Cash flow is the best indicator of a company’s financial health and optimizing cash flow can be the difference between keeping the lights on and having to shut down. As global macroeconomic conditions worsen and businesses are scaling back, managing cash flow becomes even more critical. Monspire is a cash flow management platform for small businesses that also provided integrated lending options for working capital needs that leverages AI to understand when and where a business will need additional funding. The platform leverages open banking so that businesses can get a full understanding of their business’s cash flow in real-time, while also getting accurate forecasting. For any periods of gaps, Monspire steps in and plugs the hole with its lending solutions. While finances are critical for any business, many business owners just don’t have the time to dedicate to managing finances while juggling all other facets of operations. Monspire, short for Money Inspired, makes it seamless by proving a singular view of a company’s financial health. London TechWatch caught up with Monspire Cofounder Simon Draper to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Monspire Raises £600K For its Cash Flow Management and Lending Platform for Small Businesses
Bundlr Network Raises $5.2M for its Decentrazlized Platform That Makes Data Storage on Web3 Seamless
Arweave is a permanent hard drive built on the blockchain that can serve as a permaweb archive. Anything you want to be stored across a decentralized network can be verified cryptographically with its own currency token incentivizing host nodes and miners. While the possibility of storage amount is infinite, transactions can be slow as the protocol scales and user interest increases. Bundlr Network is a decentralized multichain platform that speeds up data storage on Web3 on Arweave. Users pay a one-time fee with any major token, receive unlimited storage, and can upload data from any major blockchain while having instant access to the data. The company reports that upload and read speeds are 3000x faster than using Arweave on its own. Bundlr Network is currently views NFT marketplaces as its target customer but the solution is versatile enough to handle anyone with decentralized data storage needs. London TechWatch caught up with Bundlr Network Founder and CEO Josh Benaron to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Fidel API Raises Another $65M for its Payment Data Infrastructure Platform
Companies like Klarna, Venmo, and Afterpay all have made modernized the payment landscape by providing consumer convenience. However, in the backend they have built massive troves of consumer purchase data that they are able to package, serving as a valuable lifeline for merchants that enables them to promote sales promotions, target, segment, and more. The ability to collect and democratize purchase information instantly at the point of purchase unlocks a world of new opportunities and this is exactly what Fidel API focuses on. At its core, it’s a payment data infrastructure that layers on top of existing payment stacks with APIs that allow developers to build timely and contextual experiences in real-time for an expanding collection of use cases. Some applications of the company’s platform include powering digital receipts, loyalty and rewards programs, insurance claims, expense management, and also personal financial management apps. With the advent of open banking and consumers granting permissions to their transactions opens us a world where consumers are willing to give up their once highly coveted data in order to receive both functional and hedonistic benefits. Fidel API’s core technology is being used across the globe, servicing millions of cardholders and hundreds of thousands of merchants. London TechWatch caught up with Fidel API VP of Strategy Patrick Nealon to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $86M, and much, much more…
Konfir Raises £1.6M for its Instant Employment and Income Verification Platform
Institutions are increasingly using automated models to accelerate credit and hiring decisions leveraging AI/ML. In order to build the next-generation models to handle these tasks, organizations must design systems that are reflective of the dynamics of a modern economy (prevalence of gig/flexible workers) and have the appropriate supporting data to assess. Konfir is an instant employment and income verification data platform that provides companies with real-time access to employment and income data for any UK-based worker that can be used in decisioning. All the data on the platform is user-permissioned, protecting the personal information of the applicant, and therefore compliant with GDPR. In terms of employment, decisioning models have far too long stringently relied only on traditional income for assessing worthiness, limiting access to the financial system for otherwise qualified potential borrowers. With Konfir, banking, lending, loan servicing, leasing companies, and potential hiring companies can get verified, real-time income data straight from the source. London TechWatch caught up with Konfir CEO and Founder Chris Milligan to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Vitesse PSP Raises $26M for its Cross-Border Payments Platform
Despite the pandemic, large corporations continued to deliver high transaction volumes when looking at cross-border payments. By tapping into a globally distributed payment network, payment technology providers are able to provide their customers to have faster, more cost-effective payment solutions. Vitesse PSP is a payment, liquidity, and treasury management platform that provides cross-border payments at a fraction of existing costs and rapidly with enhanced transparency and control. The platform works for use in corporate, financial services, e-commerce but the company has built significant traction in the insurance industry where it’s working with 70% of the insurers within Lloyd’s of London Market. The company charges a fee per transaction as well as a monthly treasury management fee for access to the platform that allows the digitisation of insurance payments, an area that’s been largely dominated by disparate workflows. London TechWatch caught up with Vitesse PSP CEO Phillip McGriskin to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding from investors that include Prime Ventures, Hannover Digital Investments, and Octopus Ventures.
