Hashching cracking fintech’s glass ceiling
Like the global technology industry more broadly, Australia’s fintech scene is a very male-dominated world. While MoneyBrilliant co-founder Jemma Enright and Timelio founder Charlotte Petris are obvious exceptions, Australia’s fintech entrepreneurs are mostly men. So are the vast majority of their venture capitalist backers and teams of software engineers. It’s a similar pattern around the globe. But Siobhan Hayden says it doesn’t need to be this way. The former chief executive of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia has a message for girls seeking to start fintechs to disrupt the financial services industry. “Back yourself – people need to back themselves,” said Hayden, who last week joined the advisory […]
Australian FinTech, Media Partner for LendIt Europe
Australian FinTech is delighted to be a Media Partner for the upcoming LendIt Europe conference, taking place on October 10-11, 2016 in London. We’re very excited to be part of this event and encourage you to attend if you have not already registered. As a LendIt Europe media partner, we are able to offer you an exclusive discount on LendIt Europe 2016 passes. Use the promo code AF16VIP when registering to receive 15% off your ticket. Register Now: http://bit.ly/29ZSvTm Partnered with the P2P Finance Association, LendIt Europe is Europe’s largest conference for the online lending community, with 1000 attendees expected in 2016. Confirmed speakers include: […]
The growing popularity of peer-to-peer lending
Years ago, the financial services offered to people who wanted to profit from their savings was very cut and dry. You would either invest your money in the stock exchange, property, or in a term deposit account, to gain interest on your principal investment. Now, investors have the opportunity to expand their portfolio and commit their funds to newer, and arguably more exciting, investment options. Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) This disruption to traditional financial services is due to the growing popularity of peer-to-peer lending (P2P) in the market. This lending process is a method of debt financing that allows individuals to borrow and lend money without the use of an official […]
ASX-Listed Australian FinTech company zipMoney – Full Year Results
zipMoney are pleased to announce today their FY16 Annual Results, the first set of accounts as an ASX-listed Company. Some of the key highlights: Transaction volume of $51.5 million, up 962% Loan book (receivables) of $40.7 million, up 1,296% Company revenues of $4.3 million, up 976% More than 50,000 customers and 2,000 merchants Omni-channel strategy delivering volume growth Bad debts of 1.1%, below industry standards FY16 saw a number of very pleasing achievements for the Company. This included strong growth in transaction volume, with more than $50 million processed on the zipMoney payments platform. This was supported by close to 2,000 merchants across their target sectors and a number of […]
Just don’t call us payday lenders
More than 20,000 Australian small business owners have trouble accessing finance (Deloitte Access Economics). Are they denied access because they aren’t good candidates for loans? Yes, in some cases. However, a significant number (37%) of these businesses are denied finance because they don’t have collateral (be it a home or considerable assets) to secure a loan against. Interestingly more than 40 per cent of rejected applications examined by the NSW Business Chamber were for amounts less than $100,000 – it seems traditional providers aren’t interested in small loans, or small business. Archaic systems and processes which serve the interests of incumbent big business are being dismantled in the current global […]
Fintechs ‘on the front line’ for brokers
A recent meeting has highlighted that when it comes to serving customers in the third-party channel, “there’s a space for everyone”, and that fintechs can act to bolster and expand the businesses of their broker counterparts. The meeting last week was attended by both brokers and fintechs in Sydney and asked the question: “Disintermediation and diversification: what impact will fintech have on finance brokers?” On the night, founder and CEO of uno Vince Turner highlighted that technology has firmly entered it’s “third wave”. “The first wave was simply building the internet. HTML, dial-up, all this kind of stuff in the ‘90s,” Mr Turner explained. “The second wave was building an […]
HashChing brings to market a loan for new business founders and entrepreneurs
Talk to anyone who’s ever tried to get a home loan without a regular payslip or evidence of recurring earnings – and the answer is almost universal – NO. In a regulatory environment being ever tightened by APRA – it would appear the risk profile of lenders is forever shrinking, virtually closing the door on home loan options for start up founders and entrepreneurs. Until now. HashChing, the online marketplace for pre-negotiated cheap home loan deals has a new product just for founders and owners of start up businesses. The home loan, from a leading Australian specialty lender, is available to start up business owners with no […]
SMEs need protection from online Payday Lenders
In 2015, online SME lending in Australia was around $250m, up from a zero base two years ago. Growth will continue exponentially and online SME lending will become a significant alternative source of funding for Australia’s SMEs. Online lenders perform an important role by lending to thousands of SMEs that would otherwise struggle to attract support from a bank. I am a big supporter of this sector but am concerned that many SMEs don’t understand what they are getting themselves into when they borrow from some lenders that could be more accurately described as SME payday lenders to SMEs. These concerns together with suggestions as to how the interest of […]
