Fintech investment doubled while Australian banks hammered
Investment in financial technology startups more than doubled last year while Australian banks came under intense public scrutiny for their treatment of customers. Globally, fintechs managed to attract US$26.7 billion investments in the 2017-18 year, which was 107 per cent more than the year before, according to Accenture analysis of CB Insights data. The increase could be directly attributed to fintech’s explosive growth in China, where the amount of money that went into the sector stunningly increased nine-fold. Its US$25.5 billion of capital raising in this nation alone almost matched the US$26.7 billion generated in the rest of the world. Australia saw similar growth with US$756.7 million total investment into […]
Mint partners with Velocity Frequent Flyer
Australian-based Mint Payments (ASX: MNW) has partnered with Velocity Frequent Flyer, the frequent flyer program of Virgin Australia. Following last month’s launch of their “Rewarding Payments” brand platform, Mint has entered into a partnership with Velocity Frequent Flyer that enables merchants to earn Velocity Frequent Flyer Points on eligible transactions processed through Mint’s payment services. Mint Payments’ Co-founder & Group CEO, Alex Teoh, said, “Our partnership with Velocity has been launched in response to overwhelming feedback we’ve heard from merchants — that they just don’t see any meaningful value for the fees they’re charged by payment service providers”. “The partnership is an important part of our promise to merchants; it […]
GBST launches industry-first SaaS middle office on Amazon Web Services with voice control
Global fintech GBST (GBT.ASX) launched their Syn~TAC SaaS at Sibos 2018 in Sydney. The industry-first SaaS middle office has been developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services, Inc (AWS) and is supported by leading Electronic Trade Confirmations (ETC) providers SWIFT and DTCC. The cloud-based offering reduces deployment and running costs, and features advanced voice control, another industry-first which improves middle office efficiency with authenticated, secure and auditable Push-to-Talk (PTT) technology. By partnering with AWS, GBST has been able to integrate with Amazon LEX™, allowing operators to augment their use of the system through voice queries and commands. With the help of a virtual assistant called ‘Syndy’, system operators can analyse, […]
Mint believes the future of payments is more rewarding, unveiling a bold new brand and vision.
Australian-based Mint Payments (ASX: MNW) has unveiled a new brand, new hires, and a bold promise to make payments more rewarding for merchants in the increasingly commoditised category. Following Mint’s announcement in April 2018 that it would increase focus on its Direct-to-Customer offering, the company commissioned a strategic deep-dive into the unmet needs and drivers of customers across its key verticals, including Hospitality, Travel, Retail and On-The-Go businesses. The work resulted in a new vision to create a different kind of payment experience — one that rewards customers, not just their business. Mint Payments’ Co-founder & Group CEO, Alex Teoh, said: “To help us design a richer Direct-to-Customer offering, we […]
Stone & Chalk appoints new Chairman and Board, prepares for ‘scale-up’ phase
Asia’s largest fintech innovation hub, Stone & Chalk, is today announcing the appointment of a new chairman and suite of new board members, as it prepares for its next phase of growth, transitioning out of “start-up” mode to “scale-up” mode itself. After the conclusion of Stone & Chalk’s AGM in November, Leona Murphy, who had already served for three years on the board, will move up and replace Craig Dunn as Chairman, whose three-year term was set to expire. Speaking on Craig’s departure, Stone & Chalk CEO, Alex Scandurra, said; “I will forever be grateful to have served as CEO alongside someone with the wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion […]
Stone & Chalk: The Marketplace for FinTechs Breaking the Mould
Fintech has continued to be one of the dominant focus areas for innovation globally in 2018 and has well and truly established itself as the fastest growing sector in the financial services industry worldwide. As bold new solutions spring up from startups, the industry has seen a massive shift in shaking up the way traditional financial services operate forever. In 2015, Stone & Chalk was born to support the growth of the highest quality fintech startups across Australia. It now has two main innovation hubs in Sydney and Melbourne. Today, Stone & Chalk is home to Australasia’s leading independent fintech hub for startups, scaleups, industry associations and investors. Through Stone […]
Irish fintech Priviti launches in Sydney as Australia prepares for Open Banking and the Consumer Data Right
As Australia prepares for its new Open Banking standards and the Consumer Data Right, Priviti, the global fintech company, is helping banks get ready to comply with new legislation and empower consumers with greater control over how their personal data is shared. Its extensive experience with global data protection laws such as PSD2 and GDPR means Priviti has seen the paradigm shift in the way financial organisations and individuals view their data, and how their systems need to change, explains Dermot McCann, Priviti’s Head of APAC. “Every day a bank is potentially engaging in new activities that could impair their compliance, particularly now in this new era of Australian Open […]
BetaShares to launch three new ETFs to the ASX
The new ETFs will track international companies and offer exposure to blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies. Australian exchange traded funds (ETF) manager BetaShares has today announced its plans to launch three new ETFs on the ASX. The ETFs will track international markets and will provide exposure to new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). The three new ETFs are BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX:ASIA), BetaShares Global Blockchain Innovators ETF (ASX:BLOK) and BetaShares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX:RBTZ). Unlike a listed investment company (LIC), which has fund managers actively picking stocks in an attempt to beat the market, ETFs simply mirror the performance of a particular […]
