Winners of the British Australian Fintech Forum Start-Up Competition announced
The Australian British Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce the winners of seven supported places for the British Australian Fintech Forum to be held in London between the 19th and 21st of April 2017. The winners are (in no particular order): Chris King – Splend Edward Jones – Neu Capital Rob Lincolne – Paydock Doug Morris – Sharesight Charlotte Petris – Timelio Jack Stevens – Edstart Emma Weston – AgriDigital Andrew Chick, Chairman of the BAFF Committee said: “We received over 50 applications for our supported places. The Selection Committee was very impressed with the quality of submissions and deciding on the final seven was particularly difficult. We are […]
Crowdfunding law a boon for fintech sector
Incoming legislative changes to equity crowdfunding will help further “democratise investing” by allowing retail investors to participate in funding rounds for local fintech start-ups, according to Equitise. The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-Sourced Funding) Bill 2016 was passed in the Senate last week in a move that will open up early-stage capital markets for retail investors, as well as helping Australia’s regulatory environment become more internationally competitive. The bill when enacted means fintech start-ups can raise funds by issuing securities to a large pool of investors in return for financial contributions through an online platform. Speaking to financialobserver, Equitise co-founder Jonny Wilkinson said the announcement was “quite game-changing” because traditional retail investors […]
Never be caught short after this brainwave
Making a payment is now as easy as tapping your sunglasses thanks to a plucky Australian start-up, Sydney-based Inamo, which is starting to take the world by storm, appearing at South by Southwest in Texas and now embarking on a $6 million Series A funding round. The start-up is the brainchild of Peter Colbert, a former agent for international surfing stars and still a keen surfer. He told The Australian the idea for the sunnies came after a regular surf in Manly with mates. It was his turn to buy coffees, but he had forgotten his wallet. “It was one of those light bulb moments where I wondered what if […]
Fintechs like Hashching cash in on bank lending limits to curb property boom
As regulators weigh new limits on bank lending to cool the housing boom, their impact may be muted as tech-savvy borrowers turn to fintechs to access cheaper rates offered by non-bank lenders. Hashching is raising $6 million of fresh equity on the Neu Capital fundraising platform in a deal valuing the Sydney-based start-up – which gives borrowers access to the best interest rates negotiated by mortgage brokers – at $40 million. Since it was set up in August 2015, Hashching has received applications for $5 billion of home loans, which has doubled in the last five months. Around 20 per cent of loans are made to property investors. On the platform, borrowers are […]
ASIC weighs in on FinTech boom
With the world’s fourth largest accumulation of superannuation savings and a stock market dominated by the financial services sector in the shape of banks, investment funds and insurers, it’s little wonder that FinTech has been such an early focus of the next wave of technology investment in Australia. Even so, it’s refreshing to see such a major figure in financial markets as regulator Greg Medcraft make such an explicit acknowledgement of the role of technology and innovation in his sector as he did on Monday in his keynote to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Forum in Sydney. The ASIC chairman laid out the opportunities and the risks of what […]
BT Panorama partners with fintech
BT Financial Group has gone live with its retail superannuation administration functionality by partnering with international fintech company, Avaloq. The functionality was launched within BT Panorama. BTFG said it had previously relied on multiple legacy systems to undertake administration functions but this new functionality would allow them to migrate to a more cost effective, single platform. The ability to meet complex tax, regulatory, and compliance requirements associated with administration in the personal super segment formed part of BTFG’s ongoing Panorama project, which has now acquired 3,442 self-managed superannuation funds and 3,035 registered advisers since its initial cash hub launch in 2014. Avaloq Asia Pacific general manager, Peter Scott, said the […]
Aussie FinTechs head to China
Australian financial technology (FinTech) companies are visiting China this week as part of an Austrade delegation, to help unlock opportunities in the burgeoning market. Eight companies over the next three days will demonstrate their capabilities to Chinese counterparts and pitch to potential business partners in the region. Austrade Senior Trade Commissioner for Shanghai Susan Corbisiero said the Chinese FinTech sector is booming due to the efforts of the Chinese government to reform the nation’s financial services sector, and the innovative developments of Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba’s Ant Financial, as well as search giant Baidu, internet company Tencent and e-commerce company JD.com. “Technology is rapidly changing how markets operate, […]
H2 Ventures announces new startups following fresh funding
The co-founder of fintech accelerator H2 Ventures, Toby Heap, has warned Australia’s big four banks that they are underestimating the wave of digital disruption taking place in their sector, as it announces its next intake of hopeful startups. H2’s next group of entrepreneurs will range from a startup that provides people with their own personal chef, called DishMe, to a social sporting platform that lets sport fans compete against their friends during live matches, called FanTrade. To date 25 startups have gone through the accelerator program, including online marketplace for home loans HashChing, which raised $1 million from Sapien Ventures last year, and crowdfunding platform Equitise, which also raised more […]
