We are back after a short hiatus, talking to several startups in our network as they figure their way around the current crisis. Market sentiments range from a complete lockup of money, to the impact varying based on FinTech sub-sectors or business models, as well as whether the investors have long-term, institutional capital at their disposal. Last week’s webinars by […]
As most European countries moved to enforce lockdowns, close schools, businesses and borders, startups braced for an uphill battle in the months ahead. Startups who have raised and closed their round recently are revisiting their budgets and spending, while those in the middle of a round (or planning one) are getting prepared for turbulence. We are talking to some […]
We’ve been on the road- perhaps for the last week of travel here in Europe as Coronavirus threatens events and (physical) meetings. FinTech funding and deal activity however, seems to be unaffected. Catching up on a couple of weeks of news took the better part of a train ride from Munich to Frankfurt, with Seed […]
Laka’s latest funding from Creandum and LocalGlobe is a great confirmation of its “back to the roots”, community-based model for bicycle insurance: we will be watching this space! The round raising eyebrows is Saudi Aramco’s bet on blockchain-based oil-trading platform Vakt. Rimilia and SteelEye both represent bets on serious enterprise-grade solutions, automating and reducing complexity in the payments and compliance space […]
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. My name is Wladimir Huber. I am a Tech-Entrepreneur with focus on FinTech, Real Estate, Blockchain and data driven companies with an extensive knowledge in founding and scaling companies. I have a M.A. in finance & information technology from Leuphana University. I’m […]
User numbers and investments in cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects are increasing. In the Swiss Crypto Valley, 800 companies with 4000 employees are working on the digitalization of assets. The regulators are also taking up the issue. In the digital age, cryptocurrencies are the next logical stage in the development of money. 1. Users, volumes, transactions […]
For the second week in a row, our panel discussion topic at the 11th FinTech Forum “When Finance becomes an Add-on/ the Era of Backstage Banking“ gets some more validation: Estonia’s Pocosys, an alumnus of our “FinTech meets Telecom” event in Mar. 2017, announced its exit to Opera (the Norwegian browser company), while Belgium’s Settlemint […]
7 Questions with Max Lautenschläger of Iconic, Funding for Secfi, Grover, Qonto etc., 12th FinTech Forum announced… Get ready with a glass of wine- or smelling salts- as this week’s going to be a long read with some jaw-dropping funding rounds, acquisitions and expansions. European FinTech has been on the prowl, with a seemingly pent-up barrage […]
The biggest news in the FinTech space- the acquisition of Plaid by Visa for $5.3 billion- comes from the US this week, but it should be music to the ears of several European FinTechs in the area of APIs, Open Banking and PSD2, and to the sector in general. French payment app Lydia’s $45m Series […]
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. At the moment, I am the co-founder and CEO of Coinrule — a smart assistant designed exclusively for cryptocurrency traders. I’dsay lucky, because finding the right people to start a business is probably the most difficult think in life, even harder thanfinding love. After […]
Happy New Year! While we hope you had a quiet time during the holidays, we can assure you there was plenty going on in the European FinTech scene, so this will be a longish newsletter- including an interview with blockchain and crypto investor Max Lautenschläger of Iconic Holdings, a wrap-up of key FinTech M&A deals in 2019, tips on raising […]
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. Born and raised in Heidelberg I started my professional career in consulting and after a few years, I transitioned more towards finance. In particular, the alternative investment space has always been very attractive to me. This is why I decided to do […]
The FinTech Forum newsletter – covering the latest thinking from European FinTech founders, investors and financial institutions, as well as key funding rounds and M&A – turns six years old next month. For a glimpse of FinTech history, check out our year-end newsletter from Dec. 2014. Last month we wrapped up our 11th FinTech Forum event, and – while we can’t promise to keep our eyes off the European FinTech […]
Whether PayPal, Adyen, stripe, transferwise, PayU, Wirecard or PAYONE – years ago the first startups of the still young FinTech industry, they have now developed into serious financial services companies. The development of the payment industry is already showing where the journey of the retail banking industry is going. It is surprising that while payment is one […]
