This Australian fintech startup uses new identification technology and wants to bust open the small business loan market
An Australian fintech startup is going all-in with a unique algorithm that it says will revolutionise the business lending market. Sail Funding’s big data application analysis, with inputs from third-party databases and applicant-provided information, allows the startup to make customers a loan offer that is tuned to the applicant’s risk profile. This means less chance of rejections and less chance of sub-optimal borrowing terms. “Being rejected for a loan can be catastrophic but having to put up your home or car as collateral also causes significant personal challenges,” said Sail founder and chief executive Yanir Yakutiel, who will launch the venture in Sydney on Tuesday. “By using our proprietary algorithm […]
Banks team up with their FinTech competitors
These are challenging times for the incumbent heavyweights of the financial services sector. Beset by regulatory, governance, technological, capital, and investment issues, they are increasingly facing competition for business from a whole host of new players, primarily from ‘FinTechs’. Growth of marketplace lending In the case of online lenders, this trend began in the UK in the mid-2000s when Zopa, the world’s first digital and now Europe’s largest peer-to-peer (now called marketplace) provider, launched, quickly followed by the likes of Prosper, Lending Club, and OnDeck in the US. Eleven years on, Zopa has lent around 1.8 billion pounds to more than 150,000 borrowers funded by 63,000 investors of whom 53,000 […]
LoanDolphin completes $1.1 million seed funding
LoanDolphin, Australia’s leading loan bidding platform, has successfully raised a total of $1.1 million from key investors to expand its presence in major capital cities in a bid to claim a stake in Australia’s $1.5 trillion home loan market. Strategic investor Barry Lambert provided $1 million, with the remainder from fintech investment firm H2 Ventures. Mr Lambert founded Count Financial in 1980 and sold the company to Commonwealth Bank in 2011 for $373 million. The seed funding values the Sydney-based fintech startup at $5 million post capital raising rounds. LoanDolphin is a free online platform for people to refinance or obtain new home loans at rates […]
EY FinTech Australia Census 2016
FinTech Australia and EY Sweeney release the most comprehensive analysis of Australia’s fintech ecosystem to date, the EY FinTech Australia Census 2016 FinTech Australia and EY Sweeney are today releasing the inaugural EY FinTech Australia Census 2016, the most comprehensive and detailed report on the Australian fintech industry to date. The research was formally launched in Melbourne today by EY’s Anita Kimber at FinTech Australia’s national summit, Collab/Collide 2016 in partnership with LaunchVic. This significant piece of research was commissioned by FinTech Australia as part of their efforts to foster a thriving fintech ecosystem in Australia. The report identifies important characteristics of the Australian fintech industry, and establishes a set […]
Broker platform hits $2bn milestone
An online portal that connects brokers with borrowers has doubled the value of loans negotiated through the platform in only three months. HashChing reached its first $1 billion loan milestone within a year of operation. Now, three months later, it has doubled that figure to over $2 billion worth of home loan applications sent to almost 300 mortgage brokers registered on the platform. “The fact that we’ve hit this next billion-dollar milestone so quickly is testament to the huge demand for our technology,” HashChing chief executive said Mandeep Sodhi said. “Nearly four thousand customers to date have used HashChing to negotiate home loans with interest rates that are well below […]
Fintech platform launches new digital loan push
To digital mortgage service uno, the ideal customer is one who doesn’t want to discuss home loans face-to-face or over the phone. “Traditional brokers are for people who want to go see someone face-to-face or have someone come to their house,” uno founder and chief executive officer Vincent Turner told Australian Broker. “For people who don’t want that, they’re going to find a digital mortgage service like uno as more suitable for their needs.” The firm’s recent marketing push – including an ad in which prospective buyers inspect a house in which some rooms are closed off – highlights the public’s feeling of not receiving all the necessary information on […]
Prospa and The Entourage combine to inspire small business owners
Prospa, Australia’s largest online lender to small business, has launched an innovative partnership with educator The Entourage that enables business owners and budding entrepreneurs to fund education through their business cashflow. The partnership will enable business owners to access The Entourage’s Launch, Build and Scale education programs and advice from leading entrepreneurs using an interest free loan from Prospa, instead of a large upfront payment, credit card or expensive personal loan. Beau Bertoli Joint CEO of Prospa said “It’s amazing that two of Australia’s entrepreneurial success stories are partnering to offer Australian small business owners and fledgling entrepreneurs access to finance and education. “Prospa and The Entourage have the same […]
Move over term deposits, peer-to-peer lending is on the rise for Aussie investors
Individual Aussie investors have lent an average of $13,508 in the last nine months as they chase better returns in a low-yield environment, according to leading peer-to-peer lender RateSetter. This figure is a 25.4% increase from the $10,770 lent in the previous nine months. With the RBA keeping interest rates at rock bottom levels, and savings returns suffering as a result, Daniel Foggo, RateSetter CEO, said that investors were turning to peer-to-peer platforms as they shifted away from “volatile equities and low-return savings accounts and term deposits.” “We hear from investors that they are attracted by the compelling returns and lower relative risk, in particular the protection of their money […]
