Venture capital

Loyalty programs are getting more sophisticated, but they still typically boil down to a game of collecting and redeeming points.

"Virtually every venture capitalist I know is excited about insurance as the next big thing in fintech," says Sam Hodges, co-founder and U.S. managing director at Funding Circle.

Blockchain Capital wants to raise $10 million by issuing its own digital token, a method the firm says is the future for startups, VCs and everybody else.

Wearable payment devices are cutting edge, fast and diverse. But they are not a steady, predictable or popular consumer trend. Even so, investors see a rich opportunity to get involved in the market for wearables.

An improved state-level system could be a tremendous advantage. Working closely with a cooperative regulator, innovators large and small can rapidly test a concept within state lines.

With scammers steadily improving their techniques, CO-OP Financial Services is starting to offer artificial intelligence to police transactions initiated by online, mobile and other connected devices.

Swedish startup Truecaller has become the newest entrant in India’s busy digital payments space, via a tie-up with ICICI Bank Ltd. to offer a local mobile-payments service.

The ICO fundraising model has already yielded more than $230 million for startups.

The venture capital firms of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, along with the fund backed by Google’s chairman, have invested in a firm that helps banks secure their cloud technology.

Several startups have announced new funding rounds in the last month. They plan to use the cash to improve their products and ramp up sales.