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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1573581" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Wirecard">Wirecard</keyword>'s UK arm was allowed to resume regulated activity on June 30 following a four-day suspension, despite its parent company filing for administration.</li><li>The suspension blocked several customers of <keyword id="2461546" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="FinTech">fintech</keyword> apps using Wirecard technology from their accounts.</li><li>Incoming payments bounced during the suspension. Some account holders told Business Insider they are still waiting for their money.</li></ul><p>UK account holders with brands that use Wirecard's payment services are still waiting for cash that bounced from their accounts when the German fintech firm <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/wirecard-files-insolvency-missing-billions-ex-ceo-arrest-2020-6-1029340987?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest#=ingest#">filed for insolvency</a>. This is despite the fact that Wirecard's UK arm resumed regulated activity more than a week ago.  </p><p>The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suspended Newcastle-based Wirecard Card Solutions' (WDCS) activities on June 26, after the firm's German parent Wirecard AG <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/wirecard-timeline-what-you-need-to-know-2bn-fintech-scandal-2020-6-1029337346?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest#est#">disclosed a €1.9bn (£1.7bn) hole in its accounts</a> and filed for insolvency. Four days later, the suspension was lifted, but not before it had hit users of financial apps that use Wirecard technology. </p><p>Unlike mainstream brands such as Halifax or HSBC, many digital, neo or app-based banking services and fintech companies don't always handle payments or provide debit cards themselves. Instead, they outsource payment services and card provision to regulated third parties such as WDCS.</p><p><em><strong>Read more...</strong> <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/wirecard-ex-ceo-markus-braun-arrested-2020-6-1029332580?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun has been arrested in Germany, days after the company reported that $2.2 billion was missing</a></em></p><p>Once WDCS was suspended by the FCA, users could not use their accounts or access money in them. Payments into the accounts bounced back to their senders — and some users are still waiting to receive their money, a week after WDCS resumed activity. </p><p>Apps that use WDCS, such as <keyword id="4047322" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Curve">Curve</keyword> and <keyword id="9547095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pockit">Pockit</keyword>, have hundreds of thousands of customers in the UK, and at the time of the suspension the FCA said WDCS partners would be unable to operate normally. Since restrictions were lifted, fintech firms have tried to keep customers informed through blogs and in-app messages, but users have flooded social media with complaints of missing money.</p><h3><strong>"I have no assurance of when I will get my money back"</strong></h3><p>Curve was one brand affected by the suspension</p><p>It calls itself the Netflix of banking: It lets users monitor, manage, and spend money from several accounts on one card. They get cashback on spending, known as Curve Cash.</p><p>Curve used Wirecard to process its transactions, and the suspension stalled refunds paid into people's accounts from retailers.</p><p>Adam Plant, 31, an IT project manager from Staffordshire, is awaiting £170 in refunds.</p><p>"These have been processed on the retailers' end but nothing has reached the Curve card or ultimately my main bank account," he said.</p><p>"Curve has not offered any assurance that these funds will actually make it back to me … It isn't making a major dent in my finances but it is a decent amount and it's the annoyance of not knowing what's happening or what their plans are to make sure I get this back," he said.</p><p><div type="image" title="Curve Shachar 6" height="899" width="1600" msid="76879408" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Plant said he had trouble with refunds on Curve in the past, and that he's now been put off the app for good.</p><p>Curve said in a statement that it is in touch with customers awaiting refunds.</p><p>It has moved to Checkout.com for its payment services, and will supply its own card through MasterCard.</p><p>However, Curve said the temporary Wirecard suspension, and its subsequent move to Checkout.com, has delayed refunds that were requested or due to be repaid by retailers before 2pm on June 27. These are now in the process of being paid, it added.</p><h3><strong>"I had to pawn my phone to access cash"</strong></h3><p>The Wirecard's suspension also hit customers of Pockit, a digital current account designed for those with low incomes or poor credit ratings.</p><p>Ashleigh, 28, who spoke on the condition her surname was not revealed, had a £300 benefit payment from the department for work and pensions (DWP) due during the suspension. It has not yet arrived.</p><p>She had to take a £370 loan from a pawnshop, secured against her phone, to fund get by, she said.</p><p>"My DWP payments have resumed but all money that bounced due to Wirecard is missing," she said.</p><p>"I'm lucky that I've been able to open a NatWest account and make plans for future payments to go in but there are people who can't due to poor credit or a lack of ID.</p><p>"There are vulnerable people who get paid once a month who don't know how long they have to wait."</p><p><strong><em>Read more... </em></strong><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wirecard-scandal-impact-payments-space-regulation-fintech-investors-competition-2020-7">Fintech investors see more red tape for the booming payments space following the Wirecard scandal, and say that costs to comply could crimp newcomers' growth (PREMIUM)</a></em><strong><br /></strong></p><p>Pockit told Business Insider that all its accounts are functional.</p><p>"The Pockit team understands completely the urgency and distress that the situation at Wirecard has provoked for our customers," it said in a statement.</p><p>"We were not given any advanced warning by the FCA of the measures it decided to take and have worked closely with the DWP and the FCA to find a swift solution for our customers.</p><p>"We are taking decisive steps to ensure our customers have better access to reliable financial services in the coming weeks, including an orderly transition to a different UK-based payments provider."</p><p>Wirecard AG declined to comment but highlighted statements from its insolvency administrator and the FCA, which said the UK subsidiary was able to continue operating.</p><p>A statement on the WDCS website apologized for delays on its card programmes. </p><h3><strong>Will this dent confidence in financial apps?</strong></h3><p>Fintech brands have flourished during lockdown.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.capgemini.com/gb-en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/COVID-19-and-the-financial-services-consumer_V4-1.pdf">survey by analysts Capgemini </a>of more than 1,000 consumers in April, 45% of people said they would use digital payments more during lockdown, and 82% said they were unlikely to visit bank branches.