Aussie fintech startup building an investment platform for rapidly growing global retire early movement
Whether you’re an intern, executive or somewhere in between, everyone wants the option of not having to work, the sooner the better for most. While the end goal is easy to picture, the path to get there seems very complicated, or even imaginary. Housing affordability, negative gearing, royal commissions and fund returns are topical stresses for older Australians. A bigger issue is younger generations not building savings in a world of credit and higher discretionary spending. Younger people work as hard as past generations but have different relationships with. Bad financial discipline results in declining happiness as financial pressure builds and is passed on to future generations. But, according to […]
Stake unlocks $31 trillion US share market for Aussies, launching new trading app
Rapidly-growing Australian fintech startup Stake is set to revolutionise trading and open up direct access to the $31 trillion US stock market as its new trading app launches today. The app is the first to give Aussies access to more than 3,000 shares to invest in some of the world’s biggest companies with $0 brokerage, right from the palm of their hands. The app launch comes as Stake announces significant company growth. More than $50 million (US$38 million) has been transacted on the site, with more than 39,000 trades and 12,000 users who are taking advantage of low-cost, simple direct access to the US market. This next big milestone — […]
Online lender Prospa delays float 30 minutes to listing
The sharemarket float of online lender Prospa has been postponed about half an hour before the planned listing, after the corporate watchdog wanted further details of its small business loan contracts. Prospa and its joint lead managers – investment banks UBS and Macquarie – said the 48-hour delay was because it was “seeking to clarify queries raised by ASIC yesterday in relation to Prospa’s small business loan terms,” as part of a wider review. “Prospa was first contacted yesterday by ASIC in relation to its industry-wide review of small business lending – bank and non-bank. The review covers a range of topics,” a Prospa spokeswoman said. “We take our legal […]
Wisr appoints Chief Operating Officer
Australian neo-lender Wisr Limited (ASX: WZR) today announced the appointment of Mathew Lu as Chief Operating Officer. Mr Lu has deep experience in the Australian unsecured consumer finance industry with 18 years experience in senior financial services and payment technology roles, including most recently with the Commonwealth Bank where he was Executive Manager for Retail and Commercial Credit Cards. In his new role at Wisr, Mathew will be responsible for operations across the business with a particular focus on the execution of innovation through technology, managing the end-to-end customer journey, and delivering on the company vision of bringing financial wellness to everyday Australians. Anthony Nantes, Chief Executive Officer Wisr said […]
The future of money relies on digital
by Carlo Lacota, Head of Banking and Financial Services, ANZ at Cognizant The era of digital disruption has brought new challenges involving security, privacy, and technology access. It is therefore imperative for financial services providers to take stock and consider how to deepen their customer relationships. The inability to capitalise on the opportunity that digital brings to attract and retain customers will increase churn velocity and further increase cost as customer retention costs far less than acquisition. Our relationship with money is broken A recent global study by Cognizant revealed that people’s relationship with money is broken, with over half of the study respondents saying money and […]
Macquarie adopts open banking solution
Macquarie customers will be one of the first to test the new open banking regime with the help of a fintech. Retail finance solutions provider Zip Co, which operates under its zipPay and zipMoney brands, will allow Macquarie customers to add banking and credit card accounts via personal financial management app Pocketbook. Zip Co acquired Pocketbook in 2016 and currently has more than 400,000 users. The app integrates with Macquarie’s open banking platform, giving customers the option to connect and manage personal finances. Zip co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond said as momentum for this type of innovation is quickly growing, the integration with Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group […]
Artificial intelligence has arrived in investing but humans are still dominating
Machines are starting to take the place of the people who flip burgers, drive across town and, lately, manage stock portfolios. Artificial intelligence is taking on a bigger role in making investment decisions. AI, including an ability to analyse data and actually learn from it, is considered useful in executing certain investing models, such as high-frequency trading, and in helping fund managers with tasks that rely on gathering and interpreting reams of information. Going a step further, an exchange-traded fund introduced in October uses AI algorithms to choose long-term stock holdings. It is too early to say whether the AI Powered Equity ETF will be a trendsetter or merely a […]
Milestone for equity crowdfunding in Australian with ASIC licence approval
OnMarket will be one of the first businesses in Australia to raise capital this year through ‘the crowd’, following the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s approval of its equity crowdfunding licence. Equity crowdfunding brings entrepreneurs and retail investors together for the first time and is only now possible following today’s licence approval. Equity crowdfunding enables Australian retail investors to contribute as little as $50, or as much as $10,000 in a business. The new licenses follow federal legislation announced last year. OnMarket will bring investment opportunities through Australian businesses to ordinary Australians through its online platform and app. Investors will be connected to Australian businesses like Revvies, which […]
