Crowd2Fund prepares to cross fintech bridge to Australia
Leading P2P lending platform Crowd2Fund are launching an Australian office by becoming one the first UK-based companies to utilise the new ‘FinTech Bridge’ between the UK and Australia. The Enhanced Cooperation Agreement, signed in March 2018 between the FCA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), will make it easier for regulated FinTech companies in both Australia and the UK to start trading in either market. Key benefits of the Bridge include the speeding up of company licensing between the two territories, as well as more strategic collaboration between the FSA and ASIC in order to grow the respective markets of each country. Michael Ward, the Director General for […]
Australian millennials have taken to robo financial advice
Australian millennials are dominating when it comes to using robo-advice to get ahead with their money, according to the latest Robo-advice Report from Investment Trends. The study is based on a survey of 10,000 online investors and 1,425 financial advisers between February and December 2017 across Australia, the US, the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Singapore and Hong Kong. In Australia, robo-advice has gained significant recognition among the Australian online share investor population, with 22% saying they are familiar with these services. Only in the US, where the bulk of innovation in robo-advice is taking place, is familiarity with robo-advice significantly higher (39%). “The Australian financial services industry is ripe for […]
OmniPay launches ‘collaborative’ supply chain finance platform
A Sydney-based fintech has launched a new invoice finance platform aimed at helping suppliers better manage their cash flow. OmniPay’s web-based and mobile application allows the supplier to request an early payment of an invoice, which is financed by the fintech company upon receiving approval from the business. After setting up an account, suppliers have to import invoices manually or upload them by using drag-and-drop functionality, after which the OmniPay platform automatically extracts all the relevant information presented in an invoice and summarises it in a pop-up window. Once the supplier clicks a button to request payment, the platform sends the invoice off to the business for digitally signed approval. […]
AUSTRAC registers two more cryptocurrency exchanges
Two more Australian cryptocurrency exchanges have been registered by AUSTRAC under rules that came into effect earlier this month. NCX and ACX.io join Independent Reserve and CoinSpot in complying with the same anti money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML-CTF) rules that apply to other finance sector participants such as banks. Perth-based National Currency eXchange (NCX) said in a statement that it “confirms its compliance program will keep it in alignment with its AML-CTF obligations”. “The completion of this registration allows NCX to continue to provide trading services in popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, with further cryptocurrencies and upcoming ICOs to be added to the exchange […]
Fintech launches active trading platform with no monthly fees
Saxo Capital Markets Australia has launched its new active trading platform that will let users trade over 35,000 financial instruments at no monthly fees and without expensive legacy hardware. The product is aimed at professional traders and smaller institutional investors, according to Saxo Capital Markets Australia chief executive Ben Smoker. “With SaxoTraderPRO, we are aiming to provide professional traders and institutional investors at the small and medium-sized funds segment with a higher level of platform tools and functionality, which allows them to operate with similar capabilities to what large institutions have,” Smoker said. SaxoTraderPRO allows trading of stocks, bonds, ETFs CFDs, futures, options, forex and other asset classes on compatible […]
Global 2018 digital banking sales report finds Australia again leads the way
Avoka, the global leader in digital customer acquisition for financial services, today released its third annual Digital Sales Report which found that Australian banks continue to excel compared with their peers in North America and Europe. The report analysed the digital account opening capabilities of the 50 largest banks in these regions (32 in 2017) and found that as banks capitalise on opportunities in the face of increasingly stiff competition, Australian banks once again lead in digital readiness. Avoka’s study focused on breadth of offer and ease of use, with the capability of 11 Australian banks assessed in the report. Commenting on the global findings, Avoka Chief Executive Phil Copeland […]
BGL releases the first SMSF Artificial Intelligence in Simple Fund 360
BGL Corporate Solutions, Australia’s leading supplier of SMSF administration and ASIC corporate compliance solutions, is proud to announce the release of Stage 1 of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistant for Simple Fund 360. This is a first in the SMSF admin software industry. “This is a huge achievement by our Simple Fund 360 Team” says “BGL Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “BGL has been working on AI for over 12 months. We needed to teach the AI Engine about SMSF transactions through a process known as Deep Learning. This results in Simple Fund 360 providing a level of confidence on where transactions have been allocated in the ledger based on the […]
Venture capital investment in FinTech reaches record US$27.4 billion high
Global investment in FinTechs by venture capital grew to a record $27.4 billion in 2017, spurred on by high deal value in the US, UK and India. Digital payments and lending services attracted the most investment capital. FinTech (financial technology) startups continue to draw the interest of venture capital around the world. Venture capital firms and funds continue to see great potential in the disruptive FinTech firms which are providing user-friendly financial services and products through modern and innovative technology: digital payments services and online lending platforms the foremost among them. Confidence in FinTech has accelerated venture capital financing in the industry to a record level of $27.4 billion in […]
