Fintech drops interest rates
A fintech has announced rate cuts across its investor home loans, including a 32 basis point reduction to its variable interest only product. Tic:Toc said the decision comes at a time of falling investor lending. The group has noticed a 33% drop in investment lending in the last quarter to November 2018. According to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the value of investment loans has also dropped by more than 20% over the last year and investment housing commitments fell by 0.9%. Tic:Toc founder and CEO, Anthony Baum, said now may be the opportune time for investors to secure a competitive rate via Tic:Toc’s digital platform. He said, […]
Xinja to launch second equity crowdfunding
Xinja, which is building a 100% digital bank or ‘neobank’ designed for mobile, is inviting potential investors to register their interest in its second equity crowdfunding, which will get underway early in 2019. The offer, through Equitise (with whom they partnered for the first round), is targeting a raise between $500,000 and $5 million. Shares will be priced at $2.04. Xinja is an independent, Australian-owned start-up that aims to give bricks and mortar, old-style banking a serious shakeout. It won’t have bank branches and it has been built with feedback from customers about how they want to bank. Xinja launched Australia’s first equity crowdfunding, which closed in March this year, […]
APAC Alternative Finance report shows impressive growth
Australia is second only to China in market volume. The alternative finance industry continues to thrive according to the 3rd Asia Pacific Region Alternative Finance Industry Report by KPMG and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) released this week. The global fintech sector has seen $117 billion invested in the last year, with $28 billion invested in Asia Pacific alone. Across the region, over 100,000 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) used alternative finance in 2017 and SMEs accounted for 61% of all alternative finance volume. The Australian market was 2nd only to China for the 3rd year running, raising over $1.14 billion in 2017, an increase of 88% on […]
The Fourth Industrial Revolution built on blockchain and advanced with AI
Blockchain technology is so synonymous with cryptocurrencies, and especially Bitcoin that it is almost like the financial sector has usurped its potential. In times like these, where an investing bear market has befallen the cryptocurrency space, it is easy to get down on the revolutionary possibilities of blockchain technology. Since the original Blockchain, that is Bitcoin, emerged, there has been a considerable focus on transactional blockchains which have been at the forefront of the mainstream understanding of the technology. Bitcoin is often the layman’s first point of call with the stories of investing success stories obscuring the view of other possibilities. However, blockchain technology is moving along in an undercurrent […]
Nod closes $2m funding round to support platform growth
The multi-award-winning artificial intelligence platform, known simply as Nod, has confirmed it has successfully closed its over-subscribed pre-Series A round of AUD$2m. Nod was recently awarded a coveted spot on the KPMG H2 Ventures Fintech100 and has developed a patent pending algorithm that utilises artificial intelligence to create real-time Statements of Advice for Financial Advisers and Accountants. Whilst this is the space where they have chosen to first apply their technology, Co-Founder and CEO, Joel Robbie, says the platform has been developed to be industry agnostic: “We are really excited about the impact we are having on document completion times in the Financial Advice industry! The platform is having genuine […]
Royal commission – Fintechs here to help
Anyone tasked with building and protecting wealth for their investors need the tools to ensure they are acting in their clients’ best interest. Greater scrutiny will be placed on transparency of where and how an individual’s money is invested. Financial advisers, fund managers, superannuation trustees and others taking responsibility for managing client’s assets will be under the spotlight to demonstrate how investment decisions are being made and implemented. Technology-driven innovation in finance (fintech) has emerged to help investors and money managers make informed decisions when choosing investments. Fintech is a progressive resource intensely focused on accelerating innovation and transformation through the application of technology. By exploring collaborations between companies, financial […]
Practifi’s US expansion exceeds expectations
Sydney, Australia-based fintech provider, Practifi, has continued to experience exceptional growth over the 2018 calendar year, with their international expansion to the U.S. surpassing expectations on every measure. In describing the international response to Practifi, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-founder, Adrian Johnstone says, “Our upfront investment in market research and product design has paid huge dividends this year. Our Chicago office is now established, with the team growing rapidly to meet demand far in excess of our ambitious forecasts.” With clients spanning the major west coast, midwest and east coast financial centers, Practifi is already considering the location for its next US office. Global growth in other markets is also […]
‘We’re tech companies’: The neobanks’ advantage
A big advantage that “neobanks” have over the big four is that they are nimble and highly scalable technology companies focused on customer experience, according to the co-founder of Up. After hearing Stephen King from the Productivity Commission (PC) claim that challenger lenders do not have a realistic chance at competing with the major banks and will ultimately be “gobbled up” by them, Dominic Pym said the advantage that challengers such as his company Up, along with the likes of Volt and Xinja, have is that they are technology companies with a focus on improving customer experience and the ability to move and adapt fast. Speaking on a panel at […]
