AI-driven lending platform won’t be the end for brokers
A new Artificial Intelligence-powered lending platform won’t be the end of human loan brokers, the technology’s creators say, because a broker’s ability to understand the intricacies of the application cannot be replicated by a machine. That’s the explanation given by Challis Capital Partners managing director Bill Salouris and Global Capital Commercial sales director Andrew West, whose companies are behind the creation of Lenflo – an AI-driven technology that touts more accurate pricing estimations and a quicker approval process for all kinds of loans. “That experience of sitting down, articulating, and getting an understanding of what the circumstances are is always important,” Mr Salouris said. “When you’re talking cross-company cash flows, […]
Asia-Pacific has a great potential to lead in Blockchain adoption
Putting all the blockchain hype into perspective, if we consider analogous examples of how revolutionary technologies have historically taken root in society – from early adoption to widespread global penetration – blockchain technology can be said to have reached the “early majority” phase. That is, the tech has begun to gain traction and spread exponentially, though we’re still way off from ‘full adoption.’ Even so, with a market size now expected to exceed $16 billion by 2024, we’ll surely witness blockchain changing our world in profound ways over the next decade. The question is how and who will take part in leading. Findings from a Global Market Insights recent report […]
PayPal now lets US users instantly transfer funds to bank accounts in seconds
PayPal, a longtime alternative to the direct use of cards, cash and bank transfers to make payments for goods online and in stores, is today adding a new feature to help it tap into a wider range of customers, such as gig economy workers and use cases — in competition not just against banks (and Zelle, a service that they back), but also younger upstarts like Stripe, Square and others chasing the same business. PayPal is launching Instant Transfer to bank, which will let those receiving money via PayPal instantly move that into their bank accounts to access as cash or however else they would like to use it. The […]
An accountant’s guide to comparing Fintech business loans
How can you objectively compare the loan pricing metrics between the different online business lenders and make the most informed decision possible? Assisting your small business clients with finance can be challenging with so many options out there from both banks and newer alternative finance providers. As traditional lenders have tightened their credit conditions and pulled back on SME lending, the rise of online, fintech lenders is providing small businesses with new opportunities to fund their growth. However, how can you objectively compare the loan pricing metrics between the different online business lenders and make the most informed decision possible? The answer is with SMART Box™. The SMART Box™ Loan […]
Digital bank Volt eyes business customers as fintechs chase data
Neobank Volt has small business in its sights as it develops data-driven products, acknowledging that startup founders are the most likely to take up digital banking options first. The startup, which secured a fully fledged banking licence in January and is preparing to launch a consumer offer in coming months, joins other financial technology firms in its quest to offer self-employed customers better products by reviewing their data in real time. Speaking from the sidelines of Salesforce’s World Tour event in Sydney on Wednesday, Volt chief executive Steve Weston said the business was looking at rolling out business transaction accounts, term deposits and business loans from 2020. “The tech community […]
Aussie online investors grow in Q4, despite volatile markets
Despite a relatively volatile market towards the end of 2018, online traders in Australia were not deterred, leading to an uptick in the population of online investors in the second half of 2018, according to the 2018 2H Online Broking Report by Investment Trends. Specifically, for the six months to December of 2018, the population of online investors in the equities and exchange-traded fund (ETF) segments increased by 4.2 per cent from 720,000 up to 750,000, the report said. According to the report, which surveyed more than 8,000 Australian online investors in the broking market, during the final quarter of 2018, which was particularly volatile, many online traders continued to […]
Why to accept Bitcoin as a payment method
By Josh Lehman, Co-Founder of Digital Surge It has been more than a decade since Satoshi Nakamoto published the original Bitcoin whitepaper and single-handedly disrupted our financial landscape, changing the way we send and receive money. Today, Bitcoin is no longer a niche interest of a handful of early adopters but a legitimate payment method that’s accepted by some of the largest companies in the world, including Overstock, Microsoft, Namecheap, ExpressVPN, Shopify, and Newegg, just to name a few. Even though Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency space may seem confusing and difficult to get into, the fact is that you don’t need to be an expert to start accepting Bitcoin […]
Afterpay rival PayRight targets larger purchases with $30m funds raised
Australia’s booming, but controversial, buy now, pay later market has another major competitor after fintech firm PayRight raised a total of $30 million to expand its operations, which targets consumers making larger purchases than Afterpay allows. The company has largely flown under the radar in the sector, with $4.7 billion-valued ASX-listed Afterpay its most prominent rival. But PayRight is pitching itself as an option for retailers and service providers of bigger ticket items, rather than smaller impulse buys like clothing. Its funding has been compiled through a mix of debt and equity raisings over the last year led by corporate advisory firm Henslow and wealth manager Escala Partners, with the […]
