Access to talent critical for innovators
The “Tech Pioneers 50” report, released on Wednesday, ranked Australian and New Zealand businesses on their capital raising efforts, sector diversity, innovation and success with consumers. Software “unicorn” Atlassian, valued at over $6 billion in 2015, was named the leading tech pioneer, while Kiwi accounting software company Xero was ranked second and creative hub Envato came in third. H2 Ventures founder Ben Heap, whose firm produced the report alongside investment bank Investec Australia, said the top 50 firms employed 5400 people in high-skilled roles that didn’t exist even a decade ago. He said the companies were best placed to lead the charge into the digital economy. “The next 10 to […]
Sapien Ventures’ first fintech investment is in Hashching
Wealthy Chinese migrants will help disrupt the Australian mortgage broking industry via an investment in Hashching, an online marketplace for home loans that is putting pressure on banks and their brokers. The investment will be the first for Sapien Ventures, which was established last year by Victor Jiang and has raised a $50 million fund to invest in fintech and online marketplaces. Much of the capital has been raised from high-net-worth Chinese migrants after changes to the Significant Investor Visa program last year that require migrants bringing $5 million into Australia to invest at least $500,000 in eligible venture capital. Sapien Ventures has invested $1 million in Hashching, and is […]
Banks still beat fintech firms on trust
Australia’s big banks have some breathing room compared to global markets when it comes to financial technology competitors but more needs to be done, according to a new report into world banking trends. Australia is slightly behind when it comes to picking up financial tech products, but those using them are far more likely to recommend them to friends, according to a 2016 World Retail Banking Report. The report suggested real strength could be found in collaborations between tech firms and banks. “Where they (banks) were strong in some areas, fintechs were strong in others and there was a real opportunity to partner,” Sharon Rode of consultancy firm Capgemeni told […]
Cyber security has become an economic imperative
Cyber security is an economic imperative. It is key to the protection of organisations of all sizes, to the personal data of our people, and to ongoing jobs growth and wealth creation. After all, a robust and thriving digital economy is built on trust. The Australian financial services industry, perhaps more than any other, has the most to gain from a strong and innovative national cyber security eco-system. The sector has a more mature understanding of cyber risk than other industries, and with a major shift towards digital and mobile engagement with customers, now more than ever it has the motivation to invest and develop capability in this area. In […]
Forget Melbourne v Sydney, Australian fintech must take a global view
In 1901 there was such a massive spat between Sydneysiders and Melburnians over which city should be capital of the newly federated Australia that a whole new city (and territory) was formed. Fast forward more than 100 years and nothing has really changed. Squabbling continues around everything from which city has the better cuisine to which has the better events. All good, natural competitiveness, but then last year it encroached on one of our most promising industries – the emerging fintech startup ecosystem. This Sydney-Melbourne fintech civil war risked diverting founders and investors away from the global opportunity. Domestic squabbling was followed shortly by another irrational fear of overseas markets […]
Waddle Integration With Xero Transforms Invoice Financing
Media Release Waddle Loans Pty Ltd (Waddle) has today announced a first-of-its-kind invoice financing product that integrates with Xero’s cloud accounting software. The solution is available through Xero’s Australian add-on marketplace giving small business owners a simple way to fix their cash flow by establishing a revolving line of credit based on the businesses unpaid invoices within Xero. This new financing solution enables small businesses to use their Xero data to boost cash flow by drawing funds against unpaid invoices the instant they are created, automating every aspect of the financing through a two-way real-time data exchange made possible by the connection. The new offering transforms the traditional “factoring” system, whereby small businesses sell outstanding invoices to a third party financier in […]
Fintech Market Growth to Add A$1 Billion New Value to Australian Economy by 2020
The global Fintech sector exhibited robust growth in 2014 when investment activity tripled to US$12.21 billion from US$4.05 billion in 2013. This activity continued in 2015 with an increase in global funding into Venture Capital (VC) backed Fintech startups. Fintech growth in 2015 was international, and Frost & Sullivan anticipates this international dispersion, as well as the global growth trend to continue with more Fintech companies successfully reaching the exit stage of funding in 2016. In the Asia-Pacific region, Fintech investments were concentrated in Australia, China and Singapore, and in 2015, skyrocketed to reach US$3.46b – a four-fold increase from 2014 to 2015. Asian Fintechs garnered strong support, with funding […]
ASIC talking to Singapore on fintech deal
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is talking to the Monetary Authority of Singapore about an agreement to ensure that regulation does not hinder the progress of fintech start-ups looking to operate across the countries’ borders. Fintech regulation has been a key agenda item at recent meetings of peak financial regulators across the globe and although the discussions between ASIC and MAS are at an early stage, it is understood both regulators are enthusiastic about seeing a deal come to fruition. The agreement would be based on a similar co-operation agreement between ASIC and the UK Financial Conduct Authority, which was signed just before Easter and was the first of […]
