New Fintech startup Nifty going head on with the big players
From time to time, most people experience a short-term cash flow problem. Often, time is of the essence. Online short-term lender Nifty Personal Loans launched in late 2016. Consumers are tired of long wait times, endless paperwork, exorbitant interest rates, untrustworthy pawn broking shops and sub par customer service. Nifty have developed a custom built bespoke lending platform that delivers a fast and stress free consumer finance product whilst at the same time adhering to their customers needs and responsible lending obligations. To apply for a short-term loan, applicants need to meet some basic criteria. They must be over the age of 18. They must receive a regular and consistent […]
Carney cuts through the fintech hype with clear-eyed take on risk
Financial Stability Board chair Mark Carney’s status as one of the world’s great fintech boosters makes his occasional musings on the associated risk to the financial system all the more striking. The Basel-based FSB, which makes recommendations to G20 nations, is thinking deeply about the appropriate regulatory response to fintech’s risks and rewards and will report its conclusions to the G20 in July. Carney revealed some preliminary thoughts at the same G20 conference in Germany attended by Scott Morrison, where the Federal Treasurer told global economic leaders that Australia was strongly pursuing blockchain technology and wanted to unlock the “enormous” potential of the nation’s data. Fintech, he said, was about […]
Co-working boom, but no room
Nearly three-quarters of start-ups are now based in co-working spaces, up from half a year ago, according to a major survey of founders, and the sites are running out of room. The 2016 Startup Muster survey released on Wednesday shows the NSW government’s plan for a 15,000 square metre start-up hub in or near the Sydney CBD is desperately needed. Co-working spaces were home for 72.3 per cent of the 685 verified start-ups that responded to the survey, up from 49 per cent in the 2015 Startup Muster. The arrival of international co-working brands such as Rocketspace and WeWork have helped popularise the concept, according to Brad Delamare, general manager […]
DomaCom clears regulatory hurdle for Mortgage Crowdfunding
A recent squeeze on investment loans for new customers by banks have led listed crowdfunder DomaCom to offer investors the opportunity to invest in residential mortgages after clearing a regulatory hurdle. The news broke this week that the fractional property investment firm was given ASIC approval to extend its crowdfunding model to securities, which means it can now offer fractional investment in corporate bonds as well as peer-to-peer mortgage bond sub-funds. According to the Australian Financial Review, the DomaCom platform allows investment in fractions of real property through collective investment schemes and crowdfunding. Its offerings target self-managed super funds and are on the approved product list of 41 financial adviser […]
ASX bullish on fintech stock listings
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) expects to see technology listings on the ASX proliferate in the near future, with fintech companies to play a significant role. Speaking to InvestorDaily, Eddie Grieve, head of listings and issuer services at the ASX, said the institution is encouraged by recent activity from technology companies, and those specialising in financial services in particular. “The broader tech sector has been a key focus of ASX for some time, and we see fintech playing a significant part in the sector’s future growth,” Mr Grieve said. Tech listings in 2016 were at the highest number since the dotcom boom of 1999/2000, Mr Grieve explained, with the fintech […]
Cashless society on horizon as Aussies embrace digital transactions
The march towards a cashless society is gathering momentum, with a rise in digital wallet use prompting more companies to offer online only products and services. A report by UK-based Juniper research predicted that digital wallets- in the form of smartphones and other devices used to make online payments- will account for $1.35 trillion in global spend by the end of 2017- a 32 per cent increase on 2016. The research comes just over a year since the Westpac Cash Free report revealed the majority of smart phone users believed Australia could become cashless as early as 2022. Smart phone users already made 53 per cent of their payments digitally […]
Apple claims banks want digital wallets as a new revenue source
Apple says three of the big four banks are pushing to pass the costs of Apple Pay on to their customers as a way to “condition the market” into paying extra fees when using a mobile phone to make a ‘tap and go’ payment. One of the issues in the long-running battle between Apple and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is whether the banks can pass through to their customers the fee that Apple will require them to pay to use the iPhone infrastructure. But Apple has described the argument as a “trojan horse”. In a submission published by the […]
Wallet packed with loyalty cards? Solve the problem with Stocard digital wallet
Stocard, a leading mobile wallet app, has announced that it will use recently secured funding to expand its reach in the Australian market and launch a new mobile payment function. While digital wallets have been around in Australia for some time, what makes Stocard’s offering unique to existing mobile wallet apps, is the functionality that allows users to store all their loyalty cards easily in their smartphone, rather than in their wallets. Loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular for Aussie shoppers, with 50% saying they’d be more likely to spend with a store that offers a loyalty program than with one that doesn’t, according to Nielson’s latest Global Loyalty Sentiment […]