</p><p>Sankar Krishnan, head of growth and industry head within the banking and capital business at Capgemini, doubted the Wirecard collapse, and the knock-on impact on the firm's UK subsidiary, would damage confidence in financial apps.</p><p>"I do not see there being any decline in digital banks," Krishnan said, adding that more and more people continue to switch "to digital from 'trusted' digital providers including traditional banks."</p><p>Carl Uminski, co-founder of digital agency Somo, says some people will feel more wary of digital payments. But he added that  system outages can also hit traditional banks.—  <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50471919">TSB</a>'s technology collapsed in 2018 and users couldn't access their accounts, for example.</p><p>"This isn't a sign of a turbulent industry or a reason to not trust neobanks and simply go back to a traditional brand," he said.</p><p>Jon Ostler, chief executive at personal <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> comparison site, Finder.com, said the Wirecard incident alone is unlikely to change the behaviour of most consumers so long as fintech firms are transparent. Users may, however, want more detail on how their apps operate. </p><p>"It will certainly have been a wakeup call though and might lead to consumers taking a more detailed look at how these apps work," he said. <br /><br /></p>

When regulators suspended Wirecard's UK arm, payments to its fintech partner accounts bounced. The suspension has lifted — but for some, the money is still missing.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Pockit</span></p><p class="caption">Pockit founder and CEO Virraj Jatania.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A fintech startup offering banking services to the poorest people in society and backed by legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has transacted over £100 million ($131 million) in the last year alone.</p><p>Pockit, founded in 2009, has 90,000 customers across the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>, according to founder and CEO Virraj Jatania, and will "go well past 100,000 by the end of the year."</p><p>Pockit lets low-income and itinerant people get hold of a prepaid card that is "for all intensive purposes a current account," Jatania says.</p><p>"We give them an account that they can have salary paid into or government benefits and we have 28,000 locations where they can deposit cash into our accounts as well," he told Business Insider.</p><p>"From that account, they can make payments to other accounts, they can set up direct debits, and they get a card that allows them to transact, and they have an app from which they can manage their money on the go at all times."</p><p>There are plenty of startups doing something similar: <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/loot-raises-series-a-rocket-internet-bank-for-millennials-2016-6">Loot offers a prepaid, app-linked card with banking services pitched at students</a>; <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/banking-app-mondo-rebranding-to-monzo-2016-8">startup banks like Monzo</a> and <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tandem-raise-valuation-ebay-pierre-omidyar-2016-5">Tandem plan to offer current accounts controlled by apps</a>; and Curve lets people manage all their accounts and cards through one app, linked to a card.</p><p>What sets Pockit apart is its social goal. The above startups are pitched at well-off millennials but Pockit is exclusively focused on the so-called "unbanked" - people shut out of the mainstream banking sector for one reason or another.</p><p>28-year-old Jatania says: "I went to UCL and had been doing quite a bit of research into this area. I was quite surprised to see that this is a major challenge in the UK that not a lot of people know about. You have 4-5 million people either completely outside of the banking system or underserved when it comes to mainstream financial services."</p><p>"When you start looking at who's trying to provide services for those consumers - there's pretty much no-one. And those who try do it on the lending side in a very punitive manner. I felt this was a space that was ripe for disruption."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI5IXPHF8&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1551&amp;RH=854#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI5IXEVQK&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1551&amp;RH=854&amp;POPUPPN=7&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF1WAOWLE">REUTERS/Phil Noble</a></span></p><p class="caption">Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United manager, is an investor in Pockit.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It was Pockit's social mission that got Sir Alex Ferguson interested. He took part in<a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/sir-alex-ferguson-invests-prepaid-7138152"> the startup's £1 million funding round back in 2014.</a></p><p>"We were introduced through a mutual friend some time ago and got talking about what we were thinking about building," Jatania says.</p><p>"It was actually before we launched the company that I met him. Given his background and the care he has around working class communities he just loved what we were starting to put together."</p><p>(If it is surprising that a "mutual friend" would introduce them - what circles does he run in? - then it's worth knowing a bit about Jatania's background. His family set up the Lornamead Group, a multinational skincare and soap business originating in Nigeria that they built up and sold to private equity in the late 2000s.)</p><p>Back on Ferguson, Jatania says: "I think he was surprised that no one was trying to solve this problem and trying to help this group of consumers who were quite marginalized. Our vision is to build the world's most inclusive bank, that's what we really want to do. He shared that passion."</p><p>Pockit has a 100% acceptance rate (although applicants are vetted after accounts are opened) and it takes just 2 minutes to open an account. Customers pay a one-off 99p charge to open an account, then pay 99p each time they use certain services such as depositing cash or taking money out of an ATM.</p><p>You might think most of Pockit's customers are immigrants, who typically find it difficult to get bank accounts when they come to the UK, but they are a more diverse bunch, Jatania says.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Pockit</span></p><p class="caption">A Pockit customer with one of the cards.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"Immigrants form a part of it, but they're not by any means the main part of it. You actually have a large proportion of UK-based, low-income consumers who have typically messed up in the past of done something that hasn't allowed them to get access to a bank account.</p><p>"They might have a small business that went into bankruptcy and banks say we don't want to service them. Or they might not have the correct documentation to show that they live in a certain place so the bank again rejects them. These are the types of things that cause customers to fall into these situations. Once they fall into these situations, they feel they might not ever get a bank account so they just don't even bother and go to managing their money in cash."</p><p>For people like this, offering services like direct debit and cards that can be used online can be life changing - even just having an account to get a salary paid in to can be revolutionary.