FinTechs present a policy wish-list
Improvements to the R&D initiative and government-mandated open data controls are top of the Australian FinTech industry’s wish-list, while gender diversity remains a major issue for the sector, a new survey has found. The 2017 EY FinTech Australia Census, released late last week, surveyed 166 local FinTech companies. This is the second year of the census and is the only industry-backed survey of its kind. The biggest things thing these companies said would help them to grow was improvements to the research and development scheme, with nearly 90 percent of the companies supporting this. The industry is still waiting on the government to respond to the controversial ‘Three F’ review […]
FinTech will change more in the next 5 years than the last 30, says PayPal CEO
PayPal’s CEO has said that the financial technology (fintech) sector is going to change more in the next five years than it has done in the last 30. Speaking with CNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer, Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, said that millennials are changing the shape of many industries, in particular the finance sector. He said: You have to, to serve these markets, re-imagine how money can be managed and moved because there’s going to be more change in the next five years in financial services than happened in the past 30. According to Schulman, the millennial generation, those under the age of 30, think about everyday processes […]
Bitcoin surges to record high as controversial software ‘fork’ upgrade cancelled
Bitcoin jumped as much as 11 per cent to $US7,882 after the main architects behind an upgrade to its underlying technology known as Segwit2x, which would have caused the chain to split in what’s known as a hard fork, cancelled their controversial plans. Bitcoin experts cited a statement on the Linux Foundation website, signed by several high-profile bitcoin entrepreneurs and developers who had backed the plan, that said the “Segwit2x” upgrade would be scrapped for now as it could “divide the community”. The upgrade would have changed bitcoin’s rules in a so-called “fork”, effectively cloning the existing bitcoin to create another cryptocurrency. “Our goal has always been a smooth upgrade […]
Australia, China to co-operate on fintech
Regulatory body ASIC has entered into an agreement with the China Securities Regulatory Commission to “promote innovation” and share information on market trends and regulatory development in the financial services sector. According to a statement from ASIC, the agreement will provide a “framework for information sharing between the two regulators” and will allow them to stay updated on “fintech activity” in either jurisdiction. The agreement has a specific focus on sharing information on regulatory technology, or ‘regtech’, “in recognition of the importance of regulators keeping pace with the fintech industry”. ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft said he looked forward to the two regulators sharing insight on regtech.“Understanding new developments and their […]
Micro-investing app Acorns launches ‘Little Acorns’ feature
Acorns users can use the new feature to start saving and investing for their children. Popular micro-investing app Acorns has announced the launch of its Little Acorns feature, allowing users to start saving and investing for children under the age of 18. The new feature is a solution for Acorns users who want to start a savings fund for their child or grandchild, but don’t want to create a separate account to do this. Acorns has become increasingly popular since launching in 2016, particularly among Australian millennials who have embraced the app’s iconic round-up feature. The app allows you to round up your everyday purchases with the spare change invested […]
A Focus on the Digital Currency
When the Internet was invented, everyone began to look for ways to make money online. Most of these ways involved using the power and connectivity of the Internet to improve upon old industries. Advertising, retail, communications – everything was being disrupted. The banking industry was the last to be disrupted because of all the regulatory restrictions that are in place with respect to the management of money. Options like PayPal began to emerge as early as 1998, but these systems were mostly just centralized online managers of fiat currency rather than completely new digital currencies. The first true digital currency that has ever received mainstream attention is Bitcoin. It was […]
Jacaranda Incubator Program – Backing Australian Fintech
Jacaranda Finance is on the hunt for Australia’s most exciting, high growth potential Fintech startup, establishing the Jacaranda Incubator Program. Background Jacaranda Finance is one of the fastest growing financial technology start-ups in Australia. With the recent launch of the new and improved Jacaranda decisioning engine, the young startup analyses vast quantities of data from numerous data sources within seconds. This allows the company to make smarter credit decisions and expand the availability of fair, affordable, responsible and more transparent credit solutions for consumers. “It’s no longer hard, expensive or impossible to acquire and process large volumes of data relating to our applicants”, says Daniel Wessels, CEO of Jacaranda. […]
Australian FinTech SelfWealth IPO offering self directed investors alternative to traditional broker trading
SelfWealth Limited, an Australian FinTech business offering a flat fee brokerage service and social portfolio construction network for Australian investors, is pleased to announce the opening of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to raise up to A$7.5 million (with a minimum subscription of A$5.0 million). SelfWealth is offering for issue 37.5 million shares priced at A$0.20 per new share; the indicative market captialisation of SelfWealth will be approximately A$26.1 million. The Company’s ASX ticker code will be SWF. SelfWealth was established in 2012, with a $A2.3 million capitalisation, by founder and Managing Director, Andrew Ward. Since launching, the Company has introduced two platform offerings: SelfWealth TRADING, a $9.50 commission free, […]
