SMEs need protection from online Payday Lenders
In 2015, online SME lending in Australia was around $250m, up from a zero base two years ago. Growth will continue exponentially and online SME lending will become a significant alternative source of funding for Australia’s SMEs. Online lenders perform an important role by lending to thousands of SMEs that would otherwise struggle to attract support from a bank. I am a big supporter of this sector but am concerned that many SMEs don’t understand what they are getting themselves into when they borrow from some lenders that could be more accurately described as SME payday lenders to SMEs. These concerns together with suggestions as to how the interest of […]
LoanDolphin exceeds $100m in home loan auctions
LoanDolphin, Australia’s leading loan bidding platform, has reached a significant milestone with more than $100 million worth of home loans through its platform. LoanDolphin launched in February 2016 and the $100 million mark was surpassed August 2016. LoanDolphin is a free online platform for people to refinance or obtain new home loans at rates not advertised by banks or lenders. Customer’s using LoanDolphin have already begun saving tens of thousands of dollars on their mortgage. Lenders and bankers bid to win customers’ business on LoanDolphin, which have delivered an average savings of $5254 per year to homeowners, according to LoanDolphin CEO Ranin Mendis. “The simplicity, efficiency and negotiating power provided […]
The Pulse of Fintech
‘ The Pulse of Fintech ’ is a quarterly report created by KPMG along with KPMG Enterprise’s Global Network for Innovative Startups and CB Insights (the ‘go to’ name for insights related to venture capital investment) which launched on August 17th, 2016. The series analyses the latest global trends in venture capital investment data on the fintech sector. Given the significant interest in fintech globally, and its ongoing evolution in terms of market drivers, technologies and potential use-cases, KPMG and CB Insights are partnering to bring you the pulse on fintech investment globally. Each quarter, we’ll highlight key fintech deals, issues and challenges around the world, in addition to key […]
Money for nothing, cheques for free in the sharing economy
THE bank of mum and dad is receiving a welcome cash injection as a growing number of households put a price on the things they previously gave away for free. More households are renting out a spare room, car sharing, selling goods and services and even lending to each other as the “sharing economy’’ expands, research shows. According to polling by RateSetter, some households are earning up to $120 a month. On the downside, however, all those people who benefited from the “free economy” are now having to wait their turn, or pay for it. Free rides, spare rooms, and even the kids’ old books and toys are increasingly thin […]
P2P lifts in popularity amid miserable year for banks
With deposit rates at low levels and the local share market still choppy, peer-to-peer lending has become an interesting alternative for Australian investors over the last few years. But some cracks in the model appeared in the US recently when one of the biggest peer-to-peer platforms was caught up in a scandal that it is now scrambling to fix, offering a warning for the Australian industry about the importance of transparency. LendingClub had been seen as one of the leading lights of this space in the US, amid a range of players that use technology to match investors with borrowers, cutting out the overheads incurred by banks and aiming to […]
Kerry Agiasotis of WUBS: Win-win when rivals turn partners
One of the world’s largest non-bank providers of international business payment solutions says aspiring fintech companies should seek to pursue partnerships with their big company rivals rather than fighting them if they want their ideas to reach their full potential. The chief executive of Western Union Business Solutions, the dedicated business payments unit of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Western Union Company, said the firm was increasingly looking to partner with fintechs and other start-ups. WUBS is primary spot foreign currency trading provider to 20 per cent of the SME market in Australia and secondary provider to another 20 per cent, including the big four banks. It has more than […]
zipMoney – User Experience
We here at Australian FinTech are mad mountain bike riders. So when one of us – me – decided it was time to buy a new bike, this time a road bike, I thought that instead of just walking in and paying cash or dumping it yet again on the credit card, why not utilise an Australian FinTech company to assist with the purchase, interest-free. And here are the reasons: We here at Australian FinTech wanted to see how these FinTech companies work, how easy it is and how they perform; how much effort it is to apply and get interest-free credit; how ingenious the technology is; we wanted to […]
The fintechs targeting SMEs
Fintech companies have increasingly started targeting SMEs looking for ways to finance their businesses, but fintechs shouldn’t expect a revolution without a few setbacks. At least, that’s the view of some of the industry’s own experts and participants. With the market having had a few years to run its course, digital lenders, payment platforms and other financial technology firms have been given a warning: change, or face extinction. The changing face of fintech In lieu of more banking alternatives, fintech companies have increasingly started targeting more specific niches. It’s these businesses – not just those offering simple loans – that will end up surviving a glut of entrants, experts say. […]
