The latest blog and insights from Freemarket

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Why Is There a Lack of Options for SME and Small Corporate Banking?

Anyone who follows or reads about Fintech companies will know that they excel at finding profitable niches in financial services and exploiting them. Once they have identified a specific vertical they can profitably serve, they need to draw clients away from their one-stop-shop bank by mitigating the inconvenience of using one extra service.

Do you understand what a virtual account / vIBAN really is?

Public domain information on the application of virtual accounts tends to be written from the perspective of the software company selling the Virtual Account (VA)software and/or focus on cash management for multi-national corporates. There is very little out there to help smaller corporates understand virtual accounts or virtual IBANs (vIBANs). The intention of this article is to provide something which fills that gap and to look at virtual accounts from a practitioner’s perspective.
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What you need to know about the safeguarding of accounts, assets and funds

This blog provides a detailed description of safeguarding and looks at it from a practitioner’s perspective.
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What are bank codes and why do they matter?

You'll come across many acronyms when conducting business abroad such as; BIC, IBAN and SWIFT - we've broken down the bank codes and explain what they are.
contactless payments

Have contactless payments turned us into a cashless society?

Security and convenience are two of the key drivers behind the rise of contactless payments in the UK. And in October 2018, contactless transactions overtook chip-and-PIN payments in the UK for the first time. But, what might the future lookalike?
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Six reasons why the next decade of payments is pivotal

Digital payments have become such a huge part of our lives now, it’s hard to believe that they are still a relatively new phenomenon and there is still a huge scope for them to grow and diversify. Here are six reasons why the next 10 years represent a key period for the payments industry.
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Why technology is now king in banking

Managed banking is built to be robust, transparent and flexible so that it seamlessly fits with your system, banks’ systems and requires no maintenance from you.
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Is managing your bank limiting your growth?

It can come as a surprise to anyone that’s not had to set up a cross-border business – but it can take six months or more to negotiate a new bank relationship. Time spent on finding, selecting, negotiating and then integrating these relationships is time that your senior team is not spending on growing the business. It can be a significant drag on growth.
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British fintech investment reaches a record high

Global investors poured funding into the UK’s glistening fintech sector last year, raising almost double the figure that was invested between 2018 and 2019 - despite the rest of the world suffering a slight downturn in funding.
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Are multi-currency vIBANS the banking solution you need?

There’s no denying that virtual bank accounts or virtual IBANS - vIBANS for short - are an interesting feature and are fast becoming a staple in the banking world.
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What is Managed Banking, and how will it help my business?

Managed Banking is a simple to use, but flexible approach to finding and maintaining the right banking relationships, payment infrastructure and currency corridors; all offered as a service in support of business requirements.
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Why payment digitalisation is important for Online Travel Agencies cross-border success in 2020

The travel industry is one that is constantly affected by tightening margins and more recently an unstable economy. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are scrambling to reduce costs, ease overheads and simplify their processes.
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Is 2020 the year of challenger business banking?

Recently - the past two years in particular - has seen a rise in business banking, with challenger banks emerging to take advantage of slow, legacy technology and outdated processes.
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Which UK fintechs received the most investment in 2019?

Despite Brexit uncertainty the UK continued to be an attractive proposition for overseas investors in 2019. UK fintechs still raised a lot of capital, with a select few closing £100m+ rounds. We’ve listed 20 UK fintechs that raised the most throughout 2019.
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Trust: a key commodity in fintech

Trust is the key commodity in fintech: do your customers trust you, and how can you trust them? With complex intermediary relationships and cross-border transactions, it’s never been more important to build a trusted brand.
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Crypto: Bona Fide or a Ponzi Scheme?

Bitcoin is back on an upward trajectory – and the speculators are piling in! So it’s time to see what’s changed since 2017: has BTC grown up, or is immaturity still the hallmark of crypto?

Ten trends today that every fintech must recognise

New technologies are driving disruption everywhere – and financial services is no exception. They are giving rise to new operating models, redefining the nature of work in the sector and - as consumers or business owners - changing our relationship with IT. Here are 10 key trends influencing fintech today.
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Ten people you need to know in fintech

Navigating modern banking, payments, crypto, regulation and all the other trends in fintech is not a one-person job. Luckily, pioneers in the space are writing, speaking and podcasting - so there’s no shortage of inspiration.
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Seven steps to better negotiating

Great deals survive long enough to give both parties some benefit. Even established leaders like Steve Jobs never stopped working on their negotiation skills. Here are some practical ways to improve your chances, and how to spot when a negotiation is running away from you.
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Can we trust Open Banking?

Open Banking makes financial data interoperable. But whilst the tech is in rude health, customer sentiment is far behind what fintechs might expect…

A coffee with: Sam Gormley of Osaka Labs

Sam Gormley was an entrepreneur at 20, discovering bands for the Atlantic label. Now he’s marketing for fintechs and says the rules haven’t changed...
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Brexit: what do the numbers really say?

Brexit isn’t all bad news. The effect on the UK economy is a tale of great economics yet also worrying uncertainty. Political uncertainty and a global economic slowdown are not just a UK phenomenon - here’s what fintech leaders need to know.