OnDeck Australia secures $75m Credit Suisse loan
Small business lender OnDeck Australia has secured a $75 million funding line from Credit Suisse, the latest partnership between fintech players and established institutions. The subsidiary of the New York-listed OnDeck Capital said the asset-backed revolving credit facility would be used to refinance OnDeck Australia’s loan book and to fund new loans. The facility is due to mature in June 2020. On Deck Australia managing director Cameron Poolman said the lender was striving to lower its cost of funding, origination and to build a “leading credit model”. He said the online small business lending market is growing at a faster pace than it did in the US at a similar stage in […]
Meet Lex Greensill and the fintech that’s Australia’s newest $2b unicorn
A supply chain financing company with its roots in regional Queensland, Greensill, has become the country’s next $1 billion-plus unicorn, thanks to a $US250 million ($336 million) capital injection from growth equity firm General Atlantic, which also creates the country’s newest rich listers. Greensill, founded in 2011 in London by Bundaberg-born farmer Lex Greensill, 41, provides businesses in industries from telecommunications to manufacturing with working capital based on their invoices, allowing them to be paid faster and fulfil the work, without shortening payment terms for buyers. The capital raise, which is the first for the previously bootstrapped company that had only taken capital from family and friends, values Greensill at […]
New legislation could net Afterpay, but nothing can spoil the party
As Afterpay’s share price rose 37.8 per cent over the past few three trading days on positive US expansion figures, the Treasury Department on Friday quietly released draft legislation that could bring the Australian operations of the soaring no-interest lender under the regulation of ASIC. Strangely though, the only group that appears to have noticed is the Consumer Action Centre. It put out a press release on Friday applauding the new legislation, which it said would target “unregulated short-term credit like buy-now pay-later”, the sector in which Afterpay is the most successful provider. The legislation, which will now go through a period of open consultation, proposes to formally institute a […]
Fintech Zip has hit cash flow break-even, its shares slip
Australian fintech Zip — the owner of the zipPay, zipMoney and Pocketbook brands — has hit cash flow break even right on target. In a business update, digital retail finance and payments player says revenue for the fourth quarter was $13.2 million, up 136% on the same three months last year. And Zip hit positive underlying cash from operating activities, after bad debt write-offs, of $700,000. However, Zip’s share price fell up to 3% in early trade. At the close, the shares were down 1% to $1.00. ZipMoney operates a “buy now, pay later, no interest” service and uses artificial intelligence and big data technologies to drive a credit and […]
Joust taps new Australian crowdfunding rules in bid to raise $2 million
Joust, an Adelaide based fintech that brings competitive tension to the home loan market by linking borrowers directly with over 20 lenders who compete against each other in real-time, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise $2 million. The Joust platform brings disruption to the $1.7 trillion home loan mortgage market where $2 billion in fees are paid to mortgage brokers annually. Described as a “consumer hero” fintech company – as Joust places the power back in consumers’ hands – Joust uses technology to provide transparency, competitive tension and superior customer outcomes to the home loan market. Key points: • Aiming to disrupt the mortgage broker channel under siege […]
$2bn of broker commissions in fintech’s crosshairs
An Australian fintech has set its sights on disrupting the dominance of the mortgage broking industry by appealing to the banks who it claims are keen to reduce the $2 billion they spend on broker commissions. Adelaide-based online home loan platform Joust has distanced itself from its competitors in the fintech space, which has seen a flurry of mortgage disruptors in recent years. “Joust is not a comparison site with a myriad of static rates. It is also not an online broker or aggregator. We are a revolutionary marketplace model for home loan customers and lenders,” Joust co-founder and CEO Mark Bevan said. Joust is leveraging the negative press that […]
Fintech provided with funding facility
A fintech lender has announced it will be able to fund up to $50million in loans after it was provided a funding facility by a major lender. Through a special purpose vehicle from NAB, GetCapital will now be able to fund more loans to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) across Australia. GetCapital specialises in the fast-growing non-bank SME lending space, offering a range of products that include flexible business loans, equipment finance and trade finance. The new landmark funding facility follows unprecedented growth for GetCapital, which recently exceeded $250m of total loans written. The company hopes this will help towards reaching its goal of $1billion in funded loans by […]
Bank of Queensland bans using home equity loans for crypto
Lenders are banning property buyers from using home equity to buy cryptocurrencies because of regulatory fears and increased risk from volatile trading conditions. Bank of Queensland is the latest to ban any drawdown or lines of credit from loans to be used for leveraged purchases, trading or other use of the largely unregulated global digital currency. Other lenders are discouraging borrowers and mortgage brokers, who act as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers, from using real estate to fund high-risk investments. Leveraged currency plays can magnify gains from a successful investment decision but worsen losses. Lenders are asking questions and monitoring borrowers’ accounts to alert them to crypto-trades, purchases, or offshore […]
