Competition heats up in Australia’s Neobanks, Digital Banks market
Since 2019, a wave of digital banks have arrived in Australia on a back of favourable legislation changes which took place in 2018. Today, Australia is home to five independent, licensed neobanks, in addition to a plethora of digital banking platforms. But more are expected to come, adding heat to the competition.
Volt Bank was the first neobank to receive a full banking license back in January 2019, after being granted a Restricted Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (RADI) in May 2018. The startup is pursuing a partnership model, focusing on striking agreements with different businesses to amass customers and provide perks like shopping discounts, co-founder and CEO Steve Weston told Business Insider Australia.
It recently announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop “Volt 2.0,” a next-generation Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform that would allow Volt Bank’s approved business partners to natively provide full-service banking and payments to their own clients. Volt 2.0 will act as an extension of pre-existing Volt Bank partnerships and is slated for release in 2021.
Founded in 2017, Volt Bank hasn’t fully launched yet and is currently in beta and live with a savings account product.
After Volt Bank, the second company to secure a full license was Judo Bank back in April 2019. Founded in 2016, Judo Bank is a neobank that specializes in business lending. Judo Bank offers tailored solutions for Australian small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and was built to make it easier for local businesses to get the funding they need.
86 400 was the third startup to be granted a full license in July 2019. 86 400 is an independent company backed by Cuscal Ltd, Australia’s leading independent payments provider, and offers transaction and high-interest savings accounts. It is currently the only neobank in Australia that directly provides home loans via brokers, claiming a process that’s five times quicker than at a traditional outfit.
Xinja Bank was the fourth player to get fully licensed back in September 2019, after receiving a RADI license in December 2018. Xinja Bank currently offers a high-interest savings account named Stash as well as a transaction account. It plans on launching loans and mortgages later this year.
IN1Bank, formerly known as BDB Corp, is latest player to have been granted a (RADI) license in December 2019. IN1Bank is building a full bilingual neobank targeting Chinese speaking customers in Australia.
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Source: Competition Heats up in Australia’s Neobanks, Digital Banks Market | Fintech Singapore
