What you need to know for January and how SME payments are improving.

January will be a busy month, no doubt. MiFIDII and PSD2 are just a couple of reasons. Even with the Jan 3 deadline just around the corner, MiFIDII compliance is still making news. If you are the client of an investment firm on an issuer of financial products in Europe, you need an LEI.

However,the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has identified a lack of compliance and the potential havoc the LEI requirement could cause the industry. As such, it has announced a six month grace period for the LEI with certain requirements, details here.

Also in January is our January Meetup event in partnership with Money20/20, which has returned to Amsterdam for 2018. The first Meetup of the year will feature regtech CyNation, PSP Acapture, security firms PrivacyValley and Onegini. It’s a great opportunity to learn about these companies, ask questions and network with others in the industry. To register, click here.

Fintech companies orientated towards SMEs are flourishing.

Last month we sat down the Dutch online accounting fintech Informer. Yesterday, Incoive2go, a global incoming app, announced its new feature which allows SMEs to accept payments instantly, whether they are swipe, insert or tap. The feature is enabled by Paypal.

In addition, Australian fintech and challenger bank, Tyro, now has licence to offer banking products to SMEs. This follows a 2017 trend which saw a proliferation of challenger banks and other companies gaining banking licences such as telecom Orange in France.

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