Banks face a bigger threat than rival banks as customers seek best experience
Innovation and media specialist Tom Goodwin had some pertinent advice for companies, big and small, during a recent visit to Australia from New York. If banks think they are competing with other banks in terms of the functionality and appearance of their app, they are wrong. Ditto for airlines if they believe they are in competition only with rival airlines. In an increasingly connected world, argues Goodwin, consumers’ expectations are being set by the best experience anywhere. He says: “Increasingly, when we experience something amazing, it sets the bar for everyone. You get off the plane in Shanghai and you can see your Uber driver’s face and his name and […]
Australian FinTech and GreySpark Partners to collaborate on Research & Strategic Advisory for the Australian Financial Industry
GreySpark Partners, a global business and technology consulting firm, and Australian FinTech, an online space dedicated to promoting the development of the fintech industry in Australia, are pleased to announce a new partnership in which the Australian FinTech portal will serve as a conduit for accessing GreySpark-produced research reports and information related to the firm’s strategic advisory services on the use of and investments in new technologies and financial applications. Founded in 2009, GreySpark – which is headquartered in the UK, with offices in Sydney, New York, Edinburgh, London and Hong Kong – provides its base of financial markets clients with a range of traditional and niche services and products. […]
Ripple CEO: Bitcoin will eventually stop driving the crypto markets
Coins need start solving real problems, not each other’s problems, to be valued in their own right. If you want to know how your coin’s going, just look at bitcoin prices. When bitcoin goes up, so do all other cryptocurrencies. When bitcoin drops so does everything else. To date the crypto markets have simply tended to swim along as one amorphous blob, with the most distinctive anomalies usually being the result of foul play, accidental failure or deliberate price manipulation. Even as bitcoin’s market dominance waned the effect stayed strong. “There’s a very high correlation between the price of XRP [Ripple] and the price of bitcoin, but ultimately these are […]
Meet the Australian corporate initiative empowering India’s Top Women Entrepreneurs
An Australian-first program is helping a new wave of Indian women break through the cultural glass ceiling to put globally-scalable businesses in front of Aussie Investors. In what is the first Australian initiative of its kind, Sydney-based corporate advisory firm – CEO Strategic has launched a specialist program to support some of India’s most innovative women entrepreneurs raise investment capital directly from international investors. The Project shines a light on some of the best innovators from India where, although the number of women entrepreneurs is on the rise, parity when it comes to the support of female entrepreneurship, is still one of the lowest in the world. The program, […]
Tic:Toc boss calls out HEM issues and ‘questionable’ third parties
The CEO of online mortgage lender Tic:Toc Home Loans says that no human judgement need enter the equation when it comes to assessing the expenses of a mortgage applicant. With the first weeks of the banking royal commission now behind us, Tic:Toc founder and CEO Anthony Baum believes it has become clear that there is an opportunity for the mortgage industry to reconsider how customers are assessed for finance. “One key flaw that’s been exposed is the failure to conduct basic checks and balances on the applicants’ household expenses. This includes instances where judgement on a customer’s borrowing capacity has been handed to a raft of questionable third parties,” the […]
Cryptocurrency is a new ‘coin of the realm’ for loyalty programs
Rene Konrad earns bonus miles from four airlines, plus loyalty points from six retailers and credit cards. But the one loyalty program he is most excited about now offers him something different: digital coins. Before he jumps on the train to Zurich most mornings, Konrad grabs a bottle of Caffe Lattesso. The 41-year-old can get about 12 Lattessocoins by entering a code from the bottle into a website. In a few months, the accumulated coins – which only became available in April – should become tradeable for other digital tokens, as well as cash. “I don’t know how many airline miles I lost because I didn’t use them fast enough,” […]
Wisr announces limit increases to personal loan product
Borrower demand, institutional backing and continued operational improvements support this change Neo lender Wisr announced it will increase its personal loan limits following increased borrower demand, strong institutional lender support and continued improvement to loan evaluation. As of today the company will increase its personal loan limit from $35,000 up to $50,000(1), with a comparative interest rate up to 5% p.a. lower than the Big Four Banks(2). Loans will be available for any worthwhile purpose over three or five years, with a comparison rate of 9.36% p.a.(2, 3, 4) for borrowers with strong credit rating and with a Wisr personal loan there are no early repayment or exit fees. Anthony […]
Crowdfunding in Australia – the first 4 months of equity crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding started in Australia in January this year for public unlisted companies. It is early days but we are pleased to report that in this short period there have been two significant successful raises that a worthy of global note. One of the first campaigns off the block was the Xinja, Australia’s first 100% digital bank or ‘neobank’ which successfully raised $2,419,000 through the crowdfunding platform Equitise. At the end of April this early record raise was topped by DC Power Co. which raised $2,454,700 with OnMarket. What was interesting about this raise is that it attracted a whopping 17,574 investors making it the world’s largest equity-crowdfunding offer by […]
