Private companies face public conundrum under new crowdfunding rules
The Federal Budget extended crowdfunding opportunities to private companies, but a closer look at the amended legislation reveals they may still be forced to act more like public companies. A sticking point from the Federal Government’s Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Act 2017, was that there was no scope for private (proprietary limited) companies to access crowdfunding. Government sought to address this in the latest Federal budget, but there could be a catch. The Crowdfunding bill passed in March, and becomes law this September. Feedback suggested few start-ups would consider crowdfunding under the model due to private companies being unable to raise money from the new crowdfunding regime, and the compliance […]
ZipMoney lands largest debt facility in Australian fintech history with $260 million led by NAB
Sydney company ZipMoney has secured a $260 million debt facility led by the National Australia Bank, in what the startup claims is the largest such deal in Australian fintech history. ZipMoney announced to the ASX on Wednesday that the facility would consist of $200 million from NAB, $40 million through two-year bonds issued through FIIG Securities, and $20 million in junior notes and equity. An “immediate refinance of $70 million of existing receivables” will take place using the NAB facility, resulting in an instant reduction in interest for the business. The startup operates a “buy now, pay later, with no interest” service — integrating into online retail stores to reach […]
Winners at The Finnies!
Congratulations to those Australian Fintech companies and their fearless leaders who won awards last night at the inaugural Finnies Fintech Awards: Female Fintech Leader of the Year: Emma Weston, AgriDigital Co-Founder & CEO Joint Male Fintech Leaders of the Year: Greg Moshal & Beau Bertoli, Prospa Co-Founders Fintech Organisation of the Year: Afterpay Emerging Fintech Leader of the Year: Emma Weston, AgriDigital Co-Founder & CEO Emerging Fintech Organisation of the Year: Spaceship Best Fintech place to work: Prospa Best workplace diversity: Timelio Marketing Campaign or Brand Initiative of the Year: Equitise – Equitise Bubble Excellence in establishing Market Presence (Australia): BrickX […]
Bitcoin blows past USD$2,100 for the first time
Bitcoin is seemingly unstoppable right now. The cryptocurrency topped both $US2,000 and $US2,100 for the first time on Sunday night/Monday morning. It’s now trading up $US106.11, or 5.2%, at $US2130.69 a coin. Monday’s advance has been fuelled by further weakness in the US dollar, and news that Peach has become Japan’s first airline to accept the cryptocurrency, Bloomberg says. Bitcoin has gained in 24 of the past 27 sessions, and is up more than 82% over that time. According to CoinMarketCap.com, bitcoin now has a market cap of nearly $US35.9 billion. The rally has seemingly been sparked by news out of Japan at the beginning of April that bitcoin is […]
The shape of superannuation to come
The superannuation system has undergone sweeping changes in recent years and the dust has yet to settle. According to a finance software provider, tomorrow’s super system will look markedly different to the one we know today. In a recently released white paper, software company Bravura said Australia’s super system is likely to undergo a number of changes to meet the new regulatory environment and the advancement of modern technology. The role technology is slated to play in the delivery of superannuation services in coming years is likely to increase drastically, the company said. Super funds will be able to collect “unprecedented” amounts of data from their members and use this […]
How a spreadsheet born in a Sydney living room became a fintech with 300,000 users
It was only in 2012 that Pocketbook founders Bosco Tan and Alvin Singh had enough of not knowing where their money was going, and decided they could only fix the problem themselves. “Pocketbook started out as a spreadsheet,” Singh told Business Insider. “I was trying to make my money go further — and not knowing where I actually stood financially in terms of money coming in and money going out meant that that was extremely difficult even to start out.” Singh said that he had a main bank, an everyday credit card and an occasional credit card for online purchases, which made it that much harder to form a high […]
Bitcoin taps fresh record highs amid rising demand from Japan, China
Bitcoin climbed above USD$2,000 for the first time Saturday on increased demand from Japanese and Chinese investors. The digital currency rose more than 4.5 percent to hit an all-time high of USD$2,061.88, according to CoinDesk.com. Bitcoin was last trading near USD$2,047. Japan accounted for nearly 55 percent of trade volume, up from near 40 percent Thursday, according to CryptoCompare.com. Prices for bitcoin on the Hong Kong-based Bitfinex exchange rose, narrowing a recent gap with the global rate in anticipation that bitcoin traded on Bitfinex can soon be easily converted to U.S. dollars. Chris Burniske, a blockchain products lead analyst at fund manager ARK Invest, pointed out in a tweet Saturday […]
Stockspot CEO Chris Brycki says advisers will become financial ‘curators’
The financial adviser of the future will be a “curator of digital services”, with no alignment to any particular bank or wealth manager, says Chris Brycki, the founder of a disruptive robo-adviser that gives investors access to low-cost exchange traded funds. Financial Review Rich Lister Graham Tuckwell led a $3 million capital raising for Stockspot this month to help the robo-adviser expand its team of engineers, rather than build up financial advice expertise. “It’s going to be more about technology and less about teams of financial advisers, analysts and fund managers, who in our view don’t add the value that we can add,” Mr Brycki said. “Their [financial advisers’] role […]
