Open banking framework to drive customer choice and innovation across Australia
Australia’s fintech industry has welcomed an Australian Government decision to put the customer first by pushing back against big bank delaying tactics and introducing open banking reforms from mid-next year. “A government-backed open banking framework will be a game-changer for consumers and businesses, along with drive a new wave of fintech innovation and growth in Australia,” said FinTech Australia chair Stuart Stoyan. “Finally, customers will be able to use a regulated system to unlock the power of their own data to get access to financial services better tailored to their needs.” “This reform is expected to force downward pressure on lending costs, allow people to more easily manage their budget and […]
2018-19 Budget steady for Australian fintech – but the big news is yet to come
Australia’s fintech industry will benefit from a number of important support measures in last night’s 2018-19 Australian Budget but will be forced to wait for the big news about the details of Australia’s open banking framework. FinTech Australia chair Stuart Stoyan said he welcomed a number of funding measures outlined in the budget. These included: $44.6 million over four years from 2018-19 to help Australian consumers to more easily access and use their own data, with the banking sector to be the first Australian industry sector to be subject to this consumer right. $700,000 in 2018-19 for the Digital Transformation Agency to investigate areas where blockchain technology could ‘offer the […]
OurCrowd reaches $1bn funds under management with $200m from Australian backers
Israel-founded equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has become one of the biggest sources of offshore venture capital for Australian investors, revealing it just surpassed $1 billion under management, globally with more than 20 per cent or $200 million coming from Australian investors. OurCrowd, which has achieved 20 exits from company investments since launching in 2012 and currently backs 150 start-ups and scale-ups including one in Australia, allows wholesale investors to back those companies with a minimum investment of $10,000. Since it launched in Australia in 2014 it has picked up 2000 accredited investors locally out of a global crowd of 25,000. It takes a minimum 5 per cent stake alongside its […]
Angel investor group Investible raising $20m to back early stage start-ups
Member-based venture capital firm Investible is halfway through raising its first VC fund of $20 million, which will be used to back early stage start-ups, as it claimed its existing portfolio was delivering market-leading growth. Investible’s co-founder Creel Price told The Australian Financial Review the four-year-old operation had so far achieved an unrealised compound return of 66.2 per cent per annum, based on its investments in start-ups such as Canva, Ipsy and Car Next Door, which he said made it one of the best in the industry. This means the value of the companies it has backed has grown on paper, and he said it compared favourably to high-profile funds […]
IncentiaPay to crack Chinese tourist market with Alipay
ASX-listed IncentiaPay is partnering with Australia and New Zealand’s largest independent EFTPOS provider to give over 55,000 Australian retailers the chance to target Chinese tourists with discount deals and offers via Alipay. Alipay is an e-wallet payment method that is favoured by the Chinese. In a market update this week, IncentiaPay — known until recently as BPS Technology — said the marketing agreement with Smartpay Holdings was aimed at increasing its exposure to Alipay and the whopping $13 billion annual Chinese tourist spend in Australia and New Zealand. Under the deal, the payment providers will leverage the more than 55,000 merchants across their networks to promote goods and services to […]
Novatti makes commercially astute blockchain move
Online payments processor Novatti Group (ASX: NOV) has made a commercially-astute move into blockchain payments by integrating its proprietary payments platform with The Stellar Network, an open-source protocol for exchanging money used via shared servers and “forming a global value exchange network”. In essence, Stellar is a blockchain-payment and asset transfer platform connecting banks, payment systems and customers with a network of low-cost financial services providers, including financial institutions, payment aggregators and technical specialists. The prime feature which attracts users is the commonly-shared commitment to support a new and inclusive global infrastructure for payments. Stellar is growing rapidly and sports a proprietary “native asset” digital currency called the Lumen. Its […]
The Australian fintech startups disrupting home loans
A new type of fintech company is helping home buyer owners save on their home loans, using technology to drive competition and take business from the big banks. The differences between mortgage deals offered by the big four banks are hard to spot and even harder to work out when looking for a home loan deal, according to an investigation by the consumer watchdog, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The watchdog says there are signs of “less-than-vigorous” price competition in Australia’s $1.75 trillion mortgage lending industry. However, a group of startups are trying to change that. A number of property-related fintechs have lodged entries to this year’s Finnie […]
Founded by the crowd: the new way to invest in Australian businesses
Equity crowdfunding is a relatively new way for Australians to invest. It’s a smart way to collect donations for a charity cause or raise capital for new products and with recent changes to Australian investment laws, crowdfunding platforms can now be used to raise equity capital for a business startup. This change opens a new funding stream for fledgling creative companies to gain investors and get their idea into the marketplace faster. So what opportunities and pitfalls are there for businesses who are considering equity crowdfunding? Three forms of crowdfunding There are three forms of crowdfunding and first up is, Donation or Charity based Crowdfunding, which has been available to […]