11th FinTech Forum is a wrap With twelve startups pitches, a “journey to exit” by our alumnus Fairr.de, insights from leading VCs and a panel discussion if finance will become an add-on- here is the 11th FinTech Forum in tweets. http://www.fintechforum.de/11th-fintech-forum-in-tweets/ 7 Questions with Ben Shaw of InsurTech Hub Munich This week we posted […]
Ob PayPal, Adyen, stripe, transferwise, PayU, Wirecard oder PAYONE – vor Jahren die ersten Startups der noch jungen FinTech Industrie haben sie sich inzwischen zu ernstzunehmende Finanzdienstleistungsunternehmen entwickelt. Die Entwicklung der Payment Industrie zeigt bereits heute wohin die Reise der Retail Banking Industrie geht. Es ist erstaunlich, Zahlungsverkehr ist eine der wesentlichen Aufgaben […]
Two days to go for the 11th FinTech Forum this Thursday- check out the final line-up of startups and register here for the last few places: http://ftf11.eventbrite.com Looking forward to the sessions from our guest speakers: Assaf Shamia (G+D Ventures) on trends in digital currencies (Libra & Co.), M2M payments and tokenisation Jens Jennissen (Fairr.de’) […]
With the near-final line-up and agenda in place, and just 17 days to go to the 11th FinTech Forum, here are some quotes from the startups and investors who will be on stage. If you are an investor or financial institution looking to connect to the European FinTech scene, you know where you need to […]
Summary: In August 2013, Samarth Shekhar had the idea for the FinTech Forum, which we then implemented together within a few days. Since then, we have identified and analyzed more than 800 FinTechs from German-speaking countries. As part of 17 “FinTech Forum” and “FinTech Forum on Tour” events, we got to know 270 startups […]
Zusammenfassung: Im August 2013 hatte Samarth Shekhar die Idee zum FinTech Forum, die wir dann gemeinsam innerhalb weniger Tage umsetzten. Seitdem identifizierten und analysierten wir mehr als 800 FinTechs aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum. Im Rahmen von 17 „FinTech Forum“ und „FinTech Forum on Tour“ Events konnten wir 270 Startups und Gründer und über 100 […]
We are proud to announce that BizBot (Norway), iCEIBA (UK), Remipay (Germany), Trality and Nodeventure (both Austria) are joining the exciting line-up of startups and investors presenting at the 11th FinTech Forum (21st Nov. 2019 in Frankfurt): Nodeventure (Austria): stores digital assets safely and profitably by reducing the entry barriers for blockchain systems. Trality (Austria): Making the tools of Wall […]
The first set of startups selected for the 11th FinTech Forum include: Ybanking (Poland)- a virtual bank offering multiple products via a Platform-as-a-Service Lingua Custodia (France)- AI for high-end translations in finance e.g. fund prospectus, equity research etc. BizBot (Norway)- helps entrepreneurs and investors manage their cap tables, via an easy-to-use use and connected platform We are also […]
Now in the fourth year of our media partnership, FinTech Forum was at Money2020 Europe, 3-5 June in Amsterdam. Apart from bumping into friends and acquaintances, FinTech Forum Co-Founder Samarth Shekhar talked to some of the participants to get a pulse of European FinTech and financial services trends, as well as tips and learnings for other founders. Whether digital banking (Georg […]
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. Initially, I planned on studying medicine after graduation. To earn money prior to getting accepted, I began to turn my hobby into a profession: Software Engineering. This was during the big internet hype and lead me to give up my curriculum and […]
Barcelona-based fintech Pagantis raises €65 million for its e-commerce financing platform Barcelona-based startup Pagantis, which offers financing for e-commerce customers, has raised €65 million Series B in one of the biggest fintech rounds in Spain to date. The investment came from Prime Ventures, SPF Investment Management, and Rinkelberg Capital Group, and will be used to […]
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. I’ve been involved in digital startups for 19 years, for a long time as an entrepreneur, later at Rocket Internet for 4.5 years as managing director. In 2012, I founded Project A. We are an operational VC. This means that we invest […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and leisure. My name is Spiros Margaris, and I am a venture capitalist (VC) and the founder of Margaris Ventures. I have been in the investment business for quite some time, with more than 25 years of international experience in investment management/research and startups. In my role […]
Regtech startup Alyne raises €3 million to help organisations manage their data privacy and compliance Regtech startup Alyne has raised €3 million in a Series A financing round led by Alstin Capital, with participation from Hannover Digital Investments GmbH. Founded by Karl Viertel, Stefan Sulistyo, Manuel Reil, and Matthias Danner in 2015, Alyne is headquartered […]
Check out the 10th FinTech Forum in pictures, and save the date/ register for the 11th FinTech Forum on 21st Nov. 2019: https://ftf11.eventbrite.com! The 5th anniversary event at The Airport Club, Frankfurt, kicked off to a full house, with FinTech Forum co-founder Frank Schwab reflecting on the first event in 2013- and how the event series […]
