platform, has today announced it will acquire Funding Options, a UK marketplace for business finance, subject to FCA approval. Founded in 2011, Funding Options is a leader in SME credit intermediation and has been recognised as a fast-growth scale-up, and has featured in the FT1000, the Financial Times’s annual list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
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Finalists for Fintech Innovators Award AnnouncedSteve Taplin, lead judge and managing director of Lendscape has announced the finalists selected for the Autumn AFC Fintech Innovators Award 2022. Finalists will rapid pitch (5 mins max) at the Asset Finance Connect conference in London followed by a rigorous extended Q&A session designed to test and properly evaluate their innovations. The winner will be announced at the close of the conference.
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Toyota Ventures investment in Zeti: Enabling fleet electrification through pay-as-you drive financingAchieving mass electrification is dependent upon financing that moves beyond today’s traditional leasing options to enable the cost-effective transition of fleets to zero-emission vehicles. Building on this, Toyota Ventures has announced their investment in London-based Zeti.
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Capital on Tap raises £100 million to power the spend of small businessCapital on Tap has secured a £100 million corporate revolving credit facility with Atalaya Capital Management to provide small businesses in the UK and US with a central hub to manage all aspects of their business finances. While Capital on Tap has closed several funding facilities in the past, over £1bn since June 2021 to fund customers, this revolving credit facility is the first that will be used to enhance Capital on Tap’s quickly evolving product offering.
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Finalists in Asset Finance Connect’s Fintech Showcase AnnouncedFive fascinating tech solutions have been selected as finalists to pitch their solutions to 450 auto and equipment finance delegates at Asset Finance Connect’s next conference on 9th June at 155 Bishopsgate. This session which is sponsored by HPD Lendscape and one of the most popular sessions of the day provides delegates with a glimpse of new and emerging solutions which they can use to improve their businesses. Each finalist will pitch their products in six minutes before being grilled by our panel of experts lead by Steve Taplin, managing director of HPD Lendscape. After all the presenters have had their say, panel and audience vote 50/50 to agree on the most promising solution out of the finalists.
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FinTech innovator Nivo partners with Alpha Asset Finance on app to fight fraudHard asset finance specialist Alpha Asset Finance has joined forces with fintech innovator Nivo to build a mobile app designed to combat rising fraud in the specialist finance sector and smooth the application experience. The technology enables customers to complete biometric ID verification via their mobile device in just a few minutes. The system is integrated with Alpha’s award-winning ACE portal making the application journey faster, safer and less complex for customers, brokers, suppliers and lenders.
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Fintech Allica Bank takes on AIB SME lending portfolioAllica Bank is to acquire around 2,000 SME customers and some £600 million of associated lending from AIB Group (UK) Plc following AIB’s exit from the SME market in Great Britain. The deal is the first major transaction for the fintech challenger bank since its launch in March 2020 and the acquisition brings forward Allica’s target profitability date to the middle of 2022, with the total combined lending book forecast to be over £1 billion, based on continued organic growth combined with the quality of the AIB SME lending portfolio.
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Open Banking’s potential to enhance consumer access to credit hampered by lack of knowledgeConsumer understanding of the potential offered by Open Banking remains low, but there is substantial untapped demand for Open Banking to provide improved access to credit during and post the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research from digital bank Zopa.
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Fintechs turn attention to India to drive growthIndia is emerging as a major global driver of post-pandemic growth with one of the fastest growing fintech markets in the world, driven by rapid changes in access to digital banking services among the population. Overall transaction values through fintech platforms are expected to nearly triple in the next three years to $102 billion as several factors accelerate market development.
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New tech-based partnership for Propel Finance with high-street giant BarclaysPropel Finance, a UK-based specialist asset finance lender, has announced its first high-street bank collaboration with Barclays in an effort to significantly expand its reach across the UK small business landscape. The partnership will see Barclays’ one million SME customers gain access to an online platform for asset financing solutions through its UK Business Banking Network – of which Propel is now a part – and is aimed at SME clients with up to £6.5 million turnover and agriculture clients with up to £25 million turnover.
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Pandemic sparks efficiency surge for finance professionals, says new research by OnguardSome 66% of financial professionals reported working more efficiently since March due to home working and the rapid digitisation that became necessary as the lockdown went on, according to new research by fintech company Onguard. The survey into the impact of the pandemic on the finance sector revealed that the pandemic was the primary factor that sparked this surge in efficiency. However, it was not the only factor. Some 71% of respondents agreed that their department was able to adjust to home working within just a few days.
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Onguard supports finance industry to drive cashflow that will underpin future growthAs economies restart following global lockdowns caused by Coronavirus, cashflow will be vital for many businesses. The finance industry faces a delicate balancing act; long-term growth will depend on answering the funding requirements of customers who need finance, but payments need to resume from current customers emerging from a payment freeze, who may need ongoing help in the face of the ongoing business disruption caused by the pandemic. Executives at Onguard, the fintech specialising in the order to cash payment process, believe their business has a critical role to play in helping the industry return to normal by driving the cashflow that will support future growth.
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