FinTech will change more in the next 5 years than the last 30, says PayPal CEO
PayPal’s CEO has said that the financial technology (fintech) sector is going to change more in the next five years than it has done in the last 30. Speaking with CNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer, Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, said that millennials are changing the shape of many industries, in particular the finance sector. He said: You have to, to serve these markets, re-imagine how money can be managed and moved because there’s going to be more change in the next five years in financial services than happened in the past 30. According to Schulman, the millennial generation, those under the age of 30, think about everyday processes […]
Jacaranda Incubator Program – Backing Australian Fintech
Jacaranda Finance is on the hunt for Australia’s most exciting, high growth potential Fintech startup, establishing the Jacaranda Incubator Program. Background Jacaranda Finance is one of the fastest growing financial technology start-ups in Australia. With the recent launch of the new and improved Jacaranda decisioning engine, the young startup analyses vast quantities of data from numerous data sources within seconds. This allows the company to make smarter credit decisions and expand the availability of fair, affordable, responsible and more transparent credit solutions for consumers. “It’s no longer hard, expensive or impossible to acquire and process large volumes of data relating to our applicants”, says Daniel Wessels, CEO of Jacaranda. […]
Debt payment start-up Credit Clear poaches OpenPay’s CEO Simon Scalzo ahead of raise
Fintech payments technology start-up Credit Clear has poached the CEO of one of its start-up rivals as it prepares to embark on a $10 million capital raising push. The company, which automates the debt collection process and facilitates customer communication over Facebook Messenger, SMS or email, has lured Simon Scalzo from “buy now pay later” platform OpenPay to lead the company. Credit Clear launched in July and has been predominantly funded to date by its chairman and co-founder Mark Casey, a property developer who made $14 million from the sale of a sheep farm near Geelong. Mr Casey started the business alongside SpotJobs co-founder Lewis Romano, saying it would make it easier for people to pay […]
Supplying services to business the new growth area
Australia’s fintech sector is firing on all cylinders. More than 400 fintech companies are jostling for shoulder room in the market right now, and 72 per cent of these companies are supplying services to businesses. The upsurge in fintech companies can be attributed to the speed of business today, which places a greater premium on business readiness. Fintech companies are typically new financial services entrants providing genuine alternatives in areas such as wealth generation, lending, payments, insurance, cyber security and regulatory management. By global comparison, Australians are big fintech adopters. A recent report reveals that we have among the strongest fintech market penetration in the world, ahead of other advanced […]
Finch raises $2.25m for Gen Y finance app after ‘proving it can rival’ Silicon Valley fintechs
CommBank, Westpac, NAB to launch new mobile payment app Beem
Three giants of the Australian banking sector are collaborating to create a new mobile payments platform for consumers and businesses. The application is called Beem and will allow users to store their debit card information and make instant contactless payments using the same technology as applications like Apple Pay and Android Pay. Beem will also allow users to request payments and split bills, making it useful for both personal use and for businesses. Although being created by Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and NAB, the app will be open for use by all Australians regardless of which bank they use. Like regular online transfers, Beem will include built-in encryption of payment details […]
Cards are going to go away, says Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat
It’s a testament to his pragmatism, but Michael Corbat, the chief executive of Citigroup, the world’s biggest issuer of credit cards, is quite happy to concede that the popular financial product is doomed to extinction. “We know, at some point, cards are going to go away”, Corbat says in an exclusive interview with The Australian Financial Review, “and it’s just going to be digital wallet, digital payments.” This is why Citi is putting a major emphasis on “fintech” – from cutting-edge banking apps for mobile phones through to blockchain, artificial intelligence and robotics, to forging partnership with big players such as Alipay, Amazon and WeChat – to make sure that […]
Melbourne ‘buy now, pay later’ fintech Openpay just raised $10 million and cancelled IPO
Openpay has completed a $10 million capital raising round, and revealed it has cancelled plans for an initial public offering. The $10 million, which was originally marked as a pre-IPO round, came from “a group of investors” that included existing backer Meydan Group, as well as Investec and SL Investments Group. The company did not comment on the reasons for cancelling the IPO plans. Business Insider understands that chief executive Simon Scalzo departed the company in August after less than a year at the helm, with chairperson Avi Schechter currently acting as the public face of the fintech. The latest investment also sees Investec head of emerging companies David Phillips […]
