Fintech start-up QPay gets $1M in funding from Angels and Sharks
Student marketplace and payments app, QPay, has secured a $1 million cash injection after funding from the Sydney Angels Sidecar Fund 2 was supplemented by a $380,000 combined investment by Steve Baxter and Naomi Simson in exchange for 8.4 per cent of the firm’s equity during last night’s episode of Shark Tank. Funds were also received from American Express, and from the Chairman of the Australian British FinTech Cyber Catalyst, Andrew Chick, to make up the total $1 million. The funds will primarily be used to extend the reach of QPay’s recently launched student-targeted MasterCard to the 4,000-plus students on its waiting list, as well as to build a sales […]
Stake drops minimum funding to $50, giving every Australian direct access to $31 trillion US share market
Australia’s fastest growing stock broker Stake has today made it even easier for Aussies to invest directly in the $31 trillion US share market, lowering its minimum investment amount from $500 to $50. The lower entry point gives even more Aussies direct access to more than 3,000 game-changing companies and shares listed in the US, including Apple, Tesla, Google, Disney, and Amazon. The move to lower its minimum investment to AU$50 is part of Stake’s dedication to remove barriers to global trading, adding to the work it’s already done offering $0 brokerage, fractional investments, and same day money transfers. The announcement follows the launch of Stake’s iOS app on 4 July, which […]
IRESS opens software design to users through IRESS Labs
Financial technology business IRESS today announced a new initiative, IRESS Labs, that means more users of its software will be able to input directly into the design and development process and use future functionality in advance of general release. IRESS Labs is now available to users through the latest version of XPLAN and will be used in additional IRESS products over time. Through IRESS Labs, more users are actively sharing their opinions, experience and insight on what matters to them and their clients. This feedback is being directly used to create functionality for all users. Financial advisers test and provide feedback on prototypes during a development phase, before co-designed features […]
Prospa named Best Employer by AON Hewitt for second year running
Prospa, Australia’s leading online lender to small businesses, has been named a Best Employer in the AON Hewitt Best Employers program for the second year in a row. Prospa, headquartered in Sydney, underwent an employee engagement survey and an inventory of their people practices and internal interviews, in order to be eligible for one of the most sort after, and credible, employer awards across Australia and New Zealand. The accreditation looks at a number of factors, such as agility within the business, staff benefits and new hire turnover, in order to determine whether a business is of Best Employer status. Prospa was awarded the status this year due to its […]
The winners of the 3rd Annual Australian Fintech Awards
The Australian fintech sector gathered in Ashurst’s Sydney offices on Wednesday 1 August to celebrate the 3rd Annual Australian Fintech Awards. The firm hosted and sponsored the awards, which celebrated the achievements and successes of the people and businesses comprising the Australian fintech sector. The keynote speaker at the awards was The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer, Federal Member of Cook. Ashurst sponsored the major award of the evening, the Fintech Startup of the Year, which was awarded to Trade Ledger, the world’s first business lending platform that transforms digital data from supply chains in real time. Ashurst partner Tim Brookes (Digital Economy) commented: “We are delighted to have hosted […]
Stone & Chalk start-up Open Orbit wins both Technology and Software categories at The Australian Business Awards
Stone & Chalk start-up, Open Orbit, has today been recognised as an ABA100 Winner in both the Technology and the Software categories at The Australian Business Awards 2018. Winning across both categories highlights the uniqueness and sophistication of Open Orbit’s digital Expertise Automation platform, which is one of the first globally to use artificial intelligence techniques in the automation of complex expertise, such as problem-solving, as opposed to simple processes. Niranjan Deodhar, Founder of Open Orbit said: “We are delighted to have been recognised as an ABA100 Winner for both the Technology and Software categories in The Australian Business Awards. “For a long time, advancements in automation have been almost […]
Trade Ledger wins Ashurst FinTech Startup of the Year at the 3rd Annual FinTech Awards
Digital banking platform start-up, Trade Ledger, has been named the Ashurst Fintech Startup of the Year after expanding into the UK market and signing up a series of major deals in just one year. The award goes each year to a fintech start-up “that has disrupted the financial services sector with new and innovative services, creating competition and transforming the way we experience financial services”. Trade Ledger has done this by being the first corporate lending platform in the world to automate the entire credit assessment process, assess SME supply chain data in real-time, and calculate risk down to the individual invoice. This allows banks and other business lenders to […]
Australia’s first index-style cryptocurrency fund launched
Fintech start up CoinJar, has launched Australia’s first index-style cryptocurrency fund, allowing wholesale investors to gain exposure to digital currencies without holding and trading the assets themselves. Investing in cryptocurrency to date has been notoriously difficult with limited investment options for wholesale investors. The CoinJar Digital Currency Fund (The Fund)1 takes on the management and security of the assets on behalf of the investor. The underlying cryptocurrency assets will be secured safely in multi-signature digital wallets which provide an additional layer of security for investors. The Fund has two classes; Bitcoin Class, which provides exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) only; and Mixed Class, which aims to track the performance of four […]
