IRESS dismisses Intelliflo threat, ups AI investment following royal commission
Financial software company IRESS has dismissed the threat of new market entrant Intelliflo, with chief executive Andrew Walsh saying the local marketplace is already competitive and values IRESS’s independence. IRESS, which is valued at $2.1 billion and generated $430 million in revenue in the last financial year, is also making significant investments in artificial intelligence. About half of its 1800 employees are now part of its technology team, and this could increase on the back of the Hayne royal commission. “What we’ve seen in aspects of the royal commission is collecting data to respond to the commands of the commission has been a massive exercise for some businesses. But the […]
Quantifeed eyes Australian expansion with $13.5m raising
The fintech is looking to expand its B2B robo-advice business in Australia as a part of a $13.5 million venture capital raising announced today. The series B funding was led by Taiwanese giant Cathay Financial Holdings, with participation from US-based asset manager Legg Mason, and will go towards Australia and Asia Pacific growth. “We will be growing the Australian team over the next six to 12 months and also open an office [on an undisclosed timeline],” Quantifeed co-founder and chief executive Alex Ypsilanti told Financial Standard. The five-year-old fintech has now raised a total of $24 million. This includes today’s $13.5 million, a series A funding of $6 million in […]
The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer, confirmed as VIP Guest at the 3rd Annual FinTech Awards 2018
The 3rd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2018 are delighted to welcome The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer, as the VIP Guest Speaker for the event. “We are celebrating the entrepreneurs creating and growing new businesses, creating jobs and taking their businesses to the world,” said Frost. “The FinTech Awards cover the whole eco-system, from Lenders to InsureTech, and recognize businesses as well as individuals, with Awards such as CIO/CTO Of The Year, Female FinTech Leader of The Year, and FinTech Leader of The Year,” said Frost. There are 12 award categories = http://fintechawards.net/ Date: 1st August 2018 Venue: The Ashurst Ballroom, Level 9, 5 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW 2000 Contact: […]
The crypto community isn’t happy with a negative report by the ‘bank for central banks’
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has weighed in on the crypto debate, and it was less than positive. The aim of the BIS is to foster global financial stability, and it’s owned by 60 central banks across the world. In that sense, the BIS also describes itself as the bank for central banks. Given that one of the stated aims of crypto is to disrupt the status quo of centrally controlled currencies, it’s perhaps not surprising that the BIS was critical. The report said crypto networks get less efficient the bigger they get. Along with scaling issues, they’re also volatile and subject to stability threats due to forks. […]
Bought Bitcoin? The Tax Office has you in its sights
Unless you are living under a rock, most of us have heard of the term cryptocurrency or, at the very least, Bitcoin. If you haven’t, cryptocurrency is generally used to describe a digital asset in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of additional units and verify transactions on the blockchain. Not that most of us understand what that means. To most people, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were discussed at dinner tables and over drinks across Australia because they were the new black when it came to surging assets. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Dungeons and Dragons players or underworld types who were dealing in cybercurrency, everyone wanted to […]
Australian fintech success Optal seeks new global investor
Forget Prospa, SocietyOne and the like; a new fintech has popped on to dealmakers’ radars and it is one with more than a decade’s history and a significant amount of earnings. Street Talk understands there is at least a stake up for grabs in Australian-based but globally focused business to business payments company Optal Ltd, which is the liquidity event some of its early backers have been waiting for. Optal CEO Rob Bishop and his team have hired a boutique adviser in the United States, FT, to market the stake to potentially interested parties and set up a sale process. Optal is known in fintech and payments circles worldwide, and has had no shortage […]
Verrency signs long-term innovation services deal with volt bank
Australian global payments innovation provider Verrency has signed a significant long-term deal with volt bank, Australia’s first independent 100% digital bank. The multi-year agreement enables volt bank to leverage Verrency’s cloud-based payments innovation platform and services marketplace to enable cost-effective delivery of a multitude of value-added services to its customers. The agreement comes on the back of Verrency being named FinTech Australia’s winner of the 2018 Excellence in Establishing a Global Market Presence. David Link, Founder and CEO, Verrency, said: “Verrency will enable volt bank to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver value-added services to Australian consumers – including via easy connection with multiple service providers – without requiring significant change in their […]
Proviso wins Excellence in RegTech at the 2018 Finnies Awards
Proviso, an Adelaide based technology company, is thrilled to announce that it has won the Excellence in Regtech (including Digital ID, KYC and AML) award at the Finnies for the second consecutive year! This year’s Finnies awards, organised by FinTech Australia, attracted strong competition in the Australian financial technology space, with a record 223 entries – a 40% increase on 2017. The Finnies celebrate the achievements from the Australian fintech sector and highlight the individuals and companies that are successfully driving innovation in financial services. “We are delighted to have won the Excellence in Regtech award at the Finnies again this year! The entire Proviso team had had a great […]
