Why most Australians don’t invest in shares
The vast majority of Australians have never invested in shares, and there’s no great mystery why – they can’t afford it. But the rise of fintech solutions such as Acorns has made share trading more accessible to everyday Australians, a survey by comparison site Finder suggests. The online survey of 2017 Australians aged 18 to 90 found that three out of four people had never invested in shares. Men are nearly twice as likely to have invested in shares as women, with 35 per cent of men having tried it compared with 17 per cent of women. The majority of shares investment is traditional ASX investing, which one in five […]
Credible founder Stephen Dash comes home for biggest ASX tech IPO of 2017
A 33-year-old Australian tech entrepreneur, who left Australia five years ago for Silicon Valley, will return home to ring the bell at the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday as his fintech company Credible becomes the biggest local tech float of the year. Stephen Dash, a former investment director at Mark Carnegie’s private equity, venture capital and advisory firm M.H. Carnegie, already raised over $US20 million ($26.5 million) in external funding for the US-focused online student loan marketplace before raising $68 million through an initial public offering, which valued the company at $306.6 million. Credible has carved out a potentially lucrative niche in the US market, where students have typically paid […]
Australia’s stock exchange is moving to a blockchain style system for trade settlements
Australia’s equity market the ASX has decided to replace its CHESS system to record changes in shareholding with distributed ledger technology found in blockchain. The global equities exchange community has been watching the ASX as it develops and tests a system to cut the cost of transactions, and make them faster and more secure. Blockchain uses computers with advanced encryption to keep track of transactions, giving confidence to both buyers and sellers. Transactions of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are tracked used blockchain. Dominic Stevens, the ASX managing director and CEO, says the exchange has been carefully examining distributed ledger technology for almost two-and-a-half years. “We believe that using DLT (distributed ledger […]
Peppermint entering lucrative international remittance market
Peppermint has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Peppermint Payments Pty Ltd (PPPL) to provide international remittances in the Australian market. Reflecting Australia’s history as a “land of immigrants”, this market is already large and growing faster than GDP, but supply has been shrinking due largely to increased compliance requirements. PPPL is registered with Austrac as both a remitter and a remittance network provider, and our AML/CTF program has been approved by our Australian bank. PPPL will use the brand “BIZMOTO” which is being trade-marked in both Australia and the Philippines. Agreements have been signed with multiple providers reflecting a carefully planned “best of breed” approach and architecture. Emphasis on proven […]
How ZipMoney has scaled
ZipMoney, an ASX-listed fintech that offers point-of-sale credit and digital payment services, is growing: In the company’s first half results it reported revenue of $6.7 million — up 722 per cent on the prior comparable period — and 120,000 customers — up 1100 per cent on 1H16. The business has been able to meet the challenge of growth by keeping its team focused on Zip’s key differentiators in the market while integrating with a variety of scalable cloud services, according to its chief technology officer, Mike Greer. ZipMoney allows an individual to make a purchase and pay for it later (its key service offers a three-month interest-free period and charges […]
A ‘no commission’ share-trading app from Melbourne just raised $7.3 million and listed on the ASX
Melbourne fintech SelfWealth has floated on the Australian Securities Exchange, raising $7.34 million through an initial public offering. Based on the $0.20 IPO price, the company has a market capitalisation of $26 million. SelfWealth operates a share-trading platform that allows users to buy and sell any volume of shares for a flat fee of $9.50 per transaction. No monthly fees are charged, although an optional $20 “premium” tier is available for deeper market analysis and access to a “social investment network”. The company did not disclose current customer numbers, but founder and managing director Andrew Ward in last year revealed the platform had 3,000 self-managed superannuation fund clients plus 2,500 […]
Longstanding chair to farewell fintech
The founding chair of an ASX-listed fintech is stepping down after a decade in the role. OneVue chair Gail Pemberton will step down as chairperson following the company’s annual general meeting next week, to be replaced by former Diversa chair Ron Dewhurst. On her decision to leave the role she’s held since 2007, Pemberton said: “Having been with OneVue from the beginning, and through its ASX listing, consistent with the ASX’s principles of good governance, with great confidence I now hand the baton to Ron Dewhurst.” Dewhurst joined OneVue in October 2016 as part of a board refresh that also saw two other new directors welcomed. “Ron and the other […]
Myprosperity partners with $6.2bn platform
Myprosperity has partnered with an ASX-listed investment and superannuation platform provider to give clients whole-of-wealth solutions. Clients can now access HUB24 assets via myprosperity. HUB24 director of strategic development Jason Entwistle said by opening up the HUB24 platform and sharing data, it provides advisers and accountants the freedom to choose the technology solutions that provide the best experience for them and their clients. Former Xero Australia managing director and Myprosperity chief executive, Chris Ridd, said centralising clients’ wealth in one place creates massive opportunities for advisers. “By minimising time spent on administrative tasks, and providing their clients a bespoke wealth portal powered by live data feeds, advisers can grow their […]
