It was the best of times — then suddenly, it was the worst. Nothing quite like a global pandemic to recast the lives of billions. Yet the money wheel of the financial services industry keeps turning. Q1 2020 saw $10.6 billion of venture funding, according to FT Partners. Megadeals continue, including a Series F round of $280 million for Robinhood and $112 million for Stash.
All around the world, financial institutions — incumbents and startups alike — are making provisions to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that five months after launch, RBS decided to pull the plug on its new digital bank, Bó, once touted as a response to challenger banks Monzo, Revolut, and Starling. Building a greenfield digital bank is never easy — especially given current economic conditions.
With so much going on in financial services today — amid a pandemic no less — it seems like it might take all four hosts this week to sort it out. Listen to our latest episode of One Vision when Efi, Arun, Bradley, and Theo are reunited - for the first time in the show’s history.
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