What online finance can give you that the Big Four can’t
With dissatisfaction among the big banks continuing to rise, more Australian SMEs are attempting to figure out how they can use alternative lenders to grow their businesses. But that’s easier said than done. With so many alternative lenders arriving in Australia, it can be difficult for SMEs to figure out which is going to best suit their needs for unsecured business loans. How can they start? According to the recent SmartCompany SME survey, which questioned hundreds of SMEs around Australia, 25% of readers said they wanted to get a business loan in two years. Of those, 51% said they would approach one of the big four banks, and 31% would […]
‘Secret millions’ of a cryptocurrency trader
An unknown cryptocurrency trader turned $55 million of paper wealth into $283 million in just over a month. The only clue about this person or persons, beyond a virtual wallet with the identification code 0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184, surfaced on a June 11 Instagram posting, in Indonesian, in which he or she (or they) (or somebody posing as them) boasted about the 413 percent profit accumulated earlier this year from ether, the digital money of the Ethereum blockchain. “I get many private messages asking how much ether I have,” the post read, alongside photos that purported to be the hardware powering a mining operation but looked lifted from another website. “One of the […]
Sydney fintech HashChing just digitised conveyancing
Online mortgage marketplace HashChing has announced a new partnership for digital conveyancing. The Sydney fintech is now offering the services of electronic conveyancing marketplace Titlexchange, with the pilot limited to Victoria for now before a general rollout later. HashChing chief information officer Atul Narang said that the legal paperwork can be a bottleneck in the traditional home purchase process. “Borrowers are at the mercy of conveyancers, who can sometimes drag the process out unnecessarily and worse – charge more for their own delay,” he said. The integration into the HashChing platform allows users to access fixed-price conveyancing through Titlexchange without having to go offline to provide ID and personal data. […]
Finch founders urge banks to invest in start-ups, not ‘innovation theatre’
DomaCom acquires property via HUB24
DomaCom has completed its first fractional property transaction on investment and superannuation platform HUB24. DomaCom chief executive, Arthur Naoumidis, said: “Increasing our footprint on platforms is validation that our fractional property fund is gaining wider acceptance and a place in portfolio construction that can fit into any structure”. “We’re very pleased to add HUB24 to the list of platforms coming on board with DomaCom and in this case it is GPS Wealth adviser clients who have completed a crowdfunding campaign to acquire two properties in Victoria and Queensland,” he said. DomaCom’s fractional property investment model allows advisers to approach property as a portfolio strategy investing across multiple properties, property types […]
Trump fuels demand for more ethical investing
The unexpected rise of Donald Trump has helped fuel the formation of the “ethical generation,” which is comprised of socially conscious consumers committed to ensuring their investments are sustainable and align with their own world view. In the US calls to boycott Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand saw it dumped from major department stores and after ridesharing service Uber switched on surge pricing to capitalise on the crowds at an anti-Trump protest in New York, a #deleteuber movement kicked off. Last week anti-Adani coal mine protesters prompted the temporary closure of 11 Commonwealth Bank of Australia branches in Newcastle and the boss of the corporate watchdog, Greg Medcraft is on record […]
Banks trial blockchain solution to speed up guarantee process
ANZ and Westpac have teamed up with IBM and Westfield shopping centre owner Scentre Group to bring the bank guarantee process up to speed using blockchain technology. The trial, powered by IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric platform, replaces the paper-based bank guarantee process used for commercial property leasing with a digital ledger that becomes the central source of information for all parties. Distributed ledger technology underpins blockchain, with ANZ’s general manager of digital banking, Nigel Dobson, saying the trial showcases how the technology can be used to develop business solutions. “Whether it’s crypto currencies or other public applications of blockchain, so far they have not been business grade,” Mr Dobson said. “This […]
This Sydney anti-fraud fintech just landed $2 million in a Series A round
Secure payments fintech EFTsure has revealed it has closed a $2 million series A capital raising round, led by Sydney venture capital firm Our Innovation Fund. The startup has developed a platform that allows businesses to cross-check in real-time that the name of the payee matches the BSB and account numbers before the payment is made – a practice that Australian banks do not perform. “Payments fraud is a growing area of cybercrime in Australia, with fast payment methods significantly increasing the risk of fraudulent activity. It’s critical to ensure a focus on both fast and secure payments as the new NPP platform is introduced,” said EFTsure co-founder Ian Mirels, […]