After an application and selection process that started in May, we are pleased to announce the 15 startups selected to present at FinTech Forum’s 5th Anniversary Edition, taking place on 22nd Nov. 2018 at the Airport Club, Frankfurt. Reading through the “startups in tweets” below, we are amazed to see how far the FinTech scene has come […]
FinLab investment AUTHADA secures well-known FinTech investor main incubator and finalizes seven-digit financing round AUTHADA GmbH, a portfolio company of FinLab AG, is a technology company based in Darmstadt that offers BSI certified products for secure and user-friendly identity verification…The technology underlying the software uses the features of the electronic identity card, as the data […]
We are pleased to announce the first set of startups selected to present at #5YFTF, FinTech Forum’s 5th Anniversary Edition taking place on 22nd Nov. 2018 (scroll down for further info). We are proud to welcome InvestHK, HK FinTech, Börsen Zeitung (media partner), advinda Investor Cloud, LH Miles & More, Be Think, Solve, Execute and Innogy Innovation Hub to the FinTech Forum partner community! Here […]
Meet FinTech Forum at Money2020 Europe! Money20/20 Europe has landed in Amsterdam with AI, collaboration and open banking high on the agenda over the next three days. Interested to connect to the German / D-A-CH FinTech scene? Connect to FinTech Forum’s Samarth Shekhar (Day 1) and Michael Mellinghoff (Day 1-3): do reach out to us […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus areas, overall and within FinTech BlackFin is the largest fintech focused independent VC investor in Europe with a 150M€ fund. We invest 1-10M€ in series A-B fintech, insurtech, regtechs headquartered in Europe. Funded by lots of strategic investors (banks and insurance cariers) we have a strong but […]
BITA is one of the startups selected to present at the 5th Anniversary Edition of FinTech Forum on 22nd Nov. 2018- more information for startups is here. Registration for investors / financial institutions is here. 1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure. A Venezuelan native, I’m one of those perhaps “irrational […]
The 5th Anniversary Edition of the event that kicked-off the FinTech scene in Germany / D-A-CH takes place at The Airport Club, Frankfurt on 22nd Nov. 2018, exactly 5 years since the inaugural FinTech Forum held on 22nd Nov. 2013. The event series puts the most promising startups from D-A-CH/ Continental Europe on stage, and has become a reflection of the region’s […]
Best wishes from Team FinTech Forum for a successful 2018! FinTech deals were alive and kicking in the last few weeks in Continental Europe, so we are back from the break with a round up of the key news you may have missed. Also note: Money2020 Europe, Europe’s biggest #FinTech event is moving to #Amsterdam […]
Ngdata Raises $19M in Series C Funding Ngdata, a Gent, Belgium-based customer experience management solutions company, raised over $19m in Series C funding. Led by Luc Burgelman, CEO, and Michel Akkermans, chairman, Ngdata provides data-rich companies in financial services, telecom, utilities, hospitality, etc., with a customer data platform, called Lily™…The round was led by HPE Growth […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. I joined Deutsche Börse Group in November 2015 to take up the newly-created role as Head of Venture Portfolio Management. Prior to joining the Deutsche Börse Group, I managed an investment portfolio for a family office and for a hedge fund in Asia. Previously I was a Managing […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Stefan and I am MD at CommerzVentures which I helped kicking off in 2014. I have been investing in early-stage technology ventures for over 15 years now, having previously worked for Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and Earlybird. I have invested in a number of tech, […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. Investment Manager at btov Partners, the European venture capital firm, managing about EUR 330m in institutional funds, partners funds and direct investments of private investors. 2. What is your investment focus/thesis, and which FinTech firms are in your portfolio? Investment Focus: We have two investment teams. One is focusing on […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. TAV: corporate venture fund of Global Aegon Group. We are active since 2014 and now have 19 investments of which are 16 direct investments. I am senior investment director for the fund responsible for the EU operations. 2. What is your investment focus/thesis, and which FinTech firms are […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. I have over 25 years of experience in the financial industry in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Singapore. I’m co-founder and used to be CEO at the Swiss consultancy Synpulse (formerly known as Solution Providers) with over 350 employees mainly focusing on banking and insurance. I have expertise in […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. I am an investor with Finch Capital (formerly Orange Growth Capital). Previously I’ve spent time at Facebook where I was involved with their audience network and distribution platforms. After that I ran product and a game studio for one of Europe’s largest mobile game developers. Previously I was […]
