Sydney fintech Stake is starting its $0 brokerage US share trading service
Sydney startup Stake will launch its $0 brokerage US share trading service within the next few days, giving ordinary Australians a low-cost opportunity to invest in brands like Amazon, Facebook and Tesla. The fintech first revealed in June its plans for the new service but the details hadn’t been settled at the time. Now founders Dan Silver and Matt Leibowitz have revealed to Business Insider that the only user fee would be 70 basis points on the foreign exchange rate when loading up and withdrawing from the US dollar trading account. Stake had also previously flagged intentions to introduce paid services on top of the basic product, but Leibowitz now […]
Could Xinja be Australia’s first neobank?
Banking startup Xinja is built solely for mobile and will target tech-savvy consumers. Fintech startup Xinja is on track to becoming Australia’s first neobank, otherwise known as a challenger bank, and has already raised close to $3 million this year. The funding will help launch 5,000 prepaid debit cards to customers before expanding its product offering to bank accounts and mortgages. Xinja will provide a banking solution for tech-savvy customers who want to be able to operate completely via their mobile phone. It will enable customers to use new accounts instantly, to see transactions in real time and to follow their money using simple virtual tools. The government announced in […]
A Bitcoin for your thoughts?
By Naomi Christopher, Midwinter Financial Services, Senior Manager – Brand Those of us in the tech world can all agree that Bitcoin is genuinely starting to take off or at least cause a stir…. If by take-off you mean clamber $672 bucks one day and slide down $384 the next. But while some of us look on with wide eyed enthusiasm as the price of it continues to climb and fall and then climb and fall (but mostly climb at the moment!), much of the rest of the world continues to scratch their heads as they grapple to understand “what’s it all about?” And of course, whether it is in […]
Sniip to deliver real-time billing
Mobile shopping and payments app Sniip says it has landed a deal with Xero to bring real-time billing to small and medium sized businesses. Sniip co-founder and CEO Damien Vasta said his platform, which uses blockchain technology, would provide a central way for Xero’s customers to receive and pay bills. He said Sniip would be available to Xero’s customer network, allowing transactions to integrate with their accounting system. “Users can scan and pay their bills within seconds using Sniip’s trademarked circular QR code, eliminating the need to enter a long account or payment reference number or bank details or waste time paying over the phone,” Mr Vasta said. “Mobile payments […]
You could buy 100 boxes of avocados for the price of one bitcoin
Even with all the hand-wringing about bubbles in stock and bond markets, it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in the world of cryptocurrencies and bitcoin. The value of the largest digital currency continues to soar to record highs after weathering a split last week. It has increased more than threefold this year, compared with a doubling in the value of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the best performer in the S&P 500 Index. At the record price of $US3,486.73 reached overnight, one bitcoin could probably fund a nice holiday. By comparison, one share of Vertex at $US154.82 would get you a fancy dinner. Here’s some other stuff you could buy for the […]
Fear and loathing from Silicon Valley
By Jacqui Henderson, Founder & CEO – Advice Intelligence An all-pervasive feature of modern life is the speed of technological change, and of our collective capacity to adapt to the multiple impacts of change. It is natural to question the benefits: does the constant challenge to keep up and adapt simplify my life or make it ever more complex? Would a fully-automated advice capability drive better service standards and outcomes for my advice business and my clients, or does it simply make my job redundant? Is all the talk of technological revolution that ricochets around the world out of Silicon Valley, the advent of artificial intelligence and robotics, and the […]
Xero signs on 100 Australian financial institutions and bolsters team
Xero, the global leader in cloud accounting software, today announced it has recently signed agreements with 100 Australian financial institutions for direct bank relationships, a major milestone in opening up banking, lending, and growth opportunities to Australian small businesses. Xero’s growing Financial Web now includes the ability to connect to 95 per cent of all transaction accounts that our small business customers access every day, making it easier than ever for Australian small businesses and their advisors to connect their accounting dashboard directly to almost any bank or financial services provider in the country. That includes everything from a Big 4 Bank to a regional credit union, helping small businesses […]
Here’s how Bitcoin can get to $US100,000 in 2021
Bitcoin is trading at record highs on Monday, but the cryptocurrency may still be far from hitting its ceiling. The cryptocurrency has rallied 16.19% since July 31, despite last week’s fork that split it in two. It’s up 465% since last year. According to analysis by Dennis Porto, a bitcoin investor and Harvard academic, the bitcoin’s price could hit $US100,000 per coin if it continues to follow one of tech’s “golden rules,” Moore’s Law. The rule, which was devised in 1965 by Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, describes the exponential improvements of digital technology. “Moore’s law specifically applied to the number of transistors on a circuit but can be applied to […]