</p><p>Pockit has raised an additional £5 million since Sir Alex's round, attracting cash from the likes of renown British VC Jon Moulton, Concentric Ventures, and payments entrepreneur Harold Mechelynck.</p><p>"We actually did our raise a little earlier in the year but we decided to keep it below the radar just to be sure we could complete prove the model and get to a really good scale," Jatania says.</p><p>"We've also been building out the product functionality so that customers are able to get account numbers and sort codes and pay direct debits. We're already starting to think what comes next - do we allow customers to send money home? Do we offer some kind of lending product? These are the kinds of things we've been putting money towards.</p><p>He adds: "We've got a long way to go to achieve our ambitions."</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen"></a><strong> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br />5 Top Fintech Predictions by the BI Intelligence Research Team. <strong><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/grant-cardone-money-mistake-millionaire-finance-2016-9">Self-made millionaire reveals the biggest money mistake you might be making</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5ndWJvNTE6dTp1-ts1dr-VyPMtF3vtKC" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Man United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is backing this 28-year-old to build the 'world's most inclusive bank'

<ul class="summary-list"><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>An umbrella stroller is a smart investment to make. Once your child needs a sippy-cup holder and footrest, it's time to purchase an umbrella stroller.</strong></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>When it comes to choosing the best umbrella stroller for you and your family, there are a few different criteria to consider, including weight, folding ability, and maneuverability.<span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></strong></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Maclaren Triumph Stroller is a well-made umbrella stroller with a variety of features that is guaranteed to last through multiple kids.</strong></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An umbrella stroller is a smart investment to make when it comes to buying baby products. Once your child needs a sippy-cup holder and footrest, it's time to purchase an umbrella stroller. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the moment I used my first umbrella stroller on a family holiday, I've been hooked. They are lightweight and fold up easily. You can store them in places like the trunk, the back seat of your car, or in an overhead luggage bin. And if your home is short on space, they fit in smaller closets without taking up too much room.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also, at a certain point, often around the 6-month mark, you just won't need a larger stroller. Once your little one is walking, they'll often want to explore rather than be confined to a stroller. Having a lightweight umbrella stroller will ensure you're not lugging around a heavy buggy while trying to chase down an energetic toddler.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to choosing the best stroller for you and your family, there are a few different criteria to consider:</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p><ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Weight:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The lighter, the better</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Quality: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">You want them to last through multiple kids and trips</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Folding ability: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nothing is worse than struggling with both a toddler and a stroller</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Maneuverability: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">How easily it handles different terrain</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong style="color: #222222;">Cost: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your budget</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></li></ul><h2>Here are the best umbrella strollers you can buy:</h2><ul class="summary-list"><li>Best umbrella stroller overall: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076Q3QFF4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_073019_best-umbrella-strollers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B076Q3QFF4&amp;linkId=d2e983880df55e4e5434aa9bfb97c6e4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maclaren Triumph Stroller</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Maclaren-Triumph-Stroller-Black-Charcoal/dp/B076Q3QFF4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=5PM1CHO9P8DT&amp;keywords=mcclaren%2Bstrollers&amp;qid=1564491267&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=mcclaren%2Bst%2Caps%2C197&amp;sr=8-4&amp;th=1"></a></li><li>Best budget umbrella stroller: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O20OCVC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_073019_best-umbrella-strollers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00O20OCVC&amp;linkId=b6ed4a590e1ebfe70c8eba36b8e71f21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer Infant 3D Lite Convenience Stroller</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Lite-Convenience-Stroller/dp/B00O20OCVC/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Summer%2BInfant%2B3Dmini%E2%84%A2%2BConvenience%2BStroller&amp;qid=1564491646&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-3&amp;th=1"></a></li><li>Best travel umbrella stroller: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DQ2B8UY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_073019_best-umbrella-strollers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B01DQ2B8UY&amp;linkId=98434d4cf61b27807e1c3e14adda3924" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GB Pockit Lightweight Stroller</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/GB-616230013-Pockit-Lightweight-Stroller/dp/B01DQ2B8UY?th=1"></a></li><li>Best umbrella stroller for multiple babies: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJIXW2K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_073019_best-umbrella-strollers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00GJIXW2K&amp;linkId=033eaf4fc02c5c33735bc57f49bbfaf8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Delta Children LX Side by Side Tandem Umbrella Stroller</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Children-Tandem-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B003TRZIGW/?tag=verywellfamily-20&amp;ascsubtag=4152092%7Cn3e8c8ec1594d4d579467e8ac7930c43514&amp;th=1"></a></li><li>Best splurge umbrella stroller: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BU910K8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_073019_best-umbrella-strollers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B01BU910K8&amp;linkId=f2f5b0fc81e59a2bfad9ef7b65b650fe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabyZen YoYo Stroller</a></li></ul><p class="tagline"><p><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a><br><br>Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>.<br><br>Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.</br></br></br></br></p></p>

The best umbrella strollers you can buy

