Australia is targeting money laundering and terrorism in a sophisticated new collaboration with banks and fintech
A new government and private sector alliance was launched this morning to combat “serious financial crime”, including activities involving terrorism and money laundering. The new Fintel Alliance has brought together 19 partners including the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police, all four major banks, Australian Taxation Office, Western Union and fintech giant PayPal with intelligence agencies like AUSTRAC, ASIO and Australian Crime Commission. The organisation will target “terror financiers and gangs who deal in proceeds of crime, as well as white-collar criminals who think their crimes are victimless”, according to federal justice minister Michael Keenan. The Fintel Alliance’s “operational hub” sees government intelligence experts sitting alongside specialist staff from the financial […]
Adelaide start-up and fintech company Joust to launch in New South Wales under NOVA Entertainment Group funding deal
A MAJOR entertainment company has thrown its financial support behind Adelaide-based technology start-up Joust, allowing the company to expand its home loan auction service into New South Wales. The Wakefield Street business today announced it had successfully raised another $400,000 and secured NOVA Entertainment Group as a strategic investor. The company, which operates in SA and Victoria, says the funding takes to almost $2 million it has raised since its inception in early 2015. Co-Founder and managing director Mark Bevan said 650 customers have used Joust to seek a better home loan interest rate and that the value of home loans “jousted” was already more than $250m. “We now have […]
zipMoney to partner with a Big 4 Australian Bank in a $200m financing arrangement
zipMoney Limited is pleased to announce that it has agreed key terms with a ‘Big 4’ Australian bank for the provision of a $200 million asset-backed securitisation warehouse program for its consumer receivables. CEO and Managing Director Larry Diamond said: “This is a transformative step forward for the Company. As well as creating capacity to fund the growing demand for our services, it will approximately halve the weighted average cost of capital of our loan book, which directly contributes to our bottom line. We are very pleased to be partnering with this ‘Big 4’ Australian bank and look forward to releasing further details in due course.” COO and Executive Director […]
Fintech Business Awards winners revealed
The winners of Momentum Media’s Fintech Business Awards 2017 have been announced, acknowledging the achievements of the industry’s leading lights. The premier awards night for the fintech industry, the Fintech Business Awards is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of the disruptive businesses and innovators reshaping the way Australians access financial services. This year, Daniel Foggo of RateSetter Australia was recognised with the Fintech Business Excellence Award for individuals, beating out the other individual winners awarded at the event, with financial planning software firm Midwinter taking out the Fintech Business Excellence Award for companies. Over 300 nominations were received for the 18 awards, with the winners selected by a panel of […]
Bitcoin worth more than gold as price reaches all-time high
The crypto currency known for its anonymity and decentralised nature reached an all-time high on Friday afternoon, making it more valuable than gold in Australia. Bitcoin was trading above $1634 on bitcoin.com.au, as gold hovered around $1620 an ounce. The currency has been surprisingly steady this year, remaining above the arbitrary $US1000 mark ($1297) for its longest ever stretch, according to researcher CoinDesk. Industry heads point to the nearing deadline of a decision by Securities Exchange Commission in the US to introduce the first of three bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). “There is a lot of excitement that the Winklevoss twins’ ETF is coming close to approval,” says Asher Tan, CEO […]
Aussie fintech funding triples: KPMG
While global fintech investment almost halved last year, the budding Australian sector finally bloomed, according to KPMG International’s latest report. Heedless of the 47.2 per cent evaporation in total global investment in fintech companies (which dropped from US$46.7 billion in 2015, to just US$24.7 billion last year), Australian fintech funding in 2016 was in full flood, more than tripling over 12 months, after a string of deals and funding rounds. According to KPMG, Australia’s total fintech investment last year topped US$626 million across 25 deals, a major increase on 2015 – which saw $185M across 23 deals – and a figure contrary to the receding global trend. Ian Pollari, global […]
Touchcorp, Afterpay merger worth $500m
Melbourne-based fintech start-up Afterpay has announced a proposed merger with Touchcorp, in a deal set to create a new ASX-listed software and payments firm valued at $500 million. Afterpay MD Nick Molnar said the two companies had been working together, and the proposed merger would help the combined entity rapidly scale into new markets and grow faster than otherwise possible. Founded in 2014, Afterpay is a retail payments outfit that facilitates commerce between retail merchants and end customers, offering a “buy now, receive now, pay later” service that does not require end customers to enter into traditional loan arrangements or pay upfront fees to the group. It landed on the […]
Private equity rises to IBM’s blockchain cloud
Global fund administrator Northern Trust plans to seek approval from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for a blockchain that promises to reduce administration costs for private equity funds and their investors. Chicago-based Northern Trust said on Wednesday it and technology giant IBM had created the first blockchain for the private equity market. The synchronised database will overhaul traditionally spreadsheet-based processes used by PE investors, managers, administrators, regulators, advisors and auditors that require extensive reconciliation. While various pilots and proofs of concept of blockchain are being tested across the global financial system, this project is significant because the distributed ledger, hosted in the IBM Cloud, is already live. It is […]
