What’s the deal with equity crowdfunding, and should I do it?
What’s changed? The updated legislation passed on September 12, including an amendment from Labor which means it will come into effect in 28 days. Equity crowdfunding will now be available to private companies, but there are still some restrictions. Companies must have less than $25 million in turnover and gross assets, and funds raised will be restricted to $5 million each year. Startups using the method will also be subject to transaction rules and stringent reporting and disclosure obligations, with annual reports and directors’ reports required. Once companies raise $3 million or more, they will also be subject to auditing requirements. Matt Vitale, co-founder of equity crowdfunding platform Birchal, tells […]
Midwinter integrates with Class
Australian based financial advice technology provider Midwinter Financial Services has today announced its integration with Class, a leading provider of cloud software for administration and reporting of SMSF and non-super investment portfolios. This particular integration will allow users of both Midwinter’s AdviceOS and Class to sync and replicate portfolios from Class into Midwinter’s AdviceOS, and allows users to update portfolio balances in AdviceOS overnight. The integration also allows for Class funds to be prepopulated, updated and used throughout AdviceOS like a normal portfolio. The new integration marks another significant development in Class’ strategy to support advisers in the efficient delivery of advice, enabling effective collaboration across advisers, accountants and their […]
AI, VR and fintech in focus as Microsoft takes on its first Aussie start-ups
Artificial intelligence and financial services based start-ups provide the majority of the first cohort of global tech giant Microsoft’s first Australian accelerator program. The program, known as ScaleUp, was announced in February and targets start-ups that have typically received initial funding and are looking to expand. It promises to help fast-track their growth by linking them with potential customers, Microsoft partners and technical guidance, without giving up any equity. The Australian start-ups selected are Auror, Daisee, FreightExchange, Hyper Anna, InDebted, Kapiche, Karbon, Makers Empire, Teamgage, SimpleKYC, Start VR, VendorPanel and Winimy AI. Many have secured funding in recent times, including virtual data scientist Hyper Anna, which raised $16 million from […]
Basiq and Verrency enable banks to drastically improve the quality of their data
Basiq and Verrency have joined forces to enable banks to store clean, categorised and enhanced transaction data – in real-time, at point of purchase. This will uncover new opportunities for banks to offer their customers innovative, and personalised products and experiences. We are all aware of how ‘unclear’ transaction data can be. Think of how often customers call banks with queries – they have no idea what an item on their credit card statement called ‘HT Willis Brook’ is. You may have heard the term ‘garbage in – garbage out’. If a bank stores unclear transaction data when a customer makes a purchase, this data is then passed downstream to […]
Raiz Invest brings financial insights to life with Facebook chatbot
Raiz Invest, the mobile-first micro-investing platform, has today launched a chatbot to improve the user experience. Customers can ask Ashlee chatbot specific questions about their account or the financial markets and get general customer support. Much like a personal fitness coach, the aim is to help Australians have a healthier relationship with their finances. With an active (paying) customer base of more than 172,000, skewing towards the under-35 demographic, Ashlee provides intuitive and real-time responses. Integrated on Facebook Messenger, it takes advantage of the personal and instant nature of the app in aligning with millennials. Personalised on-demand investment updates Ashlee further personalises the Raiz experience. She will answer personal […]
Aussie banks dragged into the ‘open source’ era via GitHub
Financial policy making is getting the open source tech treatment, courtesy of Data61. The use of GitHub to manage the development of open banking technical standards represents a significant innovation in Australian policy making. GitHub, which is used by 28 million software developers around the world, was bought by Microsoft in June for $US7.5 billion ($10.5 billion). The open banking Data Standards Body, which is being run by the CSIRO’s Data61 unit, is using the online service to manage feedback and comments for the technical standards that will govern the movement of data in the new economy. All decision proposals and final decisions for the open banking standards will be […]
ndau: World’s first “buoyant” stablecoin cryptocurrency revealed
Meet the unpegged, uncollateralised ndau, courtesy of finely-tuned tokenomic and governance elements. Stablecoins have been proliferating in the last few months. All of them are curious and flawed creations in their own way, and there are growing concerns that stablecoins of any kind, in principle, are economically impossible. But maybe ndau can buck the trend. The coin was just unveiled today, and is perhaps the most distinctive and advanced stablecoin that has been created to date. The best of both worlds, for the best of both worlds “Stable is good. Buoyant is better,” ndau says. The ndau Collective came together as a group of early bitcoin enthusiasts who aimed to […]
OnDeck small business online lending tops US$10 Billion
OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK), has announced it has achieved a milestone in the Financial Technology (FinTech) industry, becoming the first non-bank online lender to surpass US$10 billion in total loans originated to small businesses. OnDeck, with operations in the United States, Canada and Australia, is the world’s largest non-bank online lender to small business by total loan volume. Founded in 2015, OnDeck Australia is a subsidiary of OnDeck (ONDK). The achievement by OnDeck, a pioneer of the FinTech lending industry, is the latest indication that small businesses increasingly prefer to seek financing online. According to the Small Business Credit Survey from the Federal Reserve, small business owners are turning to online […]
