FinTech Solutions For Enhanced Income and Economic Growth
Small business plays an important role in innovation and employment, so financial mechanisms that make it easier for small business to grow must be welcomed. P2P Business Lenders are intent on improving small business financing options by connecting investors (i.e. lenders) with a choice of loans in a digital market place. Much like an eBay for small business loans or a match making market. P2P Business Lending is about using technology to make what was once unviable, viable. This article looks at emerging innovators ThinCats and True Pillars as a source of funding for small businesses and enhanced income for professionally managed SMSFs. Technology Makes Small Loans Affordable Small business […]
DomaCom partners with peer-to-peer lender
DomaCom has announced it will partner with a peer-to-peer lending company to extend opportunities for advisers in the property sector. DomaCom chief executive Arthur Naoumidis said DomaCom’s partnership with ThinCats Australia will allow advisers to be on both sides of property transactions by creating leveraged book builds. “This also provides the 350 lenders on the ThinCats platform the opportunity to gain exposure to property assets and the ability to lend funds at an attractive interest rate with a lower risk profile,” Mr Naoumidis said. ThinCats Australia, which has been operating in Australia for the past 18 months, is a peer-to-peer lending platform for secured business loans to small and medium […]
Fintech luring more bank customers, says UBS
More Australians will turn to start-ups for financial services in the next year, according to a UBS report, which shows incumbent banks are complacent about the threat of disruption but are also seeking to partner with fintech firms to help them cut costs and improve customer experiences. UBS banking analysts surveyed 27,914 customers of more than 210 banks in 24 countries, along with 61 management teams from banks around the world. Local UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott along with analysts in London, New York and Tokyo contributed to the global report, titled Global banks: Is fintech a threat or an opportunity? UBS suggests the answer to the question is “Both”. […]
Mutual bank has ‘agility and attitude’ to embrace fintech
A listed Australian bank is collaborating with some of Australia’s most promising fintech start-ups to harness the power of new digital technologies. Heritage Bank is one of seven customer-owned mortgage providers that have joined the new KPMG mLabs program, which will see the mutuals collaborate with 14 fintech start-up companies. The 12-week immersive program provides a structured forum in which they can collaborate on developing commercial solutions to business challenges. The mLabs environment encourages them to ideate new solutions, test assumptions and co-create and prototype products and services. Mr James Mabbott, head of KPMG Innovate, said the KPMG Mutuals Review 2015 noted that mutuals are well placed to implement new […]
Australian banks take on Apple over digital wallets
Four of Australia’s largest banks have asked the competition regulator for permission to join forces and collectively negotiate with Apple to get their own digital wallets onto iPhones. The banks have become frustrated by the world’s biggest company’s strategy of locking third-party providers of digital wallets off the iPhone platform in favour of its own Apple Pay, which is attacking millions of dollars the big banks earn in interchange fees. This is the first time globally a group of financial institutions has sought authorisation from a competition regulator to negotiate as a bloc against Apple. The lack of iPhone access is particularly frustrating for the banks, as they have invested […]
Coinbase expands to Australia
We are excited to announce that Coinbase has expanded its services to Australia. Customers in Australia can now buy bitcoin and ether using their credit and debit cards. We’re focused on creating an open financial system for the world, allowing people to easily buy and sell digital currencies anywhere in the world. Along with this launch in Australia, we are also making the ETH/BTC trading pair available on our professional trading platform GDAX to customers in Australia. To get started, visit the “Trade” page on Coinbase.com or tap on “Buy” or “Sell” options in our iOS or Android apps to add a credit or debit card and buy digital currency. […]
Stockspot launches AI for financial advice
Local automated investment adviser and fund manager Stockspot has announced a move into artificial intelligence and machine learning, launching what it says is Australia’s first digital financial assistant. Stockspot founder and CEO Chris Brycki said the AI functionality analysed the data of thousands of clients and made targeted recommendations, helping investors optimise their portfolio as it learns. He said the robo-adviser was launching as part of a new investment dashboard, designed to make tax reporting easier and give users more control over investments. “Stockspot introduced robo-advice to Australia 2014 which automated and lowered the cost of investing. We see AI and machine learning as robo-advice 2.0, it is the future […]
Acorns app hits 100,000 users
In a sign more Australians are looking to invest in their financial futures, over 100,000 users have signed up for micro-investing app Acorns since its launch in Australia in February. Hitting that milestone not only proved the app’s rapid rise in popularity, but it showed a trend among Australians “to look beyond the big four banks for investment and savings opportunities”, Acorns said yesterday. Acorns Australia managing director George Lucas said the app’s success was driven by young Australians who had discovered the benefit of making modest but regular investments, displaying an appetite for fintech innovation that quickly exceeded the growth rate of that experienced comparatively by users in the […]
