Bruce Billson endorses disruptive online SME lenders
Fantastic article featuring many Australian FinTech companies and their ability to cause disruption to the big banks. Also great news to see the Australian government supporting this disruption. The Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson has backed a flurry of new online lenders targeting small and medium businesses to pressure the big banks to extend more credit to the often ignored sector. Mr Billson gave a ringing endorsement of the fintech start-ups’ ability to stir the forces of banking competition, after the big banks were stung by criticism at the National Reform Summit last Wednesday. Source: Bruce Billson endorses disruptive online SME lenders
Veda doesn’t disappoint with profit up almost 14pc
Data and credit check company Veda Group has just beat market expectations with a 13.8 per cent rise in pro forma profit to $78.4 million for 2015, thanks to strong revenue gains.Revenue grew 12.2 per cent to $338.8 million, also just above consensus forecasts of $336 million, up from $302 million in 2014. This was in part driven by growth in the company’s business-to-consumer and marketing data business. Veda has made a number of acquisitions in this area. Source: Veda doesn’t disappoint with profit up almost 14pc
Stone & Chalk names resident start-ups | afr.com
Congratulations to Stone & Chalk opening their doors last night. Well done and all the very best to all the great minds that are going to be working there and putting Australian FinTech companies on the world stage! The Google-backed, Silicon Valley-based fintech start-up Ripple Labs, which is developing new payments transfer technology, is among a group of 41 start-ups that have joined Stone & Chalk, the fintech hub in Sydney that was officially opened on Tuesday night. Source: Stone & Chalk names resident start-ups | afr.com
London wants to pinch best Aussie fintech start-ups | afr.com
This is a very interesting article from the Australian Financial Review on how the UK Government is really getting behind FinTech companies and how Australia could lose some of it’s biggest and brightest to the UK. Great to see so many Australian FinTech companies doing well. Ten of our most promising fintech companies will be flown to London next month by the British government, which is trying to lure start-ups to the UK as the global war for innovation talent heats up. Source: London wants to pinch best Aussie fintech start-ups | afr.com
Doors open on fintech hub | The Courier-Mail
Sydney is certainly leading the way for Australian fintech companies and start-ups to make it big here in Australia, and overseas… The doors have opened on a new hub dedicated to helping tech start-ups disrupt Australia’s financial sector. The shared work space, called Stone & Chalk, soft-launched on Monday as a centre to support more than 200 entrepreneurs. Source: Doors open on fintech hub | The Courier-Mail
Start-up delivers access to cheap mortgages
Australian fintech companies like HashChing are great disruptors to the mortgage industry. The banks should be very wary of companies like these… It is a never-ending battle for consumers to seek out the cheapest home loans in the market. With interest rates at record low levels, consumers are actively searching to lock in mortgages for as long as possible before interest rates start to rise and property prices begin to fall. Besides trawling through the regular financial institutions such as banks and established mortgage lenders online for the best deal, a range of loan comparison websites have entered the market. HashChing is one such company claiming to be ‘Australia’s first […]
Disrupters in battle for access to credit data
This is will be an ongoing battle for all players in the industry! Control of customer credit data is emerging as a flashpoint between banks and peer-to-peer lenders despite the introduction of the comprehensive credit reporting regime, which disrupters say is inadequate to allow competition to thrive in the digital world. Matt Symons, the chief executive of Australia’s largest P2P lender SocietyOne, has called for the government to monitor closely the quality of reporting by banks into the comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) regime. Source: Disrupters in battle for access to credit data
Mobile banking tipped to wipe out 600 branches
This is a very interesting scenario… Great for banking but not so great for bank employees… The proliferation of smartphones provides banks with an unprecedented opportunity to slash overheads and boost profits and will lead to the widespread closure of branches as more customers bank on the move, a survey by investment bank UBS shows. UBS analysts from London, New York, Hong Kong and Japan worked with KPMG on the 54-page report, published in July, which surveyed 67 bank management teams in 18 countries. Those banks on average expect a 5.6 per cent reduction in branches as a direct consequence of their mobile banking strategy.But in Australia, where bank branch […]
