FinTech Investments Quadruple: Top Trends To Watch
Investments into FinTech startups recently quadrupled, growing from just over $3 billion in 2013 to over $12 billion in 2014. And consider alongside that another trend showing that crowdfunding will surpass VC in 2016 as a funding source–given that crowdfunding itself is a segment of the FinTech market. Source: FinTech Investments Quadruple: Top Trends To Watch
Australia can be the global start-up laboratory | The Australian
What if Australia was named the most ideal environment to create a global start-up? It sounds like an unlikely prospect but it’s not as unlikely as we would like to think. Examining the current appetite US venture capital funds have for the Australian market, there’s something unique at play in Australia, which makes it a great birthplace for start-ups. Source: Australia can be the global start-up laboratory | The Australian
Robo-Advisors – The future of Financial Advice?
Robo-Advice There are a couple of approaches to Robo-Advice. The first is where a computer program will determine your individual circumstances and then offer advice on products and shares you should buy or insurances you should hold. The second is the slew of new budgeting apps that can analyse your spending and investments and provide you with the knowledge to make changes yourself.
Loyalty Programs represented in Australian FinTech
Loyalty While loyalty may sit at the edges of the FinTech industry, its importance is fast being realised. As the technology to accurately track every dollar we spend improves, we are becoming better equipped to cash in on the loyalty offered by the companies we buy from. Add digital wallets to track purchases and designated shopping malls for earning cash-back and we are now equipped to make these loyalty programs work for us. It is important however that we don’t ‘kid’ ourselves – these programs are mutually beneficial. Whether it’s to help Woolworths recognise they need to offer cashmere if they want you to buy their clothes, or for Kmart […]
FinTech’s approach to Payments
Payments Advances in the way we carry out payments represents the birthplace of FinTech. From the first credit card transactions carried out by Diners in the 1950’s there has been progression in the way we make payments. This means that the landscape for payments is a varied mix of new and old as well as large incumbents and tiny startups. It is also a hotbed of acquisitions and mergers. New approaches to payments are wide spread and have been the focus of banks and credit card companies for a long time. We have come a long way from the carbon copy credit card ‘machines’ some might remember from the early […]
FinTech Currency Technology
Currency Foreign Exchange, Cryptocurrency and Digital Wallets make up the largest aspects of the FinTech revolution in Currency. Foreign Exchange This is one area that as a consumer you can almost feel the banks taking advantage of you. Whether it’s the currency conversion fees that are added to the ‘pedestrian’ exchange rate they give you or the additional fees a bank charges for you to access your own cash. The introduction of digital wallets, cryptocurrency and new approaches to foreign exchange and payments all form part of the FinTech currency movement. By introducing the ability for you to trade currency with a traveller looking to come to Australia when you’re […]
Investing opportunities in FinTech
Investment Investment in FinTech takes two directions. Firstly you can invest your funds into companies such as peer to peer lenders for them to distribute as loans. This takes the form of either direct investment for the wholesale investor or investment into managed investment schemes that administer the funds for a fixed return. Obviously as the level of management increases the returns will decrease but so too will the risk. The second approach that is starting to gain a foothold is to invest directly into the companies themselves through new ‘crowd funding’ platforms that provide you with equity for your investment. These equity raising platforms are great for anyone looking […]
Peer-to-Peer
Peer-to-Peer Peer-to-Peer is perhaps the biggest driving force behind FinTech. By using technology to directly link peers you can increase efficiency and reduce the points of contact in any transaction. As each point of contact requires some form of payment for their facilitating role they simply add additional costs and complexity. Consider a loan from a bank as an example in simple terms: I deposit my money in the bank for which I expect to receive a return for letting them use it to make loans rather than holding it outside the banking environment. You borrow money from the bank so that you have access to funds that you would […]