<p class="p1"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="p1">A video of a magical stroller that can fold smaller than a backpack is going viral on Facebook.</p><p class="p1">The video was uploaded by baby product expert Jamie Grayson of the <a href="http://www.babyguygearguide.com/">website Baby Guy Gear Guide</a>&#xa0;and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBabyGuyNYC/">Facebook page TheBabyGuyNYC</a> who posted it from the <a href="http://www.theabcshow.com/">ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas</a> on Sunday.</p><p class="p1">Called the Pockit Stroller from GB Child USA, the stroller can quickly fold down into a compact 12-inch by 14-inch by 7-inch pack that weighs only nine pounds. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBabyGuyNYC/videos/10153300003777087/?pnref=story">Check out the video of it in action</a>:</p><p class="p1"><div><div id="fb-root"></div><div class="fb-video" data-allowfullscreen="1" data-href="/TheBabyGuyNYC/videos/vb.324403437086/10153300003777087/?type=3"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"></div></div></div></p><p class="p1">Let's break down how it works. First, the demonstrator folded in the wheels of the stroller and folded back the sun shade visor to make it more compact.</p><p class="p1"><div></div></p><p class="p1">And then within seconds, the entire stroller collapses into an easy carry-on size to "go in the overhead of a plane or under your seat."</p><p class="p1"><div></div></p><p class="p1">It also expands back to its original size with a snap. Impressive!</p><p class="p1"><div></div></p><p class="p2">And if you don't want to take the time to fold the wheels down, the stroller can still collapse easily - it just might be a few inches taller. "Look at that, that is a stroller," Grayson says in awe in the video.</p><p class="p2"><div></div></p><p class="p1">Within two days of posting about the stroller, Grayson's video has been viewed over eight million times, shared over 170,000 times, and liked by nearly 43,000 people. It even attracted <a href="https://www.facebook.com/324403437086/posts/10153303809117087/">almost&#xa0;18,000 new Facebook likes</a>&#xa0;to his page at the time of this post.</p><p class="p1">Parent commenters agreed, begging to know more details and when they could buy one for themselves.</p><p class="p1"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="p2">But they'll have to wait. According to Grayson, the Pockit stroller doesn't have a price yet and won't be available until March or April. It&#xa0;will be suitable for children anywhere from six months up to 55 pounds.</p><p class="p1">And while most parents&#xa0;seemed to be impressed with the sleek design, not everyone was a fan.</p><p class="p4"><span class="s1">"I don't like this stroller at all really," <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBabyGuyNYC/videos/10153300003777087/?comment_id=10153300554227087&amp;offset=0&amp;total_comments=18989&amp;comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D">one commenter wrote</a>. "Where is the comfort in this? One sling of fabric and then just frame. And no basket for necessities, so get ready to carry everything. Reminds me of a smaller folding umbrella stroller, with a bigger price tag."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/futuristic-transforming-apartments-2015-9">This futuristic apartment transforms five rooms into one</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hyNzZidzr5DnOVshm0OFm7hG4WABc_Lx" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Parents on Facebook are going nuts for this stroller that folds up into a tiny box

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Travelex</span></p><p class="caption">Travelex's new Supercard.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Travel money specialist Travelex is jumping on the fintech bandwagon by launching a new MasterCard product called "Supercard" that lets users avoid fees and charges when spending money abroad.</p><p>Supercard links to a traditional domestic bank card or credit cards. Travelex uses smart tech to re-route transactions made abroad to these domestic accounts, meaning users avoid fees usually charged for spending money on plastic abroad. Money is converted into your home currency using the MasterCard wholesale exchange rate, the best available.</p><p>The company trialed the card with customers last year and is now launching it to the general public. The chip and pin-protected card is linked to an app which lets people track and monitor their spending as they're abroad.</p><p>The one fee Travelex does charge - it has to make money after all - is a 2.99% fee on any ATM withdrawals made abroad.</p><p>Travelex's Supercard rivals several hot fintech startups which have brought out products that hinge around card technology. The most obvious rival is Revolut, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/revolut-raising-series-a-new-customer-sign-ups-2016-4">which gives customers a card they can spend abroad with zero fees and at the best exchange rate</a>. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-revolut-500-million-e-money-license-fca-2016-5">The startup has only been around for 10-months but has already seen over $500 million (£353 million) spent on its cards.</a></p><p>Supercard's technology is also reminiscent of Curve, a startup that gives customers one debit card that links to all their debit, credit, and loyalty cards, meaning they don't have to carry them all around. Users can control which card they are spending on using Curve through an app.</p><p>Like Curve, Supercard is built using the technology of Wirecard, an innovative Germany card technology company. Other fintech startups that work with Wirecard include <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/mondo-name-change-trademark-users-chose-banky-mcbankface-2016-6">Mondo</a>, Pockit, and <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/student-banking-app-loot-close-to-series-a-funding-2016-4">Loot</a>.</p><p>Travelex's chief digital officer Sean Cornwell, a former Google executive, says in an emailed statement announcing the "Supercard:"</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">At Travelex, we're on a mission to create innovative financial products to help our customers' breakdown the borders that limit them from living internationally. Supercard provides them with the power to remove the boundaries they face when spending abroad meaning they can travel with the peace of mind of knowing they're not getting charged fees and charges for spending with their <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> bank cards abroad.</p><p>Cornwell has been helping spearhead Travelex's push into fintech - financial technology - amid a wave of innovation from startups. Cornwell <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/travelex-launches-25m-digital-fund-as-fintech-start-ups-snap-at-its-heels-9857536.html">pushed the holiday money giant to create a £25 million fintech fund to make seed investments in fintech startups back in 2014.</a></p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo"><p></p></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/financial-adviser-first-question-fiduciary-2016-6">The most important question you should ask before hiring a financial adviser</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BtNWZ2MzE648d75KJjZuMeDMI-faHYUo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Travelex is launching a fintech card that lets you spend money abroad with no fees

