Fintechs target millennials with online financial services
Millennials, a demographic group born between 1980 and 2000, make up one of the largest living generations and have now overtaken the baby boomers. Millennials are likely to fall into three categories: • Inheritors: With wealthy parents, they are major consumers while they wait to inherit. • Strivers: Coming from a more modest background, they are studying, saving and working hard with ambitions for promotion. They will borrow to support their lifestyle, not unlike inheritors. • Given-ups: They are more likely earning a low salary but continue to consume as much as the other two categories. Buying a house is not on the agenda, so they do not see the […]
Government must leave encryption alone, or it will endanger blockchain
If we could give Malcolm Turnbull one piece of economic advice right now – one piece of advice about how to protect the economy against a challenging and uncertain future – it would be this: don’t mess with encryption. Earlier this month the government announced that it was going to “impose an obligation” on device manufacturers and service providers to provide law enforcement authorities access to encrypted information on the presentation of a warrant. At the moment it’s unclear what exactly this means. Attorney-General George Brandis and Malcolm Turnbull have repeatedly denied they want a legislated “backdoor” into encrypted devices, but the loose way they’ve used that language suggests some sort […]
Search for 2017 Fintech 100 innovators kicks off
Nominations are now open for the 2017 KPMG & H2 Ventures Fintech 100, the annual list designed to recognize leading fintech innovators. Visit www.fintechinnovators.com by Thursday, 31 August 2017 and nominate your company, or any fintech you think should be considered for the Fintech 100. The Fintech100, available at www.fintechinnovators.com, is compiled by fintech investment firm, H2 Ventures in collaboration with KPMG’s Global Fintech practice. The annual Fintech 100 includes both the leading 50 established fintechs, and the most intriguing 50 “emerging stars.” How to nominate and the judging process: Nominations for the Fintech 100 can be made at www.fintechinnovators.com website by Thursday, 31 August 2017. […]
Fintech the future
According to Kate Carnell, there have been less than 10 complaints about fintech operators in Australia since March 2016. “None of these have been fully-fledged complaints,” the small business ombudsman says. “It was more a misunderstanding or even confusion as to the contract they entered.” Burgeoning industry There are an estimated 600 fintech operators in Australia. The industry is burgeoning and continues to attract new players, so receiving less than double-digit complaints in 16 months isn’t a bad track record. “In addition to those 600 there’s probably another 20 to 30 overseas-based fintech companies that are operating here such as PayPal, Stripe and Square, for example,” says Cameron Dart, Australian […]
Peer-to-peer lending remains unfamiliar for borrowers and investors
IT’S one of the fastest-growing financial products in Australia but two-thirds of us still have no idea what peer-to-peer lending is. New research by Finder.com.au has found despite the sector growing from one to eight lenders since it launched in Australia in 2012, 65 per cent of consumers don’t know about it and women are less likely than men to understand and use it. Peer-to-peer providers such as SocietyOne, Direct Money and RateSetter are fintech companies that link investors with borrowers using online platforms, typically offering better interest rates than people get from the banks. “Generally P2P providers may have fewer funds to spend on marketing,” Finder spokeswoman Bessie Hassan […]
SocietyOne breaks through $300 million of lending
SocietyOne, Australia’s pioneering and leading marketplace lender, has broken through $300 million of total originations since it started operating five years ago with 2017 on track to set further lending records. SocietyOne advanced over $100 million of new lending during the first half of 2017, underlining its position as the clear leader in the Australian consumer marketplace lending sector. Combined lending of $45 million in the first quarter of 2017 and $57 million in the second quarter resulted in year-on-year growth of almost 70% for the six months ending 30 June 2017. That compares to $61 million of new lending advanced in the first half of 2016. SocietyOne’s loan book […]
440,000 transactions per second with Red Belly Blockchain
The University of Sydney has recently announced that it has developed a new Blockchain-based system that can perform more than 440,000 transactions per second. Researchers from the School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney, who developed the new Blockchain, named this system after one of Australia’s most deadly snakes – Red Belly Blockchain, and claim that it has a game-changing potential for the financial transfers industry. Moreover, according to them, the Red Belly Blockchain allows for the exchange to occur in a peer-to-peer fashion, as well as in a commercial environment restricted to certain users, which makes it the first blockchain being built to work both in public […]
Winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017
Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017. The 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards celebrate the achievements of the dynamic people and businesses comprising the FinTech sector. These Awards seek to recognise success in the FinTech sector in its many forms. The event was a fantastic evening of celebrating the best innovation, created by the best innovators and entrepreneurs that live and work in Australia. Here are the winners for the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017: FinTech Innovation in payments ZipMoney FinTech Innovation in Wealth Management (Robo-Advice) Pocketbook FinTech Innovation in Lending Tyro Payments Best FinTech Communications Campaign BRICKX Best Research […]
