How this fintech startup chief facilitated $50 million in Australian business loans without stepping foot in the country
Business loan marketplace Lending Express launched in Australia in 2016, and since then it’s facilitated $50 million in small business loans. But it was only last month that co-founder and chief executive Eden Amirav first set foot on Australian soil. Now the Israeli startup has secured $US2.8 million ($3.7 million) in funding, Amirav has plans to further improve the artificial intelligence-enabled platform, and to get his message to even more Aussies. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Lending Express connects small businesses seeking loans with alternative lenders. The business owner fills in an application via the online platform, and Lending Express runs an algorithm, immediately identifying the lenders that would […]
Moss junior fires up blockchain, crypto investment firm
It’s been a wild year for digital currencies but that hasn’t deterred Stephen Moss from setting up blockchain assets and investments firm, Decentralised Capital. Street Talk understands Moss, the son of former Macquarie Group stalwart Bill Moss, plans to offer over the counter trading and asset management services for high volume customers interested in digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Decentralised Capital has the backing of boutique financial services firm Aura Group, proprietary trading group Tibra Capital co-founder Kinsey Cotton and Vicknesh Pillay, founding partner at TNB Ventures Singapore. The new group is said to have already engaged with the corporate regulator, Australian Tax Office and has signed up with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). Prior to founding Decentralised […]
Andrew Mitchell accelerating the future of e-Invoicing with Link4
Andrew Mitchell has officially joined the Link4 Australia team, bringing his years of industry experience and leadership to the Link4 sales team.Mr Mitchell is one of the foremost salespeople currently working in the Australian e-Invoicing space and he could see the importance Link4 already has in streamlining the invoicing process for small and medium businesses. Mitchell will be responsible for developing new business opportunities, fostering new partnerships and creating customised solutions for Link4 users.Link4 is well established as an e-Invoicing market leader through important government and enterprise projects. Given this standing, Mr Mitchell will drive Link4’s sales forward making them ready for rapid expansion. Link4 Australia Co-Founders, Robin Sands and […]
Banks face a bigger threat than rival banks as customers seek best experience
Innovation and media specialist Tom Goodwin had some pertinent advice for companies, big and small, during a recent visit to Australia from New York. If banks think they are competing with other banks in terms of the functionality and appearance of their app, they are wrong. Ditto for airlines if they believe they are in competition only with rival airlines. In an increasingly connected world, argues Goodwin, consumers’ expectations are being set by the best experience anywhere. He says: “Increasingly, when we experience something amazing, it sets the bar for everyone. You get off the plane in Shanghai and you can see your Uber driver’s face and his name and […]
Australian FinTech and GreySpark Partners to collaborate on Research & Strategic Advisory for the Australian Financial Industry
GreySpark Partners, a global business and technology consulting firm, and Australian FinTech, an online space dedicated to promoting the development of the fintech industry in Australia, are pleased to announce a new partnership in which the Australian FinTech portal will serve as a conduit for accessing GreySpark-produced research reports and information related to the firm’s strategic advisory services on the use of and investments in new technologies and financial applications. Founded in 2009, GreySpark – which is headquartered in the UK, with offices in Sydney, New York, Edinburgh, London and Hong Kong – provides its base of financial markets clients with a range of traditional and niche services and products. […]
Ripple CEO: Bitcoin will eventually stop driving the crypto markets
Coins need start solving real problems, not each other’s problems, to be valued in their own right. If you want to know how your coin’s going, just look at bitcoin prices. When bitcoin goes up, so do all other cryptocurrencies. When bitcoin drops so does everything else. To date the crypto markets have simply tended to swim along as one amorphous blob, with the most distinctive anomalies usually being the result of foul play, accidental failure or deliberate price manipulation. Even as bitcoin’s market dominance waned the effect stayed strong. “There’s a very high correlation between the price of XRP [Ripple] and the price of bitcoin, but ultimately these are […]
Meet the Australian corporate initiative empowering India’s Top Women Entrepreneurs
An Australian-first program is helping a new wave of Indian women break through the cultural glass ceiling to put globally-scalable businesses in front of Aussie Investors. In what is the first Australian initiative of its kind, Sydney-based corporate advisory firm – CEO Strategic has launched a specialist program to support some of India’s most innovative women entrepreneurs raise investment capital directly from international investors. The Project shines a light on some of the best innovators from India where, although the number of women entrepreneurs is on the rise, parity when it comes to the support of female entrepreneurship, is still one of the lowest in the world. The program, […]
Tic:Toc boss calls out HEM issues and ‘questionable’ third parties
The CEO of online mortgage lender Tic:Toc Home Loans says that no human judgement need enter the equation when it comes to assessing the expenses of a mortgage applicant. With the first weeks of the banking royal commission now behind us, Tic:Toc founder and CEO Anthony Baum believes it has become clear that there is an opportunity for the mortgage industry to reconsider how customers are assessed for finance. “One key flaw that’s been exposed is the failure to conduct basic checks and balances on the applicants’ household expenses. This includes instances where judgement on a customer’s borrowing capacity has been handed to a raft of questionable third parties,” the […]