DigiDoe Raises £852.5K for its Multi-Currency Secure Payment Platform and Infrastructure
The dynamics of the payments industry are changing as consumers and businesses shift away from cash to digital payment methods. Despite this dramatic change, the frameworks for payment infrastructure have not necessarily adapted as rapidly. As pandemic-driven behaviors now become habits and the new normal, the payment industry is developing new frameworks that are retooling the core. DigiDoe is a multi-currency payment infrastructure platform for businesses and consumers that uses biometrics to provide secure payment solutions. The platform’s proprietary FacePay technology allows consumers to make payments without a card or phone using 7D authentication, eliminating the risk of fraud entirely. This leads to up to an 80% decrease in fees for merchants that they are then able to pass on savings to customers. Payments are also lightning fast and the infrastructure is scalable. Current credit card companies can handle 60,000 transactions per second; DigiDoe dwarfs this figure with its technology able to handle 200,000 per second. London TechWatch caught up with DigiDoe Cofounder Alexandra Vidyuk to learn more about the future of payments, the company’s strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Joint Journey, PLF the seed fund managed by Flashpoint Venture Capital ,and I2BF Global Ventures Ltd.
Game Over for Meme Stocks as Analysts Predict Retail Sell Offs
2021 was certainly the year of the meme stock. January of last year played host to one of the most memorable short squeezes in stock market history as a group of Reddit-based retail investors collaborated to create a significant rally on GameStop stocks which saw their price climb some 1,900% from its price at the beginning of the year. Subsequent meme-based surges for stocks like AMC looked to cement that speculation, rather than fundamentals, now has the power to deliver growth. However, with analysts beginning to believe that the meme bubble has finally burst, is it game over for 2021’s biggest phenomenon?
5 Reasons Why The Metaverse Matters
I think a more expansive view of the metaverse is helpful to see the evolution that is well underway. I see VR as the most immersive metaverse (per the graphic below), but I think you enter the metaverse once you start engaging with your mobile phone or any other device that brings you in to a computer-generated digital realm.
Revolut Locks Horns with Robinhood as the Battle for Commission-Free Trading Dominance Hots Up
The arrival of a platform like Revolut, which may take lessons from Robinhood’s embattled reputation during its expansion into US trading, could be a significant test of investor loyalty. For Revolut, Robinhood may be its key rival in the US markets, but the company has laid down a solid PFOF-oriented blueprint for success. It’s also delivered a valuable lesson in how not to operate in terms of its well-documented PR blunders. Now, Revolut needs to learn from Robinhood’s mistakes to successfully crack America.
Crezco Raises £3M for its B2B Payment Platform for Invoice Payments Without Onerous Fees
Open banking is changing the landscape of finance, making services more accessible and efficient. The advent of open banking is also challenging the stronghold that legacy financial institutions have had on the market. While much of the attention has been focused on consumer applications, open banking also streamlines the banking experience for businesses. Crezco is an open banking payment platform that offers free payment solutions for domestic B2B transactions. Users can make payments across Europe using a simple link or QR code, bringing much-needed convenience to small businesses without any hidden fees or surcharges. The company, founded in 2020, works with all the major UK banks and is integrated with popular financial applications like Quickbooks, Xero, and other payment invoicing platforms. London TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Crezco Ralph Rogge to learn more about bringing open payments to the B2B market, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding from investors that include Charles Delingpole, Chris Adelsbach, and UFP Fintech.