MoneyMe teams with USYD to grant $96k Fintech Partner Scholarship
Leading consumer fintech, MoneyMe, has teamed with the University of Sydney Business School to award a $96,000 Fintech Industry Partner Scholarship to Sydney University Business Analytics PhD doctoral student, Jian Tina Zhai. The partnership reflects MoneyMe’s commitment to the long term future of the rapidly expanding fintech sector and the Business School’s commitment to strong industry links as well as cutting edge research. The scholarship will waive Tina’s fees throughout the 3 years of her candidature at the School, while also providing her with firsthand work experience at MoneyMe assisting in the development of their state-of-the-art, purpose-built consumer lending platform, ‘Horizon’. “My ultimate aim is to apply my academic research to a wide range of […]
Who invented Blockchain?
Contrary to popular belief, shadowy inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, did not invent blockchain. So who did? In 1991, Dr W. Scott Stornetta and his co-author Dr Stuart Harber published a whitepaper introducing ‘blockchain’, a decentralised, cryptic database where digital transactions are secured. The cryptographers’ research focused on creating a digital hierarchy system which time-stamped and chronologically secured transactions in a chain of blocks. Together, they co-authored several publications in the cryptography field to pioneer a system that was transparent and verifiable. The first major blockchain innovation came in 2008, when the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto published the bitcoin whitepaper. Bitcoin is a digital currency which can be bought and transferred […]
How you may be confused about Ethereum
According to Coinmarketcap.com, Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Bitcoin leads with a cap at slightly over US$100 billion, and Ethereum follows at about US$40 billion. While this evaluation is commonly accepted, it isn’t entirely accurate. The assumption places a false equivalence in the mind of anyone exploring the number two cryptocurrency after learning about it through Bitcoin. The coin versus the blockchain Most importantly, Ethereum is not actually a cryptocurrency but a protocol with a blockchain on which, theoretically, an infinite or endless number of cryptocurrencies can reside. Its equivalence is Bitcoin, a protocol with a blockchain that only supports the bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrency. In the […]
Blockchain is ready for prime time despite its critics
By John Heaton – Moneycatcha CTO Over the last few years the hype around Blockchain has been brought to the forefront via mass entry into cryptocurrencies. This is not too dissimilar to when online trading systems became publicly available in the late 1990s early 2000s. The pattern of behaviour is similar with an opportunity being presented and individuals trying to make a return on investment. As with the online trading systems, there will be individuals who manage to make significant returns on investment but the vast majority made marginal or no returns. Before technology is fully commercialised it endures certain growing pains such as awareness, decision to adopt, initial use […]
CashDeck releases software to help brokers and borrowers prepare for tougher lending measures
There’s no doubting that the Hayne Royal Commission will bring about changes to the way borrowers, brokers and bankers behave. As lenders are required to more carefully scrutinise loan applications and living expenses, it is expected that home buyers borrowing power will be greatly reduced. A recent UBS report suggests that credit availability could be cut by 21 to 41%, depending on income. While nobody can tell exactly what measures will come about, change is certain, and smart brokers will already be making changes to their business processes. Compliance will be top of the list, and for brokers this will mean more accurately assessing living expenses—an onerous task. Technology must […]
Prospa appoints Non-Executive Directors and Chairman
Prospa, Australia’s #1 online lender to small business, has today announced the appointment of Gail Pemberton AO and Fiona Trafford-Walker as Independent Non-Executive Directors to the Prospa Board. In addition, current Non-Executive Director Greg Ruddock has been appointed to the role of Chairman of the Board, having recently stepped down from the Board of Eclipx Group Limited to focus on Prospa. The new Board members will join existing Non-Executive Directors Avi Eyal from Entrée Capital, James Cameron from AirTree Ventures, and Executive Directors and Co-Founders Greg Moshal & Beau Bertoli. Joint CEO Greg Moshal commented: “Prospa’s success has been the result of a group of smart, talented and passionate people […]
Private Equity and Venture Capital technology investments key for investors
Chief Executive Officer of Crestone Wealth Management Michael Chisholm says investor access to the quickly growing technology sector is an important investment and social consideration in the current market cycle. Mr Chisholm said access to private equity or venture capital funds, which are uncorrelated to traditional asset classes, can help cushion portolios against any equity market downturn. Crestone recently invited a group of Australia’s leading venture capital (VC) investors to provide their views on technology. The panel included Paul Bassat, Co-Founder and Partner from Square Peg Capital, Daniel Petre, Co-Founder and Partner from AirTree Ventures, Niki Scevak, Managing Director and Founder from Blackbird Ventures, Emma Weston, Co-Founder and CEO from […]
Moneycatcha appoints industry veteran John Heaton as Chief Technology Officer
Moneycatcha, one of Australia’s leading fintech startups, has appointed technology veteran John Heaton to the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer. Mr Heaton joins the multiple award-winning company from Queensland’s Heritage Bank where he oversaw strategy and technology architecture. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the IT, resources and banking sectors, having served in various senior positions at Oracle Corp and Xstrata Copper. Moneycatcha CEO and founder, Ruth Hatherley, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled and privileged to have John join our fast-growing team. “His experience in technology, coupled with insights in banking and finance, is second to none. “John is instrumental in ensuring our products are compatible across […]