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Tech City <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword></span></p><p class="caption">Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Government quango Tech City UK highlighted just how dominant it thinks London's tech sector is compared to the rest of the UK when it <a href="http://www.cityam.com/257812/meet-33-tech-startups-set-stardom" target="_blank">announced a list</a> of its 33 British startups to watch on Thursday.</p><p>The organisation, which receives over £2 million of taxpayer's money each year to promote and support tech companies across the UK, picked just seven early stage tech companies outside the capital to join its Upscale programme this year. That's less than two-thirds of the total cohort.</p><p>London-based companies like digital bank Monzo and bike light creator Blaze will receive mentoring from highly successful entrepreneurs - including LoveFilm cofounder Saul Klein and Skype cofounder and ex-CEO Niklas Zennstom - as part of the programme.</p><p>Startups outside London chosen include artificial intelligence firm Cambridge Intelligence, Liverpool-based market research tech company LivingLens, and Nottingham cloud computing company Cronofy.</p><p>While London is home to more tech startups than any other UK city, startups in the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, and Bristol are developing technology that is often more interesting and revolutionary. Cybersecurity startup <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/mike-lynchs-darktrace-goes-after-students-2015-10" target="_blank">Darktrace was set up in Cambridge</a>, for example, while <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/23/google-uk-artificial-intelligence-startups-machine-learning-dark-blue-labs-vision-factory" target="_blank">Oxford spawned two AI startups</a> that were acquired by Google's AI lab DeepMind in 2014.</p><p>We have again seen a bias towards London-based tech firms in TechCity's Upscale programme," said Stuart Clarke, festival director of the Leeds Digital Festival, in an email to Business Insider. "Is this because we have fewer suitable firms in the North or because Tech City is inherently biased towards London? I think it's definitely the latter and there needs to be more emphasis on getting northern tech firms involved."</p><p>Gerard Grech, chief executive of Tech City UK, seemed to be happy with the representation of startups outside London. "It's great to see so many regions and sectors represented in the cohort, demonstrating the great diversity this country has when it comes to digital technology," he said in a statement.</p><p>Grech was also pleased with the number of companies with female founders Tech City UK selected - four out of the 33.</p><p>"It's particularly great to see four fantastic female founders - Tania Boler, Tamara Rajah, Tugce Bulut and Emily Brooke - amongst the new intake but the industry needs to work harder to make sure that women are getting to senior roles in the sector," he said.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>FULL LIST OF COMPANIES:</strong></p><ol><li>Boiler Room - online music broadcaster of live events. Six years old, it has now hosted shows in 100 cities worldwide <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Blaze - urban mobility brand providing technology for bike sharing schemes and consumer cyclists globally <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Bulb - an online renewable gas and electricity supplier, competing with the likes of British Gas and NPower <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Cambridge Intelligence - an artificial intelligence company that helps companies see patterns and insights in their data <strong>(Cambridge)</strong></li><li>Chargifi - Chargifi supplies networked, wireless power to public venues like coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, sporting arenas, offices and transport hubs <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>CharlieHR - a free HR platform for small companies <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Chiaro - a company that focuses on women's wellness with wearable tech <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Cronofy - a cloud computing company that allows people to check the availability of people in real time <strong>(Nottingham)</strong></li><li>Curve - allows you to combine all your credit cards into one Curve card and link with an app to monitor your spending <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>DueCourse - online invoice factoring business <strong>(Manchester)</strong></li><li>Echo - an app that takes the pain out of repeat prescriptions <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>everyLIFE Technologies - provides a mobile platform for managing social care in real time, working with the NHS and social care providers<strong> (Farnham)</strong></li><li>Firefly Learning - online tool for teachers, parents and schools to monitor pupils' progress at school <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>GeoSpock - database technology that enables extreme-scale, real-time geo-spatial and multi-dimensional big data applications <strong>(Cambridge)</strong></li><li>Goodlord - end to end digital platform allowing letting agents, tenants and landlords to complete a rental transaction <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Grabyo - Edit, publish and share video across mobile devices <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Live Better With - community and marketplace for products for people living with cancer<strong> (London)</strong></li><li>LivingLens - allows companies to search hours of market research video by key word <strong>(Liverpool)</strong></li><li>Mastered - online courses for fashion professionals <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Mixcloud - audio streaming service that allows users to listen to radio from all over the world <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Moneyfarm - online wealth manager whose investors include Allianz, one of the world's largest insurers <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Monzo - one of a new breed of challenger banks. The mobile banking app receives its banking licence this year <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Paddle - provides e-commerce and digital infrastructure for software businesses <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>pi-top - provides DIY laptop and desktop products for STEM education <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Pockit - banking startup aimed at those excluded from mainstream banking <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Poq - app commerce solution for major retailers <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Signal Media - Artificial Intelligence-powered new monitoring <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>StoryStream - Live storytelling for brands: content curation and publishing <strong>(Brighton)</strong></li><li>Streetbees - market research insights from around the world, collected through artificial intelligence and geo-location <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Trouva - curated online shopping from 150 independent boutiques <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Trussle - the online mortgage adviser, built upon a database of thousands of mortgage products <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Urban Massage - booking massage online <strong>(London)</strong></li><li>Wolf &amp; Badger - global online marketplace for independent brands <strong>(London)</strong></li></ol>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/9-iphone-tricks-you-might-not-have-known-2017-1">9 iPhone tricks that will make your life easier in 2017</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="p2MWp0ODE6aTwJJlChtrU0F7LIm-LG9M" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Tech City UK picked just 7 startups outside London for a national company growth programme with space for 33 firms

