Government paves the way for open banking
Third parties could soon be given greater access to banking data under a proposed open banking system regime. The regime, announced for review by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison yesterday, will seek to open up consumer and third party access – with consumer consent – to customer and product data traditionally held by banks. In a statement, Morrison said that giving Australian consumers greater access and has the potential to “transform the way in which Australians interact with the banking system.” “Greater consumer access to their own banking data and data on banking products will allow consumers to seek out products that better suit their circumstances, saving them money and allowing […]
Ignition Wealth to open in Ireland
Ignition Wealth CEO Mark Fordree has announced two significant appointments, with a view to opening Ignition Wealth Ireland. Irish fintech expert Peter Oakes has joined the Ignition Wealth executive team as a member of the Advisory Board. Peter Oakes is renowned in the Irish financial services industry for his astute knowledge and innovative attitude. As a former senior executive at both the Central Bank of Ireland and Bank of America Peter holds an excellent international banking pedigree. As an early adopter, and advocate of financial technology and ‘regtech’ Peter will provide guidance to Ignition Wealth globally and advise on the current capital raise in Ireland. In addition, leading […]
Stone & Chalk to open in Melbourne, backed by AustralianSuper, NAB, ANZ
Fintech hub Stone & Chalk will open in Melbourne next month with the support of new corporate backers including AustralianSuper and National Australia Bank, in a move that will establish a centre of gravity for fintech in Victoria. Alan Tsen, who will become Stone & Chalk’s general manager in Melbourne, having stepped down as chief executive of Fintech Victoria, says the new location at 459 Collins Street, alongside agtech acclerator SproutX, will be its first base in the city. The space will open in mid-August and expand to accommodate about 15 start-ups (the space has room for 60 desks) before expansion into a bigger hub. The second centre for Stone […]
More than $600 million in funding went into Australian startups last quarter, and fintech took the most cash
Startup tracking service Techboard has compiled its first national numbers on capital raised in the Australian startup community, finding $625 million had been raised for the quarter ending June. The amount includes equity, debt facilities, acquisitions and grants for more than 100 startups and “young” tech companies less than 10 years old (or had a significant “pivot” in the past decade). “We put together our funding reports based on the data collected in the course of running the monthly Techboard Ranking, supplemented with intel from Techboard’s many investor contacts across the country,” co-founder Rafael Kimberley Bowen said. NSW led the states for most money raised, although if fintech ZipMoney’s massive […]
CoinJar is the Aussie enterprise bringing Bitcoin into the everyday realm
Although Bitcoin is one of the most widespread Internet currencies, it can seem intangible compared to EFTPOS or cash. CoinJar is a Bitcoin platform based in Melbourne which offers users a seamless way to pay for anything with digital currency. Making use of an EFTPOS card means that CoinJar isn’t only for online purchases, but can give consumers more choice about their daily purchases. With the core intention of transforming the way money flows within and between communities, CoinJar is used by 70,000 customers worldwide. Techly spoke to Asher Tan, the co-founder and CEO of CoinJar, about what makes the Aussie Bitcoin biz tick. Explain what CoinJar does, and why […]
BRICKX busts into Balmain with bricks from $140
BRICKX is offering Bricks in a house in Balmain from $140 from this Thursday. CEO Anthony Millet expects BRICKX’s 13th property to be popular with investors looking for exposure to the sought-after residential real estate market in Sydney’s inner-west. “BRICKX strives to make property investment affordable and we’re thrilled to provide access to this architect-designed freestanding cottage in Balmain at an entry price of $140 per Brick,” Mr Millet said. CoreLogic figures show median house prices in Balmain have increased by 13 per cent per year over the five years to the end of April 2017. The three bedroom, one bathroom house on Clayton Street has […]
Prospa announced as NSW state winner in 2017 Telstra Business Awards
Prospa, Australia’s leading online lender to small business, has been awarded the 2017 Telstra New South Wales Medium Business Award in the 2017 Telstra Business Awards. Prospa is the first fintech company to be awarded the accolade and this year’s win follows the company’s third consecutive appearance as a finalist at the Telstra Business Awards. Over the past five years, Prospa has disrupted a previously traditional industry by transforming the way small business owners experience finance, injecting more than $400m into the Australian small business economy through over 12,000 loans to small business owners. Alongside this growth, Prospa has maintained extremely high customer satisfaction of over 90%, as well as […]
ANZ is the first Big Four bank on both Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
ANZ has joined Samsung Pay, becoming the first of the big four Australian banks to be on all three major digital wallets. The bank had already been the only one of the majors to be on Apple Pay and was already available on Android Pay. “Samsung has strong device market share in Australia and many of our customers love its open approach to technology, so it made sense for us to work with them in bringing this convenient and secure mobile payments solution to our customers,” said ANZ product managing director Bob Belan. ANZ joins Westpac and a range of smaller institutions on the Samsung platform, which allows contactless payments […]
