Start-up bank says drop $50m capital requirement
The prudential regulator’s insistence that banks have at least $50 million in Tier 1 capital has erected a substantial barrier to entry for new players, says Xinja, the start-up backed by former Macquarie executives which is working with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority’s newly established licensing unit to become a bank. The federal government said in the May budget it would lift a prohibition on the use of the word “bank” by an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADIs) with less than $50 million in capital. The next day, APRA announced its new licensing unit. Xinja’s ambition to use the new law and unit to build Australia’s first “neobank” were revealed in […]
Prospa raises $20m from Partners for Growth
Online business lender Prospa has raised $20 million from Silicon Valley-based Partners for Growth through a tailored debt facility that will allow it to ramp up loans and further develop its technology allowing credit assessments to be made in seconds. Prospa, which has lent more than $400 million to small businesses, up from $250 million in February after a strong fourth quarter, has deals with 4000 distribution partners, including finance brokers and cloud accounting platforms. It also has a referral partnership with Westpac Banking Corp. Prospa chief financial officer Ed Bigazzi said some of the new capital will be used for product development, including in invoice financing, and a stronger […]
Australia leads non-core markets in fintech investment deals, but what does the sector need to grow?
Australia has emerged alongside Brazil as a leading fintech market after facilitating the largest fintech investment deals outside of the core markets of Asia, Europe and North America in the past 12 months, a report from CB Insights has found. The Global Fintech Trends report analysed global trends and found that half of the 10 largest fintech deals outside of core markets took place in Australia between the second quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017. The remaining four took place in Brazil, and one took place in South Africa. Online small business lending platform Prospa topped the five Australian deals that made the list with its AirTree Ventures-led $25 […]
H2 Ventures hosts fourth annual Sydney Fintech Expo to support aspiring start-ups
H2 Ventures together with the ASX and Investec Australia, will today host the fourth annual H2 Ventures Expo. Fintech industry leaders and investors will join H2 Ventures, one of Australia’s leading fintech investment firms, at its annual Fintech Expo which aims to bring together a collective of early stage venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to promote growth and continue to drive change in the financial series industry in Australia. The Expo features a panel discussion with industry leaders, discussing the state of the Ecosytem. The panel includes Elaine Stead of Blue Sky Funds, Katherine McConnell of Brighte and Wyatt Roy of Afiniti, moderated by Cathy Kovacs from […]
This Australian Bitcoin exchange startup just raised $815,000 to expand globally and add Ethereum to its platform
An Australian Bitcoin trading startup has secured $815,000 in a series A round it says was oversubscribed by double the original target amount. Melbourne-based Bitcoin.com.au that allows everyday Australians to buy and sell Bitcoins — including the ability to have cash handed over at more than 1,200 physical locations including Commonwealth Bank and Westpac branches, and selected newsagents. Business Insider understands the startup was seeking $500,000 for the round, but ended up having more than $1 million offered to it for overseas expansion and diversification into different types of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin.com.au was formed in 2015 and charges a 5% fee on the spot rate to generate revenue. Sydney’s Alium Capital […]
CommSec founder Paul Rickard is investing in HashChing and joining its board
CommSec founder Paul Rickard and finance media figure Marty Switzer are joining the board of Australian online mortgage marketplace startup HashChing after joining in the company’s $6 million capital raising round. “The HashChing business model of connecting home loan borrowers with customer reviewed brokers and the best rates is unique, and I am excited by the investment opportunity,” said Rickard. Rickard founded the CommSec online retail stockbroking service in 1994, and served as its managing director until 2002. He also served as Commonwealth Bank’s executive general manager for payments and business tech until 2009. HashChing, which has been recently incrementally extending out from purely mortgages to services like home insurance […]
More than $600 million in funding went into Australian startups last quarter, and fintech took the most cash
Startup tracking service Techboard has compiled its first national numbers on capital raised in the Australian startup community, finding $625 million had been raised for the quarter ending June. The amount includes equity, debt facilities, acquisitions and grants for more than 100 startups and “young” tech companies less than 10 years old (or had a significant “pivot” in the past decade). “We put together our funding reports based on the data collected in the course of running the monthly Techboard Ranking, supplemented with intel from Techboard’s many investor contacts across the country,” co-founder Rafael Kimberley Bowen said. NSW led the states for most money raised, although if fintech ZipMoney’s massive […]
