Aussie crowdfunding regulation gets an overdue watering down
Aussie financial services regulator ASIC has rejigged crowdfunding regulation, allowing poorer investors to participate. Aussie corporate watchdog ASIC has made it easier for start-ups to raise funds by issuing equity to investors, following up on legislation passed in March in which the Australian government watered down crowdfunding regulations. The new regulation will allow small and unlisted companies to crowdfund up to A$5 million a year, starting late September. It will also allow poorer investors to participate. Previous regulations allowed only those with more than $2.5 million in assets to buy securities through crowdfunding. But the regulator has warned that robust restrictions will be in place, including limitations on advertising and […]
Fintech lender branches into broker channel
Fintech lender MoneyMe is in the process of expanding its broker model to bring in greater loan volumes for its personal lending products. In an interview with Australian Broker, MoneyMe CEO Clayton Howes, said that brokers present a particularly strong channel proposition which he hoped could be leveraged to reach a mass audience. “We look to brokers to provide the sharpest rates in town. How we see it is brokers are able to navigate through the noise of what’s available with the different institutions and provide a feel for a competitive rate. Those are the guys we’d like to partner with to distribute our product.” Expansion into the broker channel […]
How Sydney blockchain startup Hashkloud scored partnerships with two Bangladeshi banks
Blockchain has been receiving a deluge of media attention in recent weeks, and Sydney-based startup Hashkloud is capitalising on the growth of the technology by launching its offerings with two financial institutions in Bangladesh. Hashkloud is working with Dhaka Bank to launch its Serviskloud platform within the next week, in a partnership that will use the blockchain as a software connector to consolidate the integrity of the data that is transferred between banks, as well as securing transactions between the bank and its customers. The startup has also recently signed with the United Commercial Bank in Bangladesh to explore how its services can help the bank utilise the blockchain platform. […]
Double Gold for Tyro at Tech Design Awards
Australia’s leading independent payments provider, Tyro Payments, has taken out a double Gold win for its App at the recent DRIVENxDESIGN 2017 Tech Design Awards for the FinTech and Future of Work categories. The Tyro App offers an integrated solution for small business owners to manage all of their finances – connecting them with their accountants, staff, bookkeepers, employees and other signatories. Other key features include automated batch and payroll payments and the ability to monitor EFTPOS transactions easily. From the App, business owners can also access Tyro Smart Growth Funding to access and organise business loans. Tyro’s Director of Product, Kareem Al-Bassam said Tyro is listening to the needs […]
The truth about blockchains
Blockchain is the new ‘hotness’ in the innovation world, but like all new technologies, it is widely misunderstood. A blockchain is a set of difficult mathematical computations, based on cryptography. Participants in the chain provide transactions to it. Some participants perform the maths of encoding those transactions into the chain. This happens at a regular interval. Once encoded into the chain, each transaction is public and permanent. Bitcoin, which is the poster child for the technology, is a blockchain used as a currency. It relies on ‘miners’, or the participants who encode the transactions into the chain. These miners get rewarded with a newly created bitcoin each time they do […]
Australia is now 5th in fintech adoption – ahead of Hong Kong, Singapore and USA
A global study has shown Australia is one of the world leaders in adoption of fintech products and services, ahead of traditional financial and tech powerhouses like Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and USA. The EY FinTech Adoption Index ranked Australia 5th in the world for fintech adoption, with 37% of the “digitally active” population using fintech products. “Fintech is no longer just an industry with future potential – it is now an industry which is delivering great on-the-ground outcomes and becoming the first choice for financial services for many Australians,” said FinTech Australia president Simon Cant. China comfortably led the ladder, with 69% of its digital population taking on fintech […]
Insurance solutions lead Australia’s adoption of fintech
Current global adoption levels for insurance fintech solutions are standing at an all-time 24 per cent with Australia recording a higher than average interest due to the upswing in telematics and wearable technologies, according to the EY Fintech Adoption Index. While money transfers and payments services still lead the fintech charge with an adoption rate of 50 per cent in 2017, insurance has come in a surprise second with a 24 per cent global adoption rate. The adoption level for insurance fintech services in Australia stands at four per cent higher than the global average (29 per cent), linked to the upswing of personalised wearables with in-built abilities which allow […]
Australians embrace FinTech as adoption rates double in just 18 months
Digitally active Australian consumers are embracing FinTech at a rapid pace, with Australia now ranked fifth highest in FinTech adoption among 20 markets surveyed globally, according to the latest EY FinTech Adoption Index. China has the highest level of FinTech adoption globally at 69%, followed by India (52%), the UK (42%) and Brazil (40%), with Australia (37%) rounding out the top five. The study, based on 22,000 online interviews with digitally active consumers across 20 markets, including Australia, shows that FinTech services are poised for mainstream adoption on a global scale with an average of one in every three (33%) digitally active consumers now using FinTech. EY FinTech spokesperson, Rowan […]
