Tag Archives: UK

FinTech Chapter 6: The Super 7: London Startups Dazzling Tech Scene

MarketsMuse is keeping its fingers on the pulse of the FinTech movement, and aside from the initiatives that we’ve spot-lighted taking place courtesy of Wall Street Wonks, its more than fair to say that London is fast becoming the hub of innovation and technology, and attempting to lay claim to the position as the fintech capital of the world, strengthening its place within the global financial market.

To put this into perspective, the UK is now the fastest growing region for fintech investment with deal volumes growing at 74% per year since 2008, topping $265 million in 2013 alone (Accenture).  That’s twice as fast as its American counterpart Silicon Valley.

Commonly referred to as Tech City, London’s fintech cluster is now thriving, nurturing entrepreneurs, new business models and technologies. Last year alone, over 15,000 (UHV Hacker Young) new businesses were set up in EC1V, more than any other area in the UK. These are being celebrated and promoted with the help of new London initiatives such as the Fintech 50 and the first official Fintech Week.

Here are 3 of the top 7 tech start-ups that have added some air to the latest “tech bubble.”

Osper 

Osper has come up with an innovative way to create a banking service than can be used by children, combining prepaid debit cards and smartphone apps controlled by both them and their parents. The approach could potentially reach a market underserved by most banks, but which may also be embraced by parents keen to educate their children early on about how to manage money.

Elliptic  

Elliptic, thinks it’s just made a huge breakthrough that could make banks way more interested in bitcoin. The company has created a sophisticated bit of software that it claims can identify where a bitcoin has come from. That’s a big deal for banks, who have a legal obligation to find out where the money they hold is coming from to ensure they’re not holding proceeds of crime.

coinfloor

Coinfloor is a new VC-backed Bitcoin exchange that prides itself on complying to strict anti-money laundering and “know your customer” procedures, despite the fact that Bitcoin isn’t classified as money by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

 

To read the original source, click here.