Cross-border digital payments company InstaReM receives US$13m investment
The latest round of investment brings the total amount raised to over US$18M from a consortium of some of the largest funds in the region. InstaReM, one of the leading digital cross-border payments companies, has received a US$13 million investment led by GSR Ventures, with participation from SBI-FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund (SBI-FMO Fund), Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH), and Global Founders Capital (GFC). To date, InstaReM has raised over US$18 million in the last 18 months. InstaReM, who lists Australia as its biggest market, will use the investment to build its global payment infrastructure, which has grown eight times in volume since its March 2016 funding. The […]
Former AFL star Ted Richards’ goal for robo adviser Six Park
Ted Richards learnt an important investment lesson as a young footballer, one that would lead him to pursuing a career in the financial services sector after he retired from sport. Richards was drafted to AFL club Essendon as a 17-year-old in late 2000 and once in the sporting system found himself getting paid relatively well for someone his age and wondering what to do with his money. A gift from his father, the Peter Lynch book One Up On Wall Street, gave him the idea of dabbling in the stock market. “I was 17, living at home and didn’t have a lot of expenses, so when I started getting pay […]
What is Blockchain Technology and why is it so popular
In 2008, a cryptographer named Satoshi Nakamoto—a name used by the unknown person or persons—invented Bitcoin. It is a digital currency that enables people to conduct peer-to-peer transactions without the help of any third party such as banks. Whenever we do any transactions, it happens through a third party such as a bank and regulatory laws, but in the blockchain schema, these transactions happen securely but anonymously without the involvement of any intermediaries. So you might ask how the current transactions are happening online with debit and credit cards? Current transactions happen through electronic intermediaries where we depend a lot on the third parties for trust and fraud detection. More […]
Link4 completes the set of cloud accounting marketplaces
eInvoicing is available to small businesses through the major accounting software marketplaces in Australia. Link4 secured a position within the marketplaces of the 6 main cloud accounting solutions in use by small business owners throughout Australia. These include, QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB, Reckon and Sage. Why is this important? Many software firms focus on supporting large organisations leaving small business owners with limited options available to them. But Link4 are committed to providing the latest technology solutions to save small business owners time and money. eInvoicing reduces the time spent on dealing with invoices by providing automation to both account payables and receivables processes. Being listed on all of the aforementioned […]
OnDeck launches ‘Turn That No Around’ campaign
Small business loan specialist OnDeck Australia has kicked off a campaign, #turnthatNOaround, targeted at small business owners who are looking to seize growth opportunities, but are unable to do so due to lack of funding from traditional sources. The campaign, which is already running on radio, is scheduled to run across outdoor, social (LinkedIn and Facebook) and digital media to encapsulate an integrated multi-channel outreach. With the #turnthatNOaround campaign, OnDeck aims to reach small business owners who have experienced a “no” from their banks, giving them an opportunity to secure a loan that is much faster than the banks – it takes just one business day. “Small business owners, which […]
National brokerage announces fintech partnership
A national mortgage broking franchise has harnessed the technology of local fintech Proviso to streamline the flow of customer data. MoneyQuest has entered into an agreement with Proviso to use its product BankStatements, enabling customers to seamlessly send their bank transaction data to brokers. The technology is also expected to boost conversion rates for brokers. “MoneyQuest is very proud of its reputation for providing a superior customer experience and our new partnership with Proviso utilising their product BankStatements is sure to take this customer experience to even greater heights,” MoneyQuest managing director Michael Russell said. “One of the biggest frustrations for both our customers and franchise owners is having to […]
Square’s payment ecosystem is now fully evolved
Everyone knows Square for their card readers and payment systems, but did you know Square has a fully evolved payment ecosystem to help your business in more ways than you thought? Square Country Manager Ben Pfisterer outlines seven features you may have missed. Virtual Terminal Virtual Terminal allows a business to enter a customer’s credit or debit card information without the need for a card reader or app. Simply log in on your computer and start taking payments either over the phone or in person. You can give employees access to take payments from their computers, too. You get your funds as fast as the next business day. […]
Scott Morrison hints at open data green light to boost banking competition
Treasurer Scott Morrison has hinted strongly that the government will give banking customers power over their own data so they can shop around for a better deal from other financial institutions. The change could be announced as early as budget night on Tuesday, at the same time the Treasurer launches a Productivity Commission inquiry into the State of Competition in the Australian Financial System, a process which could lead to sweeping change. There has already been a Productivity Commission inquiry into so-called open data and the government has the final report. The interim report on “data use and availability” sent to the government on March 31 called for customers to […]