No reason why Australia should not be a global leader in the fintech sector
by Scott Morrison MP, Federal Treasurer Digital disruption in financial services is changing the world. The opportunities that spring from this disruption, in a region with an Asian middle class increasingly empowered by choice, are there for our taking. Recently I travelled to Beijing to lead our representation at the Strategic Economic Dialogue with the Chinese government, and meet with major Chinese firms who are investing in Australia. Among the encouraging signs of China’s pursuit of sustainable economic growth, the prudency in which it is addressing debt and its continued openness to trade and investment, is the pace of digital change within their economy. While Silicon Valley, London or Singapore […]
One-month P2P investments popular with Millennials and Gen X
Data has revealed Millennial and Gen X peer-to-peer lending investors utilise the one-month market more than any other. Analysis of the $150 million invested in peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platform RateSetter since its 2014 launch shows over 70% of Millennial and Gen X investors on the platform have invested in the one-month market. For the one-year market, this figure was only 40% for Millennial investors and 42% for Gen X investors. CEO of RateSetter Daniel Foggo said the one-month market provides a “stable, attractive return of around 4% p.a.” with ready access to money. “Far from wasting money on avocado toast, these young investors are seizing the opportunity to make their […]
‘Banking for blockchain’ platform raises AUD$37m in pre-ICO round
ASX-listed blockchain solutions company DigitalX has announced Bankera has successfully closed its Pre-Initial Coin Offering (ICO) round by raising €25m (AUD$37m). Bankera, a digital fintech solution platform based in Europe, has closed €25m via the sale of 2.5 Billion Banker (BNK) tokens at €0.01 each. Bankera is building a regulated bank for the blockchain era, so it means it will be a digital bank with traditional banking services (eg, giving out loans) and will support both cryptocurrencies and regular currencies. With DigitalX as its corporate advisor, it held the token sale to fast-track the development of a ‘digital bank’ for consumers operating in the blockchain era. “This announcement is an […]
Digital banking has way to go: neobank Xinja’s Eric Wilson
The way neobanks see it, digital banking has barely scratched the surface, with newfangled banking apps nothing more than digitised versions of analog capabilities. It’s a view strongly endorsed by former National Australia Bank executive Eric Wilson, who is the co-founder of Australia’s first neobank Xinja — a 100 per cent digital bank (presently under construction) that’s designed entirely for the mobile market. Xinja’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s consultation paper on competition in the financial system, lodged yesterday, encapsulates why it stands alone in this country, in contrast to the proliferation of neobanks in countries like Britain (Monzo, Starling, Atom Bank and Tandem), and Germany (N26 and Fidor). Thankfully, […]
Bitcoin is beyond government control
Bitcoin has surged more than 33 per cent from Friday’s wave of panic selling, suggesting the cryptocurrency is becoming more and more immune to government intervention. After news broke that Chinese regulators were shutting down all exchanges on the mainland, the price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency plummeted over 40 per cent and dragged the price to a low of $US2,981 ($3741). Citing the lack of licensing and regulation, authorities gave the major exchanges operating in China 10 days to close their doors. As of Friday, the last exchange ceased trading and Bitcoin sustained heavy selling. However, over the weekend, exchanges throughout the rest of the world picked up […]
Equity crowdfunding a slow burn, advisers say
The legalisation of equity crowdfunding has met with enthusiasm from those hoping to raise money with it, but financial planners say it will be years before it is taken seriously by investors. Leading advisers contacted by The Australian Financial Review said no clients had approached them in relation to the new crowdsourced equity funding legislation, which was introduced by Treasurer Scott Morrison on Thursday. With Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos set to open The Australian Financial Review Innovation Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, the government is hoping equity crowdfunding will help bring start-ups and innovation closer to the average Australian, and boost support for the “ideas boom” agenda blamed for nearly […]
Consumers and businesses win in private company equity crowdfunding bill changes
FinTech Australia has welcomed significant changes to draft legislation allowing private companies to crowdfund equity, which will ensure investors are protected while at the same time delivering reduced costs and red tape for companies. The draft crowdfunding legislation was introduced into the Australian Parliament today. The legislation is expected to provide a new fund-raising tool accessible by hundreds of thousands of Australian businesses, who will be able to crowdsource up to $5 million a year from retail investors, capped at $10,000 per retail investor, in return for equity in their company. “We’re pleased to see the recent rapid progress in the development of this draft legislation, and in particular the […]
Criticism of Acorns’ fee structure is missing the point: a Millennial responds to ‘rip-off’ claims
Financial planners tell the rest of the population how to invest based on logic and structure. But most people look beyond just numbers when making decisions. Recently Gary Stone, chief executive of Share Wealth Systems and author of Blueprint to Wealth, wrote about Millennials being ripped off by investment apps such as Acorns. He pulled out his calculator and came up with a number of 6.2 per cent in fees that people with small balances were paying Acorns. He claimed this was outrageously high compared with other managed investments. But he has missed the point. An investment app such as Acorns is not a managed fund. It’s an education and […]
