Buy a share in a brewery: Pozible launches equity crowd-funding site Birchal
The co-founder of Black Hops Brewing is keen to use equity crowd-funding platform Birchal to raise further funds for his business.
Super sector split on fintech opportunity
Superannuation funds were split into “two clear camps” when it came to dealing with fintech disruption, with half the industry pushing to integrate new technologies into their business, while the other half was running scared from the potential risks of partnering with fintechs, according to PractiFI. Speaking to financialobserver, PractiFI chief executive Glenn Elliott said there were “massive differences” between how super funds were responding to the opportunity digital innovation presented them, but that did not necessarily depend on the size or age of the fund, with some traditional industry players excelling as much as new industry entrants. “There are those that are embracing fintech with great vigour and are […]
Ahmed Fahour joins BCG Digital Ventures to stay in identity game
Ahmed Fahour, who has joined BCG Digital Ventures as non-executive chairman for Asia, said the future of e-commerce will rely on trusted digital identity and his new role advising the global venture capitalist, part of Boston Consulting Group, will place him at the forefront of blockchain being rolled into some of the world’s largest companies. After leaving Australia Post as its CEO on Friday, Mr Fahour has re-emerged at BCG, where he worked for 13 years before embarking on a banking career; the new role would take up a couple of days a month, he said, as he “works on the organisation, not in it”. BCG Digital Ventures worked with […]
NSW urged to lift fintech efforts to protect jobs
The NSW government needs to lift efforts to ensure Sydney captures new financial services jobs in fintech as competition from the likes of Melbourne and Singapore to attract them intensifies, says a report prepared for the Committee for Sydney by KPMG, to be released on Tuesday. With fintech automation set to slice thousands of paper-pushing jobs in financial services incumbents over the coming years, a battle is in progress to attract the start-ups and technology giants redefining the future of banking. The Committee for Sydney report, titled Scaling the fintech opportunity for Sydney and Australia, urges government to get more active promoting Australia and Sydney as a leading global financial […]
Netwealth fronts fundies on path to listing
Investment services and superannuation advice company Netwealth has booked fund managers for meetings in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Auckland this week, as it ramps up plans for an initial public offering. It’s understood Netwealth management will present to fundies starting on Monday, in meetings arranged by sponsor brokers Credit Suisse and UBS. The company is expected to pitch the high growth it has seen in its investment platform, with $14.3 billion in funds under advice and more than 2000 advisers on board. The non-deal roadshow comes as Netwealth’s shareholders push for an ASX-listing later this year. It’s understood to be eyeing about a $150 million to $200 million raising as part […]
Start-up bank says drop $50m capital requirement
The prudential regulator’s insistence that banks have at least $50 million in Tier 1 capital has erected a substantial barrier to entry for new players, says Xinja, the start-up backed by former Macquarie executives which is working with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority’s newly established licensing unit to become a bank. The federal government said in the May budget it would lift a prohibition on the use of the word “bank” by an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADIs) with less than $50 million in capital. The next day, APRA announced its new licensing unit. Xinja’s ambition to use the new law and unit to build Australia’s first “neobank” were revealed in […]
Fintechs target millennials with online financial services
Millennials, a demographic group born between 1980 and 2000, make up one of the largest living generations and have now overtaken the baby boomers. Millennials are likely to fall into three categories: • Inheritors: With wealthy parents, they are major consumers while they wait to inherit. • Strivers: Coming from a more modest background, they are studying, saving and working hard with ambitions for promotion. They will borrow to support their lifestyle, not unlike inheritors. • Given-ups: They are more likely earning a low salary but continue to consume as much as the other two categories. Buying a house is not on the agenda, so they do not see the […]
Westpac launches new corporate lending portal
Westpac Banking Corp has launched a new internet banking portal for its corporate customers to make it easier to drawdown loans and request guarantees, a move it hopes will help its institutional bank retain customers and lift revenue. Ahead of a market briefing by Westpac Institutional Bank’s chief executive Lyn Cobley on Friday morning, presentation slides released to the ASX show Westpac will be seeking to use new technology to increase customer self-servicing in order to drive efficiencies. In the first half, expenses in WIB were down 3 per cent from the previous half, to $657 million. Westpac Institutional Bank provides 17 per cent of Westpac Group’s earnings and delivers […]
