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 […]
Monash teams with Cambridge and Tsinghua universities to study Asia’s alternative finance sector
Monash University is collaborating with Cambridge University and China’s Tsinghua University to track the extraordinary growth of the Asia-Pacific’s booming alternative finance sector, valued at more than US$100 billion. The collaboration will see Monash Business School’s Australian Centre for Financial Studies partner with the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at University of Cambridge Judge Business School, and Tsinghua University Graduate School at Shenzhen to undertake an international benchmarking survey with the support of more than 20 major industry organisations across the region. This is the largest regional study to date focused on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative finance. The benchmarking survey aims to capture the key trends, […]
Moneysoft grows team to strengthen capabilities
Australian financial technology company, Moneysoft, has boosted its capabilities as a leading provider of Personal Financial Management solutions with four key appointments. Miles Casbier and Indra Bhosale join Moneysoft’s sales team with a wealth of experience in financial services and client relationship management. Craig Fletcher joins the team to head up process and delivery management and Ann Cook joins Moneysoft’s marketing team to help drive growth and continue building the company’s strong presence in the financial planning market. Moneysoft MD and Founder, Peter Malekas said: “At a time when our business is experiencing significant growth, these key appointments allow us to bolster our overall service proposition for existing and new […]