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Revolut</span></p><p class="caption">International money card Revolut runs on Wirecard's platform.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Britain is going through a boom in fintech - financial technology - and the latest wave <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/neobank-banking-app-make-money-fintech-monzo-revolut-loot-atom-tandem-2016-11">involves companies offering some sort of card, usually a prepaid money card, that links to an app.</a></p><p>There are app-only startup banks (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-atom-bank-raising-100-million-to-get-into-mortgages-2016-9">Atom</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/monzo-interim-48-million-funding-round-2016-10">Monzo</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/app-only-starling-bank-gets-fca-licence-and-plans-january-2017-launch-2016-7">Starling</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/startup-bank-tandem-crowdfunds-1-million-on-seedrs-in-around-15-minutes-2016-5">Tandem</a>); foreign exchange cards (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/revolut-business-sign-ups-fintech-fx-2016-9">Revolut</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/travelex-launches-fee-free-international-card-supercard-2016-6">SuperCard</a>); spending management apps (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-loot-growth-funding-banking-generation-snapchat-2016-11">Loot</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/neobank-banking-app-make-money-fintech-monzo-revolut-loot-atom-tandem-2016-11">'U' account</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/neobank-banking-app-make-money-fintech-monzo-revolut-loot-atom-tandem-2016-11">Soldo</a>); business accounts (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tide-bank-launch-funding-brexit-perfect-scenario-2016-7">Tide</a>); accounts for migrants and the low paid (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/inside-monese-the-mobile-banking-app-for-migrants-2015-10">Monese</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sir-alex-ferguson-invests-in-fintech-startup-pockit-2016-9">Pockit</a>); and even a card to help you manage all your cards in one (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/london-fintech-startup-curve-tops-up-seed-round-with-2-million-2016-9">Curve</a>).</p><p>Collectively, these startups have raised hundreds of millions of pounds.</p><p>Many of them are remarkably similar. That is unsurprising given that the majority of them all rely on the same German company to provide their infrastructure backbone: Wirecard.</p><p>Wirecard, founded in 1999, is a German payments provider that has powered the current boom in startup budgeting and banking apps in Britain. But the company has also been caught up in a short selling attack earlier this year that sent shares diving 25%. Thankfully for British startups that depend on it, the company has recovered.</p><p>Wirecard works with British startups such as Loot, Monzo, the "U" account, Soldo, Revolut, and Travelex's money card Supercard. (Earlier this year some users suspected a background link when both Revolut and Monzo experienced downtime simultaneously.)</p><p>Wirecard is a payments processor but also has a banking license in its native Germany and has a license to issue cards from Visa and MasterCard. Startups turn to Wirecard for help issuing cards, processing payments, and subletting its banking license.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Wirecard</span></p><p class="caption">Georg Von Waldenfels, Wirecard.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Georg von Waldenfels, EVP of Consumer Solutions at Wirecard, told Business Insider: "We're actually a combination of technology with a wide range of digital payment solutions and licenses. This is what makes so attractive actually this combination. We have a lot of traction in the fintech space, especially in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>.</p><p>"They have an idea, they have a business plan and all of a sudden they hit a regulatory problem. That means, it's different from country-to-country, but they need maybe a full banking license. This is where we come in. We can sublicense. They come and say, OK, we need issuing capabilities, so Wirecard has issuing licenses for MasterCard and Visa."</p><p>In the case of Monzo, for example, Wirecard issues its cards and holds customers' money in segregated client accounts.</p><p>The payment processing and financial services company is little known in the UK, given its model of sitting behind the consumer-facing brands. But von Waldenfels says the UK "one of the more interesting markets overall" for Wirecard.</p><p>€216.6 million of Wirecard's €771.3 million revenue in 2015 came from Europe, excluding Germany, and the UK is described as an "important sales market" and one of three "base locations" for the company in Europe in its annual report.</p><p>Von Waldenfels says: "It's the mindset of the people and also the infrastructure. The merchant in the big city and the mindset of the user are more advanced than in other countries."</p><p>He won't describe how exactly Wirecard makes money on its UK deals, saying: "There is no standard package because there is no standard fintech. There are always setup fees but it always depends - is it a transaction business, is it a credit card, is it a debit card, are they using our banking license capabilities."</p><p>But he adds: "There will always be a fixed fee and a transaction fee."</p><p>As well as a banking license in Germany, Wirecard's UK subsidiary holds an e-money licence from Britain's financial regulator the FCA. A spokesperson said this means the company has "flexibility irrespective of the terms of the UK's separation from the EU."</p><h2>'Untrue and slanderous allegations'</h2><p>Wirecard is listed on Germany's technology index TecDax and currently has a market cap of just over €5 billion. It currently processes around €42.5 billion worth of transactions per year and works with close to 22,000 merchants around the world.</p><p>However, the company was mired in controversy earlier this year. The company was targeted by short sellers and faced an aggressive research report against it in February, which sent its share price tumbling. A previously unknown research firm, Zatarra Research, claimed it has uncovered evidence that linked Wirecard to money laundering of betting proceeds from offshore poker sites back into the United States, where online gambling is illegal.</p><p>Wirecard's CEO Markus Braun told Reuters shortly after the report was published that <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wirecard-report-idUSKCN0WH1IO">the allegations were "based on insinuations and false conclusions."</a> The company also called the claims "untrue and slanderous allegations," saying it was pursuing legal action.