Tic:Toc boss calls out HEM issues and ‘questionable’ third parties
The CEO of online mortgage lender Tic:Toc Home Loans says that no human judgement need enter the equation when it comes to assessing the expenses of a mortgage applicant. With the first weeks of the banking royal commission now behind us, Tic:Toc founder and CEO Anthony Baum believes it has become clear that there is an opportunity for the mortgage industry to reconsider how customers are assessed for finance. “One key flaw that’s been exposed is the failure to conduct basic checks and balances on the applicants’ household expenses. This includes instances where judgement on a customer’s borrowing capacity has been handed to a raft of questionable third parties,” the […]
Cryptocurrency is a new ‘coin of the realm’ for loyalty programs
Rene Konrad earns bonus miles from four airlines, plus loyalty points from six retailers and credit cards. But the one loyalty program he is most excited about now offers him something different: digital coins. Before he jumps on the train to Zurich most mornings, Konrad grabs a bottle of Caffe Lattesso. The 41-year-old can get about 12 Lattessocoins by entering a code from the bottle into a website. In a few months, the accumulated coins – which only became available in April – should become tradeable for other digital tokens, as well as cash. “I don’t know how many airline miles I lost because I didn’t use them fast enough,” […]
Wisr announces limit increases to personal loan product
Borrower demand, institutional backing and continued operational improvements support this change Neo lender Wisr announced it will increase its personal loan limits following increased borrower demand, strong institutional lender support and continued improvement to loan evaluation. As of today the company will increase its personal loan limit from $35,000 up to $50,000(1), with a comparative interest rate up to 5% p.a. lower than the Big Four Banks(2). Loans will be available for any worthwhile purpose over three or five years, with a comparison rate of 9.36% p.a.(2, 3, 4) for borrowers with strong credit rating and with a Wisr personal loan there are no early repayment or exit fees. Anthony […]
Crowdfunding in Australia – the first 4 months of equity crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding started in Australia in January this year for public unlisted companies. It is early days but we are pleased to report that in this short period there have been two significant successful raises that a worthy of global note. One of the first campaigns off the block was the Xinja, Australia’s first 100% digital bank or ‘neobank’ which successfully raised $2,419,000 through the crowdfunding platform Equitise. At the end of April this early record raise was topped by DC Power Co. which raised $2,454,700 with OnMarket. What was interesting about this raise is that it attracted a whopping 17,574 investors making it the world’s largest equity-crowdfunding offer by […]
Moneysoft calls on financial planners to help clients understand their expenditure following Royal Commission revelations
Financial planners need to broaden their role and help clients understand their household expenses in the wake of the Royal Commission’s damning revelations. Australian households have racked up record levels of debt as interest rates have been cut to historic lows in recent years, but the Commission heard that most lenders still over-rely on the poverty-level HEM benchmark that underestimates true living costs. “The Financial Services Royal Commission has raised many disturbing issues across the banking and advice industry. It will inevitably lead to widespread and much-needed reform,” said Moneysoft CEO Peter Malekas. “However, we shouldn’t wait for the final report in 2019 to reassess as an industry, what we […]
IBM partner props up Aussie payment tech player’s bottom line
Cyber security provider and IBM partner Decipher Works, which was acquired by local financial technology provider Transaction Solutions International (ASX:TSN) late last year, has played a major part winding back its new parent’s annual losses. Transaction Solutions International, which is publicly-listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), told shareholders on 29 May that it had narrowed its annual net loss for the year ending 31 March to $590,000. The year prior, the financial payments and technology company reported a $1.3 million loss. It appears the change came largely as a result of the company’s increase in revenue, which rose from $91,766 for the year ending March 2017, to $2.36 million […]
Startup ecosystem needs flywheel for growth: former FinTech Australia chief
Danielle Szetho, the inaugural CEO of FinTech Australia stepped down from her post in March this year. Since then, she has been traveling around Asia to meet like-minded individuals who are passionate about changing the world with technology, seeking new opportunities to contribute to the growth of Australia’s startup community. Talking about her past experience, Szetho said that the major factor in helping startup ecosystems to grow is momentum, the so-called “flywheel effect” that gets businesses rolling and also has a spillover effect on the entire industry. “The startup ecosystem in Australia, particularly in the last two years, flourished and many talk about startup ecosystems being very much driven by […]
Brighte set to accelerate growth with $18.5m in funding
Sydney-based home energy fintech, Brighte, closes 18 months of strong growth with a Series B equity round of $18.5m. The round was led by Airtree Ventures and also includes Skip Capital, the Milgrom Family and further investment from Grok Ventures. Brighte is a digital credit platform offering affordable point-of-sale payment solutions for home energy improvements such as solar panels and batteries. In its first eighteen months it has over approved over $50m of applications from 6,000+ Australian homeowners. This stellar growth has been the result of a fully digital, innovative product being brought to the home improvements market as demand surges from everyday Australians for solutions to rising energy costs. […]
