86 400 secures national distribution with Vow Financial, readies home loan offering
SME lending is a valuable source of diversification for brokers says fintech lender OnDeck Australia
The Banking Royal Commission has highlighted the perils of relying on a single revenue stream, and SME lender OnDeck Australia is urging mortgage brokers to think beyond home loans and diversify into SME lending. Research by commercial lending fintech OnDeck Australia[1] confirms that 25 percent of Australia’s small to medium enterprises plan to seek additional business finance. Michael Burke, Head of Sales at OnDeck Australia, says, “There is clearly strong demand for SME finance, making this a revenue channel that brokers cannot afford to overlook. Moreover, our discussions with brokers indicate that, on average, one in four of a broker’s existing home loan clients are SME owners, providing a ready […]
Australian and African tech startups forge Blockchain-Powered partnerships
Now fintech companies like Australian startup Power Ledger are combining renewable solar energy and blockchain tech to deliver P2P energy trading solutions. They have already expanded their activities in India, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the US and are looking for more opportunities. They have attended ACTAI & Bitfury’s Annual Blockchain Summit in Morocco last year, discussing how blockchain and bitcoin-based tech can help transform the region and the world. Last year, Tanzanian fintech startup ClickPesa joined forces with Australian fintech and telecom leader Novatti Group to facilitate cross-border transactions for Australian mining companies based in Tanzania. They used an AUD utility token and the blockchain-based Stellar protocol, which provides a […]
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Australian banking giant ANZ fails to understand Blockchain Technology
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) — Australia’s third-largest bank by market cap — doubts blockchain technology’s ability to provide trustless transactions, at least for now. Additionally, the firm acknowledges the benefits of the technology but claims banks don’t need to make the switch. Could ANZ be any more wrong? After curiously examining distributed ledger tech, ANZ associate director of trade and supply chain product Maria Bellmas, stated the futuristic technology is far from becoming the main method of executing trusted payments. Taking another jab at blockchain, Bellmas claimed most of the hype surrounding the technology is created by “crypto fanatics” trying to find comfort in the ongoing bear market. […]
Automic Group appoints FinTech leader Astrid Raetze to accelerate growth
Automic Group announces the appointment of Astrid Raetze as an Executive Director. A tech company that provides a unique ecosystem of share registry, company secretarial, legal and finance services, and which already services more than 10 per cent of ASX listed companies, Automic is delighted to celebrate the appointment of an exceptional leader. Astrid was previously a partner at KPMG, where she was the Australian Head of FinTech. She has more than 20 years of experience in the finance and legal industries, including a long tenure with Baker & McKenzie where she was the Global Head of FinTech, a member of the Global Innovation Committee and the Australian lead for […]
Westpac abandons financial advice
Westpac will get out of the troubled personal advice sector and two of its top executives will depart the bank as it joins its big-four rivals in abandoning the once-dominant model of vertical integration. The bank announced on Tuesday it would exit the high-cost, loss-making business, producing $280 million in savings by 2020. Westpac group executives George Frazis and Brad Cooper will leave the bank as part of the changes. Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer said most customers did not differentiate between banking and wealth products and just wanted help to buy a home or plan for retirement. “We’re realigning our capabilities into the lines of business where it makes […]
How Lakeba Group uses AI to identify business opportunities – and when it lets humans take over
Rather than picking a single problem and solving it, Australian technology company Lakeba Group is hedging its bets, using AI to unearth a range of business opportunities, commercialising the underlying technology components as well as applying it to industry-specific use cases. So far the Manly-based company has identified seven commercial ventures, including the Shelfie, a joint venture with Microsoft, and Paid By Coins, a payment service that lets users pay their bills with cryptocurrencies, which Mobecom recently acquired a 80 per cent stake in for $6 million. Giuseppe Porcelli, Lakeba Group CEO, spoke to Which-50 about how the company approaches innovation and commercialising its ideas. Lakeba Group’s neural network is […]
