Over one in ten (11%) UK companies is just paying the interest on its debts, rather than repaying the debt itself, according to new research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.

Only being able to pay the interest, not the original debt itself, is one potential sign of a so-called ‘zombie business’ – a company which is only surviving thanks to low interest rates but which otherwise might not be viable.

Leading peer-to-peer business lender, Assetz Capital, has launched a new cashback offer which rewards new investors with up to £350 in cashback.

To trigger the cashback, users need to register and invest by 31st January. Those that invest between £5,000 and £10,000 will earn £100 cashback, with those investing over £10,000 or £20,000 earning £150 or £250 respectively.

Home-grown technology firm Connexin has been announced winners of the IoT Breakthrough Award for Smart City Deployment of the Year, for the Newcastle Smart Road pilot.

iwoca, the UK’s fastest growing small business lender, today announces it has connected to Barclays and HSBC banks under Open Banking. This expands the number of Open Banking connections offered by iwoca to three, including Lloyds Bank, and will enable more than 60 percent of the lender’s customers to take advantage of the Open Banking service.

The recent report from Deloitte conducted in partnership with Robocash Group stated that ASEAN countries have the highest potential in the fintech market up to 2020. The advanced landscape facilitates both the development of financial technologies and the inflow of investments expected to increase by over 20-30% in 2018 compared to the previous year.

The stablecoin, a digital currency pegged to a stable asset, has been forecast to be the blockchain star of 2019. Mitigating the volatility that usually plagues the crypto world, stablecoins are bringing much needed stability back to the blockchain trading platform. Australia and Japan are among the latest countries to introduce their own state backed stablecoins,¹ highlighting the surging popularity of stablecoins around the world.

The growing expectations of UK consumers are coming up against the harsh reality of the digital services available, according to a survey of 2,500 UK adults commissioned by Liferay. This is, in turn, affecting people’s relationship with democracy, and with national institutions such as the NHS. For instance:

UK private sector activity was stable in the quarter to December, according to the latest CBI Growth Indicator. 

Read full survey here

IronX Exchange beta version launches today, and it coincides with their much-anticipated IRX token sale. With the regulatory licence secured, IronX is also offering a special Holiday Bonus to all deposits.