1. Who are you? I’m Stephan, Founder and CEO of FinCompare – a fintech platform for SMEs to find, compare and close financing options from over 200 lenders. This is my second startup. Previously I founded Watchmaster.com which is Europe’s largest online marketplace for luxury watches. I’m originally from Munich but didn’t live there in […]
Our new series “European FinTech Journeys” showcases European FinTechs’ journey to a funding, exit or closure – and the blood, sweat and tears in between! We are proud to launch this series with Qumram, a FinTech Forum alumnus which was acquired last week by Dynatrace. Qumram was selected to present at the FTF On Tour | InvestTech event in London (Sep. 2015), […]
FTF alumnus Qumram acquired by Dynatrace, Monzo raises $93M, N26 announces expansion to US and UK, WeWork Frankfurt exclusive offer etc. Check out the latest German FinTech Scorecard (status: 31st Oct. 2017) http://www.fintechforum.de/scorecard/ Digital performance firm Dynatrace acquires Qumram Digital performance management company Dynatrace has acquired Qumram, a digital interaction audit solutions provider, for an undisclosed […]
German FinTech scorecard Our Scorecard (BETA) has been tracking FinTech funding rounds and M&A deals across Europe since 2013. Below is the scorecard for Germany for 2017 YTD, based on disclosed deals only – we do not take any liability for incomplete or incorrect data. Your deal is missing? Email contact@fintechforum.de FinTech Forum alumni scorecard Alumni […]
TransferWise raises $280M, ING launches €300M fund, Natixis takes 50% in Dalenys, FinTech Forum alumni shine: BondIT raises $14.25M, LiqEase wins Slush Shanghai etc. TransferWise announces whopping $280M investment as early shareholders cash in TransferWise, the international money transfer company and one of Europe’s better-known unicorns, has announced $280 million in new investment today. The […]
Shift Technology raises another $28 million to prevent fraudulent insurance claims Shift Technology is raising a Series B round of $28 million from Accel and General Catalyst. Accel had already led the company’s previous round. Existing investors Elaia Partners and Iris Capital are also participating in today’s round. https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/23/shift-raises-another-28-million-to-prevent-fraudulent-insurance-claims/ App-driven trading startup BUX raises EUR10.6 million in Series C funding BUX […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? My name is Frank Seehaus and I’m Managing Partner at Acton Capital, a European late-stage venture capital firm. We back internet-startups with the potential to become market leaders…Within fintech, my focus areas are lending (Iwoca – SME lending, Finanzcheck – Consumer lending marketplace), […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? I am a late stage venture investor at Eight Roads Ventures (series B, C and +) and have been following the fintech sector for more than 6 years now (when it was not even called Fintech I find incredibly exciting to see how […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? I am a late stage venture investor at Eight Roads Ventures (series B, C and +) and have been following the fintech sector for more than 6 years now (when it was not even called Fintech I find incredibly exciting to see how […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? FinTech and InsurTech Investor with CommerzVentures, the €100m VC fund of Commerzbank Some of my focus areas include: FinTech for Small Business, Financial Inclusion, Data-driven innovation in Insurance 2. What are your key takeaways from the last 3 years in the European […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? Thematic early stage VC investor: focus on earls stage Two main themes: Replace players active in the financial services Sell to financial services and other industries 2. What are your 3 key takeaways from the last 3 years in the European FinTech […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? Partner at Balderton Capital, the leading early stage VC focussed on European startups. We are highly active in fintech and this is my focus area.Specifically I look a lot at insurance and retail financial services, but also increasingly at financial software. 2. […]
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your focus area(s) within FinTech? Dutch, lived across Europe. Done academic research on blockchain and crowdfunding.DN investments in remittances, instalment loans, factoring. 2. What are your three key takeaways from the last 3 years in the European FinTech space? Things always go slower than you think 3. […]