</p><p>Late last year, analysts and <a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/11/12/2144182/rupee-do-what-is-wirecard-buying/">blog FT Alphaville</a> also questioned Wirecard's acquisition strategy and financial dealing in emerging markets like India and Asia. Wirecard has grown rapidly by buying a large number of businesses in emerging markets for significant sums. But J Capital Research, a US and Hong Kong registered independent research group, <a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/11/20/2145256/jcap-on-wirecard-a-search-for-the-asian-business/">claimed it "found little evidence that Wirecard has any volume of business."</a></p><p>Wirecard strongly refuted J Capital's research at the time and said it "fundamentally misunderstands the Wirecard business model."</p><p>von Waldenfels told BI that the Zatarra report was the strategy of some hedge funds, who target companies with aggressive reports and profit from the subsequent share price fall. Zatarra admitted in the research that it was looking to profit from a share price fall by "shorting" the stock (borrowing shares, selling them, then pocketing the difference if the price falls when it needs to buy them back and return them.)</p><p>"It hits from time to time different company," von Waldenfels says. "It's the business of some large funds, their key actual strategy. A number of other players have had those short attacks. Actually, we see right now we are better than before. February, March when it happened was kind of a strange situation but we don't suffer from that."</p><p>Wirecard held an investor and analyst day in May to reassure on the international strategy that seems to have buoyed the share price.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/Wirecard-Quote">Markets Insider</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Wirecard's focus right now is on international expansion, von Waldenfels says, despite some of the criticism that overseas deals have attracted.</p><p>von Valdenfels says: "Internationalisation is a very big thing. We had some interesting M&amp;A transactions. We entered emerging markets like India, Brazil, and the last one we acquired was a large card portfolio of Citibank in North America. That's one part, to have a global footprint. The other thing is to extend out core business, our technology, in those markets."</p><p>As for the UK, why are we seeing so many card-linked apps? von Waldenfels says: "People need more and more easy access to their budgets and there are new platforms like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. The key success factor is always the ease of use, the ease of setting up, and security."</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen"></a><strong> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br />5 Top Fintech Predictions by the BI Intelligence Research Team. <strong><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/buy-rent-financial-suicide-james-altucher-2016-10">JAMES ALTUCHER: This is why owning a home is financial suicide</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="0yNjBzeDo1bPwt1rmBJ8yS7MxZE2di07" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Britain's hottest fintech startups depend on a €5 billion German company targeted by short sellers earlier this year

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Ffrees</span></p><p class="caption">Alex Letts, the CEO of Ffrees, which is launching the 'U' account.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Two new startups are gunning to get their cards into the wallets of tech-savvy Brits.</p><p>Soldo and the "U" account are entering an already crowded market of startups pitching some form of card tied to a mobile app.</p><p>There are app-only startup banks (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-atom-bank-raising-100-million-to-get-into-mortgages-2016-9">Atom</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/monzo-interim-48-million-funding-round-2016-10">Monzo</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/app-only-starling-bank-gets-fca-licence-and-plans-january-2017-launch-2016-7">Starling</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/startup-bank-tandem-crowdfunds-1-million-on-seedrs-in-around-15-minutes-2016-5">Tandem</a>); foreign exchange cards (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/revolut-business-sign-ups-fintech-fx-2016-9">Revolut</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/travelex-launches-fee-free-international-card-supercard-2016-6">SuperCard</a>); spending management apps (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-loot-growth-funding-banking-generation-snapchat-2016-11">Loot</a>); business accounts (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tide-bank-launch-funding-brexit-perfect-scenario-2016-7">Tide</a>); accounts for migrants and the low paid (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/inside-monese-the-mobile-banking-app-for-migrants-2015-10">Monese</a>, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sir-alex-ferguson-invests-in-fintech-startup-pockit-2016-9">Pockit</a>); and even a card to help you manage all your cards in one (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/london-fintech-startup-curve-tops-up-seed-round-with-2-million-2016-9">Curve</a>). Collectively, these startups have raised hundreds of millions of pounds.</p><p>The question is: can they all survive?</p><h2>'I'm not going after the digital glitterati'</h2><p>The latest new entrants are Soldo and the "U" account. Soldo, which began a PR push this week, is a banking services app that lets multiple people use one account. It's pitched at parents who want to people able to give money to their children digitally.</p><p>CEO and founder Carlo Gualandri told Business Insider: "I can give my son £100 but then say you cannot spend more than £20 a month on your PlayStation."</p><p>Parents can allocate money and control multiple cards from one app. "We've actually been testing this system live for over a year," Gualandri says. "I've actually personally been living out of Soldo since Spring 2015. If Soldo doesn't work, we don't eat. Now my son is living in the US and spending and living through Soldo."</p><p>Meanwhile, digital current account Ffrees pivoted earlier this month to launch a new app-based product, the "U" account. The "U" account offers a pre-paid card linked to an app which allows people to put their money in different digital sub-accounts to help them budget and save.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Soldo</span></p><p class="caption">Carlo Gualandri, Founder &amp; CEO of Soldo.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"U"'s CEO Alex Letts told business Insider: "I'm not going after the digital glitterati, I'm not going after the lending and savings market, I'm going after providing a bank account to people who live in Blackpool, Burnley, Hull, who are really struggling to manage their bank accounts properly and feel very badly let down by the banks."</p><p>The "U" account and Soldo face the same two challenges all the other card startups do: competition and a fear that they may struggle to make money.</p><p>Gualandri says: "The <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> is very rich in offerings. Every other country possibly has one, perhaps two. The UK market is very crowded." Soldo is launching simultaneously in Italy, which helps its chances.</p><p>Gualandri is a serial entrepreneur who made a fortune setting up a digital bank in his native Italy. He has self-funded Soldo and believes it will stand out because of its focus on parents, rather than chasing the millennial market like most other startups.</p><p>"We do only one thing and what we do I don't think there are many, or possibly even any, who do it," he says. "We want to be complimentary to your bank. We're not against banks."