Finance Monthly December 2019 Edition

Set up in 2011 by Estonian friends Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann in London, TransferWise has revolutionised the way we transfer money overseas. With its wise model of not moving money across borders, which would incur fees, the startup maintains separate pots for each currency, which it then disburses funds from. Backed by investors such as Richard Branson and Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and collaborating with FinTech rivals such as Monzo and N26 which have integrated TransferWise’s software into their platforms, TransferWise is one of the FinTechs that are actually profitable – it reported an annual post-tax net profit of £10.3 million for the fiscal year ending March 2019, which was 66% more from the previous year. Founded in 2018, Bita is a FinTech company that offers infrastructure and software for the development, backtesting, calculation and administration of indexes and systematic investment strategies. By using BITA's open infrastructure, asset managers, banks and institutional investors can run any type of systematic strategy or index in house, retaining their IP and avoiding costly data and index licensing costs. Bita is one of Frankfurt’s fastest-growing FinTech companies and this year, it secured €1.25 million from a group of local and international investors. Cleo is a London-based artificial intelligence startup that offers an assistant to help users with managing their finances. Through connecting to your bank accounts and credit cards, the app provides you with insights into your spending and can answer all of your questions. Founded in 2016, Cleo has so far raised $13.3 million and is set to become everyone’s virtual financial assistant. With over 600,000 users, Curve provides a smart platform for all of your cards which replaces your wallet. Launched in 2018 and based in London, the startup recently raised €49 million and offers its customers to become part of the ownership structure of the company through launching a Crowdcube campaign in September this year. Founded in 2017, Goin is an award- winning app which helps people save and invest money automatically. You don’t need any previous investment experience – all you need is the Goin app. Based on a simple system which understands the user’s profile and habits through questions and answers, it offers automatic ways and methods to save money. Once you’ve saved enough money, Goin provides its users with options for investments – including through crypto. The startup has raised €2.2 million in the past 2 years. 13 www.finance-monthly.com FRONT COVER FEATURE - 20 FINTECHS TO WATCH IN 2020