March 28, 2024

Web and Technology News

Crypto lender Maple Finance raises $5M to enter Asia amid regulatory clarity

Maple Finance, an on-chain, institutional credit marketplace that’s aspiring to fill a gap left behind by the collapses of crypto lending heavyweights like BlockFi and Celcius, has its sight set on Asia as financial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore provide more regulatory clarity around digital assets. Maple, which falls under the so-called decentralized finance […]

Apple purges predatory lending apps in India following scrutiny

Apple removed several predatory lending apps from the App Store in India this week, days after users and media questioned the legitimacy of those services. Pocket Kash, White Kash, Golden Kash, and OK Rupee are among the apps that Apple pulled from the store this week. The apps offered fast-track lending to consumers in India, […]

Apple purges predatory lending apps in India following scrutiny by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

India’s Flipkart begins customer lending in bid to boost sales

Flipkart has begun lending to customers, expanding its financing offerings in a move that could potentially boost sales even as its chief rival Amazon has signalled a slowdown in India. The Walmart-owned Bengaluru-headquartered firm, in partnership with lender Axis Bank, is extending a credit of up to 500,000 Indian rupees, or $6,100, according to a […]

India’s Flipkart begins customer lending in bid to boost sales by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Percent lands $30M investment to connect investors with private credit

In 2018, Nelson Chu founded Percent with the goal of bringing investors, borrowers and underwriters together to modernize private credit. Seeing an opportunity to tackle the lack of risk management in the market, Chu created a marketplace that enables investors — specifically accredited retail investors — to participate in private credit. It’s been a success […]

Percent lands $30M investment to connect investors with private credit by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Open banking startup Abound nabs $601M to supercharge its AI-based consumer lending platform

After a slow start in the UK and Europe, open banking is catching on with fintechs, who are using APIs to access banking data and rails and using them as an alternative to traditional credit networks to build products. Now, a UK-based consumer lending service called Abound is doubling down on its ambitions in the […]

Open banking startup Abound nabs $601M to supercharge its AI-based consumer lending platform by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

Chinese influence, loan-collection practices reasons for India’s crackdown on lending apps

India’s push to ban over 90 lending apps has sent a panic to the industry as many scramble to understand why they have been impacted. The IT Ministry’s move is reportedly aimed at protecting the nation’s integrity and curb China’s influence in the South Asian market, the state-owned broadcaster said on Sunday. In meetings with […]

Chinese influence, loan-collection practices reasons for India’s crackdown on lending apps by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Robinhood aims to court users by offering attractive 1% interest rate on cash

Investing app Robinhood is on a roll with announcing new features as it looks to appeal to more customers amid dwindling transaction revenue. Less than a week after unveiling plans to allow users to lend out their stock, the company announced that it has introduced a “revamped” brokerage cash sweep program that will be rolled […]

Robinhood to let users lend out their shares in its attempt to diversify revenue

Trading platform Robinhood is launching a feature that will allow its users to lend out their stocks in hopes of earning passive, recurring income from borrowers, the company announced today. Robinhood says the feature is currently being rolled out and will be available to all customers by the end of the month. The news comes […]

Masa Finance gets $3.5M pre-seed to build its decentralized credit protocol

Masa Finance, a hybrid credit protocol and decentralized credit bureau founded by Pngme CEO Brendan Playford in late 2020, has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding. According to a statement, the company seeks to “disrupt traditional centralized credit infrastructure by providing individuals, businesses and developers with the tools to access credit” via blockchain technology. The […]

Vontive wants to be the Palantir of real estate investing

The U.S. residential real estate market has been booming because of the pandemic. Although the rise in home prices has shut many people out of the market, it’s been highly lucrative for those who own property. The attractive returns in this sector have lured more investors into the market, but the processes associated with buying […]

London-based SteadyPay helps freelancers and gig workers stabilize their income

The “gig economy” gave rise to a set of startups focused on meeting the needs of freelance and self-employed workers, from labor marketplaces Upwork and Fiverr to client management tools like Honeybook. London-based SteadyPay focuses on solving one major pain point for these workers — income volatility — which can make managing one’s personal finances […]

SME lender Funding Societies raises $144M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, plus $150M in debt lines

Small businesses are the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economy, but many struggle to secure working capital loans because they don’t have traditional credit records or collateral, say the founders of Funding Societies. The fintech, which claims to be the region’s largest SME digital financing platform, uses alternative forms of credit-scoring and has disbursed more than […]

What BlockFi’s $100M settlement with the SEC means for future of DeFi lending

Crypto lending platform BlockFi will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $100 million in a settlement over claims that the company violated securities law through its interest account offering, the regulator announced today. The settlement represents the largest recorded penalty incurred by a crypto firm, Axios first reported. BlockFi will pay $50 million […]