PledgeMe joins Equitise in eyeing Australian market
PledgeMe, the equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platform, has joined rival Equitise in signalling plans to enter the Australian market ahead of a law change coming into effect across the Tasman this month. Co-founder Anna Guenther will relocate to Brisbane for six months to establish the Wellington-based company’s Australian arm, according to a PledgeMe blog post. PledgeMe will participate in the Queensland government’s HotDesQ programme, which provides networks, support, and funding for companies to relocate to the state. “There are over 2.1 million SME’s in Australia (compared to just under 500,000 here in New Zealand), so the opportunity is pretty clear,” she says. The Australian Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Act […]
Two Australian fintechs selected to help develop payments solutions for the world
Two Australian fintech companies have beaten entrants from across the world to be selected among five finalists in a global payments industry challenge, where they will work to develop new cross-border solutions for thousands of banks. Assembly Payments and CurrencyVue have been selected to take part in the SWIFT gpi Industry Challenge in Singapore on 13-14 September. As part of this challenge, the two well-established financial technology companies will work with 30 banks to develop new services for SWIFT’s more than 11,000 financial institution members across 200 countries, leveraging its SWIFT global payment innovation (gpi) service. Two winners will emerge from the Singapore event and will be featured at Sibos […]
Eight of 10 Australians don’t get financial advice. Is technology the answer?
About eight in 10 adult Australians are not receiving financial advice, even though many would benefit. Despite surveys showing how stressed many of us are about money, it’s a figure that hasn’t changed over the past 25 years. Many people are put off by the cost of face-to-face advice, they’re concerned that products would be pushed or they perceive a lack of independence within some parts of the financial planning industry. Sometimes people find some advisers are not very interested in talking to clients who don’t have substantial wealth to invest. Those behind “robo-advisers”, which provide automated advice, say technology can reduce the advice gap by making the advice cheap. […]
Peppermint tech deal with 200,000 strong Philippines distribution network
Perth-based tech company Peppermint Innovation has received a significant boost as it marches towards full commercialisation of its mobile payments technology. The company announced yesterday it had signed a deal with burgeoning Philippines multi-level marketing distribution firm, Sante Barley. Under the deal, Sante Barley’s 200,000 strong network of agents will be able to accept money from their own networks of people and customers who wish to pay their household bills, transfer money to others or even load up some mobile phone air time. Sante Barley agents will use Peppermint’s proprietary, non-bank, mobile payments and remittance technology to do this and both Sante Barley and Peppermint will share a fee each […]
Macrovue announces two new executive hires from Macquarie and BT
Macrovue, an investment service backed by AMP, continues to grow its executive team, announcing the appointment of Sriram Seshadri as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Maz Zaman as Head of Sales. Macrovue offers a leading-edge platform to invest in thematic portfolios of global companies. The portfolios are constructed using in-house research, giving Australian investors unprecedented access to international markets. The two new hires further bolster Macrovue’s strength in global markets. Sriram Seshadri, formerly an Associate Director with Macquarie Group and a Senior Developer with Goldman Sachs, brings even more international expertise to Macrovue’s leadership team as its new CTO. Seshadri has more than 20 years experience building commercially successful […]
Let’s stop making mobile payments a chore
By Keith Brown, General Manager Product, Scheme and Business Development, BPAY Group You can make a payment on almost any digital device, but why can it still feel like a chore? Mobile has been spruiked across product and marketing strategies in all industries for as long as the smartphone has been around, and yet a decade later we’re still not as digitally savvy as we’d like to think. We have tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches, but discrepancies still exist for user experience across all these devices. There’s an influx of mobile-only banks emerging in the U.K., dedicated to ensuring the experience of banking for their customers on the go is as […]
Prospa appoints Rebecca James as Chief Marketing and Enterprise Officer
Prospa, Australia’s leading online lender for small businesses, continues to build on its growth with the appointment of Rebecca James as its new Chief Marketing and Enterprise Officer. Rebecca joins Prospa from ME Bank, where as CMO she led the transformation of the ME brand, simplifying the product offering and step-changing customer experience, which saw the bank increase its customer base by 40% as a result. She drove the establishment of a business-wide customer centric culture to transform the bank into a digitally led business. Rebecca has a wealth of experience in marketing and advertising, having held key marketing and leadership roles with challenger brands and strategic enterprise channels. Prior […]
Bitcoin: What China’s crackdown means for Digital Currency
It’s been another rollercoaster ride for bitcoin. After breaking the $5,000 mark this weekend, the digital currency has dropped around 15%—in large part because China brought a screeching halt to the novel form of fund-raising known as “initial coin offerings.” According to one expert, China’s ban on these ICOs—which have allowed companies to raise over $1 billion this year by selling digital “tokens”—will have both short and long term effects for bitcoin and other digital currencies. “Chinese investors have played a crucial role in the growth of the ICO market and the recent rise in valuations,” says Robert Crea, an attorney with the law firm K&L Gates, who specializes in […]