</p><p>Letts, who comes from a background in advertising, is also confident that the "U" account will stand out. While others are targeting young, rich millennials with "hipster hype", he is only interested in pitching his product at "people who are not noticed by the metropolitan elite but who are the backbone of the population in many respects."</p><h2>'Quite frankly, I couldn't find a business model'</h2><p>On to the second big question then: can they make money?</p><p>Gualandi isn't worried - Soldo has its business model sorted out. The startup charges a subscription fee for its services of £2 per user per month. The "U" account also charges a monthly subscription fee of up to £10, depending on how much you pay in each month, and charges for bolt-on services such as opening each sub-account.</p><p>But, having surveyed the competition, Gualandri says: "Quite frankly I couldn't find a business model that was compatible with customer expectations. The customer there wants to have things like free ATMs and so on. Those things cost money but it's cool only if it's free - you're in a very challenging situation because you are building a product that will be forever marginally negative."</p><p>Startups like Monzo, Atom, Revolut, and Loot for instance offer their product for free. This is despite the fact that things like ATM withdrawals, card top-ups, and small payments made using the cards cost these companies money. Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield tells me his startup bank loses on average £40 per year per user at the moment.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>N26</span></p><p class="caption">German app-only bank N26.</p></div><p></p></div></div>German app-only startup bank <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-can-fintech-make-a-profit-number26-monese-2016-6">N26 closed 160,000 customer accounts in June</a>, admitting at least some of the closures were because users were making too many ATM withdrawals, which was costly for the startup. (<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-can-fintech-make-a-profit-number26-monese-2016-6">We raised the issue of fintech profitability back then too.</a>)</p><p>Gualandri says: "You are lucky if between tapping on the tube and buying something bigger once in a while you don't end up negative in terms of cost of the user, especially in the UK. The more users you have, the more money you lose."</p><p>He isn't a lone voice. I've heard similar things said often over the last year by investors, industry insiders and entrepreneurs. ING's head of fintech Benoit Legrand told me in April: <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ing-fintech-boss-benoit-legrand-on-neobanks-and-innovation-2016-4">"T</a><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ing-fintech-boss-benoit-legrand-on-neobanks-and-innovation-2016-4">hey're flourishing everywhere but we're still waiting for the business model to show up. Where is the money? Where is the return?"</a></p><p>Letts says: "I think one of the big problems at the moment is the fintechs are in danger of believing their own hype. We need to be extraordinarily careful not to get too smug and self-satisfied given that we've only just done lift off. A lot of people haven't even done lift off yet and they're talking as if they're going to be the next Ronaldo or Messi - I don't see it."</p><h2>'There are real, serious challenges ahead'</h2><p>Monzo recently gained its banking license and Blomfield says losses on customers will be cut by about £20 a year when it launches its own current accounts early next year. Monzo will do more processing work in-house, rather than paying fees to third parties. The banking license will also allow Monzo to start making money - it plans to offer overdrafts, for example.</p><p>Blomfield adds that £40 loss per user per year compares favourably to banks, which will regularly pay over £100 in marketing and offers to acquire a single customer.</p><p>Still, it's costly work nonetheless. Monzo <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/monzo-interim-48-million-funding-round-2016-10">recently raised £4.8 million</a>, in <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/mondo-crowdfunding-record-crowdcube-2016-3">addition to £6 million earlier this year</a>, and is in the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/mondo-has-to-raise-at-least-15-million-to-get-its-banking-licence-2016-6">process of raising at least £15 million.</a></p><p>Feeling the pressure on their balance sheets, some startups are starting to add additional revenue streams. N26 recently announced that it was launching a "N26 Black" account, a "Premium" account that comes with insurance from Allianz and costs customers €5.90 a month.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mondo</span></p><p class="caption">Mondo CEO Tom Blomfield</p></div><p></p></div></div>Monese, a bank account pitched at migrants, also switched from a freemium model to a subscription model, with VP of growth Mulenga Agley telling BI at the time: <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-can-fintech-make-a-profit-number26-monese-2016-6">"A lot of people now are having to look at their entire business and figure out whether it can actually stand up to monetising early on."</a></p><p>Longterm, Blomfield thinks many of the startups in the space will aim to become finance platforms - the Facebook for your money. Monzo's long-term goal is to become a hub for people's financial lives, selling third-party products like insurance and loans through the app and taking a cut of each sale. N26 has set out a similar vision.</p><p>Letts is skeptical. He says: "Under PSD2 [European legislation that will require banks to share customer information] requirements that is a viable long term future, but I've been around long enough to know that an awful lot of people run out of money before the longterm comes around. I'm building a business that is about today's way of doing business, not about tomorrow's way of doing business."</p><p>Whatever happens, most agree that the market will not remain this crowded forever. Letts says: "It is a huge market so I think theoretically it can sustain them all. Do I think they'll all be successful? I think it's extremely unlikely. In any commercial equation, there are winners and losers. Some people execute well and some people who execute badly."</p><p>Blomfield tells me he sees it as a "winner takes most" market, with there likely to be one or two startups that emerge from all this competition. He likens it to the price comparison sites that rose to prominence 10 years ago: today MoneySupermarket.com and GoCompare control the lion's share of the market.</p><p>Letts says: "I think people need to be careful. There are real, serious challenges ahead for some of these people. I think there's a lot of risks involved."</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen"></a><strong> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br />5 Top Fintech Predictions by the BI Intelligence Research Team. <strong><a href="http://read.bi/fintechleadgen">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-wells-fargo-employee-bankers-abused-customers-2016-10">Ex-Wells Fargo employees reveal how some bankers abused customers</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lyNTR3NjE6eeFw_BqaT6rpuP-DCPt7nU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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