FinTechAus reels as CEO departs
There are now discussions within the sector about the creation of a new, representative body separate to FinTech Australia, InnovationAus.com understands. But FinTech Australia chair Alan Tsen has defended the organisation’s track record, and said it’s impossible to please everyone in the wider sector all of the time. The lobby group’s chief executive Brad Kitschke, who took on the role in late May, tendered his resignation to the FinTech Australia board late last week, citing health concerns. The resignation comes at the busiest period of the year for FinTech Australia, with its two major conferences fast-approaching, the launch of its annual census, and the imminent passage of a series of […]
Wisr shortlisted for two Optus My Business Awards
Australian neo-lender Wisr (ASX: WZR) is in the running to take out one of county’s longest-standing business awards after being shortlisted for the prestigious Optus My Business Awards. Wisr has been shortlisted as a finalist in two awards in the Fintech Of The Year and Business Leader of the Year categories at the 2018 Optus My Business Awards, the premier event of the year for SMEs. Founded in 2014, Wisr offers personal loans and financial wellness solutions using its unique neo-lending platform. The company recently announced it had increased annual revenue by 37% last financial year, on the back of a 409% increase in loan origination volume. The Optus My […]
UK fintech GoCardless expands to Australia
UK fintech GoCardless, the online payments business simplifying Direct Debit, today announced that it has opened an office in Melbourne. GoCardless, which already serves more than 35,000 businesses every month across the UK, Eurozone and Nordics, is now able to offer businesses in Australia a better way to collect recurring payments. GoCardless will help the more than two million small businesses in Australia to improve their cash flow and cut the time they spend on administrative tasks, by making it easy to set automatic payment collection dates and automatically reconcile payments from within billing platforms like Xero. GoCardless’s intuitive API technology and integrations with subscription software including Chargebee and Zuora, […]
Digital disruption disrupting brokers
Digital disruption could be a threat to broker networks, according to APRA chairman Wayne Byres. The chairman spoke at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) Curious Thinkers Conference in Sydney on 24 September. He discussed the impact on emerging fintechs, saying it was “too soon to tell whether the financial world faces evolution or revolution”. Outlining several scenarios which could play out, Byres said either way the production and delivery of financial services would change. In his speech, he said technological advancements in finance will change in the future as new technologies have already allowed smaller businesses to enter the space. Here he said, “The advent of digital distribution and […]
Fintech dwarfs Big Four at finder Awards, winning Best Home Loans & Tech Innovation
Tic:Toc, the fintech lender offering the world’s only instant home loan, was awarded Best Owner Occupier Home Loan – Variable; Best Investor Home Loan P&I Variable; and Best Tech Innovation, at the finder Awards held in Sydney last night; identifying the best value finance products across 20 categories. Tic:Toc founder and CEO, Anthony Baum, said the awards recognised the immense value Tic:Toc brings Australians. “It was so exciting for us to receive yet another source of validation for us that we’re filling a real need in the home loan market. It’s an industry that has been ripe for disruption, and we’re proud to have made such a big impact on […]
Moody’s expects consumer technology giants to be major disruptors in financial services
Moody’s Investors Service expects large technology firms like Google, Facebook and Apple to continue expanding their ability to distribute and offer financial products and services, emerging as significant competitors to traditional consumer-facing financial institutions. The greatest risk to incumbent financial firms is retail-facing technology giants taking control of customer relationships and distribution of financial products, according to a report Moody’s released on Tuesday. Technology-focused companies can enter finance with products core to their businesses, such as payments, that can create and store value — just as Square did with its Cash App. As account balances grow, technology firms can easily start offering low-cost index funds, investment advice, insurance and financial […]
Home owners willing to accept bitcoin for property despite volatility
Despite a sharp fall in bitcoin prices over the past eight months, some bullish investors are still willing to accept the cryptocurrency instead of Australian dollars for the sale of their multimillion-dollar homes. One bitcoin is currently trading at $US6448, down from its peak in December 2017 of $19,535.70.Now with one bitcoin worth $A8786, a prime piece of real estate in Sydney’s inner-city has hit the market with the option to buy in the cryptocurrency. It is a risky move given a property deal is yet to be struck in Australia using bitcoin, despite several properties being offered for sale last year with vendors willing to accept payment in that […]
Stone & Chalk appoints new Chairman and Board, prepares for ‘scale-up’ phase
Asia’s largest fintech innovation hub, Stone & Chalk, is today announcing the appointment of a new chairman and suite of new board members, as it prepares for its next phase of growth, transitioning out of “start-up” mode to “scale-up” mode itself. After the conclusion of Stone & Chalk’s AGM in November, Leona Murphy, who had already served for three years on the board, will move up and replace Craig Dunn as Chairman, whose three-year term was set to expire. Speaking on Craig’s departure, Stone & Chalk CEO, Alex Scandurra, said; “I will forever be grateful to have served as CEO alongside someone with the wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion […]
