8 out of 10 Aussie Bitcoin traders are men
Eight out of 10 people trading cryptocurrencies in Australia are men, according to joint research by the Australian Digital Commerce Association and Accenture. Eighty-three per cent of the 312,633 customers registered across seven Australian exchanges at the end of 2017 were male, according to joint research by the Australian Digital Commerce Association and Accenture. The exchanges processed more than 2.7 million transactions in 2017 worth a total $A3.9 billion, at an average of $A1,430 per trade. Source: 8 out of 10 Aussie Bitcoin traders are men – SBS News
Xinja launches card and app, gets set to challenge Australia’s banking market
Xinja, which is building the first Australian, independent, 100% digital ‘neobank’, has launched its prepaid travel and everyday spending card and its app. The card is a prepaid, tap-and-go card, with no ATM fees here or overseas, and low international transaction/FX fees that make it a very competitive travel card. The app allows users to lock the card instantly, if it is lost, and is being designed to let users track their spending, with more features to be rolled out over the next few months. The card is being sent out to Xinja’s waitlist, made up of consumers who have signed up to be part of the development of a […]
SMEs trading banks for fintechs, poll suggests
Fintech and other non-bank lenders are set to overtake banks as the preferred source of growth funds for Australian SMEs, the latest Scottish Pacific SME Growth Index suggest. The twice-yearly poll was informed by interviews with more than 1250 SMEs with annual revenues of up to $5 million. Scottish Pacific found that between 2014 and 2018, the proportion of SMEs intending to use banks for funding dropped from 38% to 24%. Meanwhile, 22% of SMEs identified non-bank lenders as their preferred source of growth funds, up from 11% in 2014. In addition, it was revealed that amongst SMEs that have not used non-banking lending options in the past 12 months, […]
Novatti Group (ASX:NOV) 1H18 results & outlook
Novatti Group Limited (ASX:NOV) CEO, Peter Cook talks about the company’s 1H18 results, the launch of its Australian remittance service, the integration of basis2 and progress towards its goal of becoming an ADI (authorised deposit-taking institution). Rachael Jones: Hello I’m Rachael Jones for the Finance News Network. Joining me from the Novatti Group (ASX:NOV) is CEO, Peter Cook. Peter, welcome to the Network. Peter Cook: Rachael good afternoon. Rachael Jones: Firstly could we just start with an introduction to your company? Peter Cook: Novatti listed two years ago, January 2016. Our market capitalisation is about $40 million at the moment and actually, our top 20 shareholders have about 80 per […]
Expanded fintech regulatory sandbox must be geared towards innovators, says industry body
FinTech Australia have flagged their support for the Federal Government’s proposed legislative changes to the fintech regulatory sandbox but called for further improvements to make the sandbox more robust and fintech-friendly. Earlier this month, FinTech Australia’s chair Stuart Stoyan gave evidence to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, which is inquiring into the provisions of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 2) Bill 2018. As originally introduced by ASIC in December 2016, Australia’s fintech sandbox included a class waiver to allow eligible fintech businesses the near-automatic right to test a limited number of services for up to 12 months without an Australian financial services or credit licence. The bill takes […]
Peppermint sets sights on valuable remittance business for swift acquisition
Fintech company and aspirational banking disruptor Peppermint Innovation (ASX: PIL) has signed an exclusive option to acquire international remittance business AusRemit Pty Ltd, currently trading as RemitWisely. The “particularly attractive” acquisition price in comparison to similar transactions elsewhere in the fintech sector was cited as a key reason for Peppermint to proceed with the deal at the current time. RemitWisely is currently progressing an “aggressive growth strategy” to add new remittance “corridors” as part of its remittances service offering to more than 200 countries globally. Peppermint has obtained exclusive rights to acquire the entirety of AusRemit for a purchase price comprising of shares and cash, on a 50/50 split. The […]
‘Beware bitcoin tax scammers’: Tax Office
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has warned Australians to be vigilant about scammers impersonating the ATO and demanding debts be paid in cryptocurrency. Following the end of the financial year, scammers email victims falsely claiming to be collecting tax return debts on behalf of the ATO. Assistant commissioner Kath Anderson said the ATO has recorded over $50,000 lost to scammers from unwitting victims. “Cryptocurrency operates in a virtual world, and once the scammers receive payment, it’s virtually impossible to get it back,” said Anderson. “Scammers are constantly adapting their methods to maximise their chances of picking your pocket. “Unfortunately it was inevitable that scammers would target cryptocurrency given its current […]
ETFs the ‘starting point’ for Millennials
Almost 40 per cent of first-time ETF investors are Millennials, according to new research by BetaShares and Investment Trends. BetaShares and Investment Trends have launched a joint report that examines the attitudes of people who are currently invested in (or considering) ETFs. According to the report, the average age of ETF investors had dropped: the average age of those who began investing in ETFs five years ago was 56, whereas the average age of those who began investing in ETFs 12 months ago was 42. Furthermore, Millennials were found to have the greatest appetite for ETFs, with the report revealing this demographic made up 38 per cent of online investors […]
