What is micro-investing and is it worth exploring?
Back in the day, if you were looking to save up your spare change, you’d look to the ol’ faithful piggy bank. But, nowadays, as cash is slowly becoming obsolete, some are turning to micro-investing as the modern-day answer to the piggy bank. And with micro-investing apps, not only can you save up your chump change but you can invest it. How does micro-investing work? Micro-investing is about making small and irregular investments from everyday transactions. Micro-investing apps round-up your purchases to invest your spare change. For example, a large cappuccino at $4.50 will be rounded-up to $5 and the 50 cents would then be invested. Depending on how frequently […]
Square and MYOB team up to help small businesses
From today, global payments provider Square is teaming up with MYOB, one of Australia’s leading providers of online accounting solutions, to help time-poor business owners better manage their payments. The new partnership will completely automate the payment process for business owners, ensuring they no longer have to waste time manually rekeying their sales or customer data, making reconciling accounts easier than ever. The comprehensive integration will enable transaction data processed via Square’s payment platform to move simply and securely through to the business owner’s MYOB account. It will allow business owners to easily reconcile their sales in a number of different ways, including: by product or category, by store location, […]
JPMorgan Chase to create digital coin using blockchain
JPMorgan Chase plans to launch its own digital coin, called “JPM Coin”, that customers will be able to use for instant transfer of payments over a blockchain network. The largest US bank by assets said customers, on depositing money at the bank, will be issued the cryptocurrency that can be used for transactions over the network with other JPMorgan clients. The coin can be redeemed for a US dollar, so its value will largely remain stable, the bank said. When one client sends money to another over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and instantaneously redeemed for the equivalent amount of US dollars, reducing the typical settlement time, the bank […]
Valentine’s Day for start-ups: The perils of dating the co-founder
Aleks Svetski and Chantelle de la Rey, co-founders of digital currency exchange Amber, observe a rule: they don’t call each other babe at work. The pair had been dating for four months when they founded their company in late 2017. While scaling the business in a highly volatile market, the couple agreed to a series of measures – from keeping Sundays work-free to separating how they communicate at work and home – to protect their fledgling relationship. “These things are never smooth. We’re in a relationship and on a crusade to help more people get access to bitcoin,” Mr Svetski said. Amber, which swaps spare change from daily purchases to […]
Legally certified identity verification solution ‘light years ahead’ of the market
Max ID®, an Australian Legal Practice and Reg-tech innovator, has been named as a finalist for the Fintech Business Start Up of the Year and Compliance Innovator of the Year at the Fintech Business Awards 2019. The Fintech Business Awards, one of the leading awards programs in the Australian technology sector, celebrates the leading individuals and organisations who demonstrate outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship. In late 2018, after testing and piloting with a number of clients had been successfully completed, Max ID publicly launched the solution that brings a broad range of industry players a step closer to their aim of delivering simple, efficient and inexpensive same-day fully compliant ‘safe harbour’ […]
ASX tech upgrades hit their stride and pay
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has continued its all-out push to achieve regional digital superiority as a multi-pronged trading technology platform, revealing a major foray into analytics, machine learning alongside its migration to blockchain for settlements. The Australian market operator on Thursday added substantial icing to its cake alongside its push into distributed ledger technology that has become widely regarded as a global leader in real-world application of the technology. While the rollout of the new DLT settlements platform, where the ASX has partnered with Digital Asset Holdings, was earlier pushed-out by around six months to March/April 2021, analysts were ravenous for detail on the opportunities down the track once […]
OpenSparkz completes second capital raising, attracts local and Asian investors
OpenSparkz, an Australian fintech which has developed a global platform that removes the need for loyalty cards, offer codes and coupons, today said its second capital raising has closed oversubscribed. The latest seed raising of AUD$1.5 million attracted new regional and local investors alongside further commitments from the founders and original backers. New investors include Louise Daley, the Singapore-based Deputy Chief Executive of Accor Hotels Asia Pacific. Ms Daley will join the OpenSparkz board, which currently includes Andrew Lo, the founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based EFT Payments. “I am excited to be taking up an investment opportunity in such a dynamic player. This is a rapidly evolving industry and […]
Shadow banks swoop as five lenders quit sub-prime home loans
Digital home-loan lender Tic:Toc is launching into the sub-prime mortgage market targeting small business owners as five other lenders quit the sector claiming “industry changes”. Tic:Toc’s move follows stakes being taken in the online lender by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia and La Trobe Financial, which is part of the US investment giant Blackstone Group. Other major lenders, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Bank of Queensland, pulled out of the sector to be replaced by regulation-lite shadow banks, including Pepper Money and Resimac. Adelaide Bank, Perth-based Bluebay Home Loans and Resolve Finance’s mortgage division are also quitting the sub-prime sector blaming changing marketing and funding conditions. The move comes amid […]
