Australia’s top 32 start-up tech successes and why they matter
Want to start the next billion-dollar tech company? You need to be male, in your mid-30s and only two or three years into running a start-up. Not-for-profit organisation StartupAus has compiled a list of Australia’s tech successes over the past 13 years, featuring businesses with valuations in excess of $100 million. The list of 32 companies, which forms part of a report compiled with the University of Technology, Sydney which is due to be released early next year, features known successes Atlassian, Campaign Monitor and Catch Group, but also a number of lesser-known companies which are on track to become the next success stories, or “unicorns”. Lesser-known businesses such as […]
Two FinTech disruptors hit the ASX
Two new Diversified Financial offerings listing on the ASX have the potential to shake things up for money lenders in both the consumer and commercial space. The companies are Directmoney (DM1) – a Peer to Peer (P2P) lender with a twist; and zipMoney (ZML) – a unique online credit provider for consumers and businesses. Both are prime examples of one of the hot long-term trends in technology – FinTech, or financial technology. FinTech companies are disrupting traditional financial services with the use of software and online platforms. In truth, disruptive activity in financial services pre-dates the Internet and the extensive use of sophisticated financial software. Dealing with traditional banks for […]
Auswide Bank lends $60m, takes 20pc in MoneyPlace
Auswide Bank is offering $60 million in personal loans over five years via fledgling peer-to-peer lender MoneyPlace along with a 20 per cent stake in the start-up to boost its personal loans to younger borrowers. Martin Barrett, the managing director of the small, listed Queensland bank, which has a loan book of about $2.4 billion, said it had been in talks with MoneyPlace about investing in and via the platform for about a year while it was seeking its credit licence from the corporate watchdog. “What the P2P guys have to offer is something that is more advanced and capable than what we would be able to put into the […]
Broker platform inks lead deal with listed property group
Brokers stand to receive an onslaught of leads following the announcement of a strategic partnership between an ASX-listed real estate group and a broker platform. Onthehouse Holdings Limited, an ASX-listed online real estate content and services platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with HashChing to provide its visitors access to home loan deals from local mortgage brokers. Through the partnership, brokers who use the HashChing platform will have their profiles appear whenever a prospective home buyer visits Onthehouse.com.au and searches a particular suburb. Unlike mortgage comparison websites that channel prospective borrowers to lenders, HashChing sends customers to a mortgage broker in their local area for further credit advice. Brokers […]
Westpac trials Prospa tie-up
It is great to see that the big banks in Australia are starting to support our FinTech companies. Lets hope that the this announcement encourages some of the other banks to get in and trial a partnership with an up and coming technology. Westpac has begun quietly trialling a partnership with online small business lender Prospa, signalling a growing willingness by the big four banks to embrace working with the rapidly emerging “fintech” industry. Source: Westpac trials Prospa tie-up
How fintech lender zipMoney boosted retail sales by 20 per cent
With $10 million worth of loans already allotted and having recently listed on the ASX, the innovative consumer finance company, zipMoney, appears to be taking the retail industry by storm. Distributing finance through more than 200 retailers and merchants, the fintech lender provides customers with access to loans of up to $2000 via a simple smart phone application within minutes. zipMoney CEO, Larry Diamond, said “there are two million small businesses around Australia and most are locked out of consumer purchase financing.” By taking the benefits of a credit facility without the burden, some of zipMoney’s users have reported increases in sales of up to 20 per cent. Source: How […]
Qantas, GetCapital in deal to reward borrowers
Qantas has joined a growing number of global companies opening their arms to partnerships with new financial technology companies, linking up with small business online lender GetCapital. Unveiling the agreement with Qantas’s Aquire business rewards program, GetCapital chief Jamie Osborn said the deal was another example of the growing interest from big companies in “fintech” that is pushing the industry from “adolescence to adulthood”. Source: Qantas, GetCapital in deal to reward borrowers | The Australian
MoneyPlace second Aussie P2P lender for mums and dads
Melbourne start-up MoneyPlace became the second Australian peer-to-peer lender to open its virtual doors to mum and dad investors on Monday. The company, led by former NAB banker Stuart Stoyan and backed by Westpac’s former head of retail banking Rob Coombe, provides a platform for investors to make personal loans. Borrowers can get loans of between $5000 and $35,000 for terms of three to five years directly from individual lenders via MoneyPlace at rates starting at 8.99 per cent. It claims investors can earn returns from 7.8 per cent. After two years building MoneyPlace, including a 13-month approval process with the corporate regulator, it “matched” its first loan last week. […]