Blog

Apr
16

What does NPP mean for businesses and how on earth do they implement it?

Since going live on the 13th of February last year, retail banking customers have adopted NPP on mass. In fact, a number of major banks now use the NPP as a default method of transferring funds between Australian accounts. However, so far, progress has been slower for businesses despite some obvious benefits of real-time, data-rich, immediately-resolved payments. And not only that: NPP payments have the potential to be significantly cheaper than credit cards – the only alternative real-time option. We at Moneytech specialise in the automation of domestic payments flows for businesses. From our perspective, it looks like there are two reasons for the slower business adoption rate. The first […]
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Apr
15

Coming of age: Australian crowdfunding platforms raised $8.7m in the March quarter

Investing results for the March quarter suggest that when it comes to investing, Australians don’t appear to be too afraid of crowds.Among the major crowd-sourced funding (CSF) platform, Birchal led the way raising a total of $4,780,700 across four companies, from a total of 3,294 investors (another two closed successfully in April). It was a similar story at Equitise, which raised just shy of $3.9 million from 2099 investors. More broadly, $8.7m worth of crowd-funded capital raises were closed off in Q1 across the sector as a whole. Of that amount, two funding rounds stood out; Birchal’s $3m raise for Shebah’s all-female ridesharing platform which set the record for an […]
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Apr
15

NAB board member to float AI start-up on ASX

An artificial intelligence start-up founded by NAB board member Geraldine McBride has raised $3 million, led by Perennial Value Management, ahead of an anticipated float later this year. The company, which was founded in 2013 by mother-daughter duo Ms McBride and Amy Johnson, utilises customer data within big energy companies, banks and insurers that has traditionally been siloed, and applies artificial intelligence to be able to provide more personalised experiences for customers. For example, a banking customer could identify that they are saving for a holiday and with MyWave's technology the bank would be able to provide automated, personalised savings advice. If the AI algorithm determined that it was unlikely […]
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Apr
15

86 400 secures national distribution with Vow Financial, readies home loan offering

86 400, a genuine alternative to Australia’s Big Four banks, has secured national distribution with Vow Financial, one of the largest aggregators in Australia – part of the Yellow Brick Road Group. The partnership will enable 86 400 to deliver home loans via Vow Financial’s network of over 1,200 brokers. This development brings 86 400 closer to launching its home loan offering, pending a full banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Robert Bell, CEO of 86 400: “We didn’t set out to create a standard home loan product — we are building an entirely new approach to the home loan process that will make life easier for […]
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Apr
15

Rejected by banks: SMEs struggle to secure finance

Research commissioned by OnDeck, a leading online SME lender, highlights the problems that small businesses face trying to secure finance. Two out of five SMEs surveyed have sought finance in the past. However, almost one in four (23%) have been knocked back by their bank. Rejection rates rise to 37% among businesses that have been in operation for less than five years. Noah Breslow, Global CEO of OnDeck, says, “What is particularly concerning, is that one in three SMEs rejected for bank finance have had to reach out to family or friends for funding, or have simply resorted to using a credit card.”   Lengthy finance approvals hurt SME operations […]
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Apr
15

P2P borrowing up 45% year on year

Recent surveys conducted by ASIC have made it clear that the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending marketplace is continuing to grow in conjunction with the increasing demand for alternative funding sources. During the 2017-18 financial year, new P2P borrowing increased 45% to $433m, and outstanding loans were up 59% to $518m. While these numbers have “increased significantly” from the 2016-17 figures, the data did indicate a slight slowing in the rate of investor and borrower growth, according to ASIC. Respondents reported a total of 13,446 investors and 31,421 borrowers in the P2P space as of June 2018. In 2017-18, a total of $352m was invested in the platforms surveyed.   To read […]
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Apr
12

Australian FinTech company profile #5 – SavR

Company Name: SavR Website: www.savr.online Key Staff & Titles: Tim O'Shea - CEO, Costas Aletrari - CTO, Kevin Lacey - COO Location(s): Brisbane, Australia and Kansas City, USA In one sentence, what does your fintech do?: An Automated savings App to help people Plan, Savr FOR and Save ON their next Vacation How / why did you start your fintech company?: My career in the Finance industry has centred around helping people improve their lives by better managing their money. Our app was originally designed to help people reduce debt faster, but our users constantly requested help with saving for a Vacation. With all the other financial noise most people […]
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Apr
12

Buy now, pay later apps turn focus to business owners

'Buy now, pay later' platforms have changed life for shoppers and now small businesses will be courted with the same model. "What we're seeing now is businesses getting really crunched around payment terms...it's like there's a freeze or a jolt in the system," Cloudfloat founder Aleem Habibullah says. Cloudfloat is preparing to soft launch its fintech product at the end of the month. The startup will pay business invoices directly and then small businesses will pay it back in instalments over periods up to 90 days. As the push for shorter payment times intensifies, Habibullah says some companies are struggling to keep up. Just as models like Afterpay let eager […]
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