How AI is becoming an asset to the finance industry
As AI transforms an increasing number of domains, players in the finance industry are moving fast to keep pace. While many people are aware of the term artificial intelligence (AI), this is largely in relation to the more extreme use-cases of AI such as flying cars and Sophia the AI robot. Yet, much of our contact of AI – and our understanding of it – revolves around products that affect our everyday lives as consumers. An example of this is within the finance industry. Many key players are leveraging the power of AI to improve their services. Here are three ways AI is disrupting the finance industry: Customer service chatbots […]
Matt Heine and Steve Tucker back fintech start-up
Artificial intelligence-enabled fintech start-up Nod has received a private capital injection from industry luminaries including Netwealth joint MD Matt Heine and Koda Capital chair Steve Tucker. In a statement, Nod announced it has raised $750,000 in capital as part of a funding round to support the its plans for expansion. The start-up, which “generates documents in real-time for finance professionals” using artificial intelligence, said it received the backing of a number of “key investors” including Mr Heine, Mr Tucker, Padua Financial Group executive chair Matt Esler, and venture capital firm H2 Ventures. Mr Heine said compliance-driven document generation had the potential to “save advice firms significant time, effort and expense” […]
Putting the service back into ‘Financial Services’
Founded in 1998, well before Fintech had emerged as a moniker for disruptors in the finance industry, OFX (formerly OzForex) has been at the forefront of international money transfer services for nearly 20 years. From humble beginnings in a garage in Dee Why, the company has grown from an information only facility, providing up to the minute insights to the best available foreign exchange rates, to a global organisation, handling over $100B in transactions. Fuelled by a desire to ‘give Australians a fair go’ when it came to foreign exchange, the Company has consistently stuck to its ‘fair go’ and ‘great service’ roots. Developing partnership networks with a panel of […]
Why SpotJobs co-founder Lewis Romano has switched into fintech and is looking to raise $10 million for Credit Clear
An Aussie fintech company co-founded by Lewis Romano of SpotJobs fame has launched a $10 million Series A fundraising round to help expand the business overseas. Credit Clear was founded in 18 months ago by Romano and prominent property developer Mark Casey to act as an online, on-demand debt payment service for individuals and businesses. The company has not raised a seed round and to date has been largely funded initially by Casey. Romano co-founded SpotJobs — one of Australia’s largest job board websites — in 2012 with Jake Williams, before exiting the business in October last year. A switch into fintech from the recruitment industry might not seem intuitive […]
Netwealth founders say AI, data mining to shape $750b platform market
The founders of financial planning platform Netwealth predict artificial intelligence and data mining will lead innovation in the fast-growing platform market, ahead of an expected $900 million sharemarket listing of the family company later this year, which could catapult its founders onto the Financial Review Rich List. Michael Heine, his brother Leslie Heine and and Michael’s son Matt Heine, founded the company, which provides software and financial products to non-bank aligned financial planners, in 1999. Since then, Netwealth, which now has funds under management, administration and advice of $15.5 billion and employs 220 staff, is among a clutch of increasingly influential companies that have built businesses by signing up advisers […]
Most loans to be sourced digitally ‘within 10 years’, says fintech
A web-based brokerage has predicted that “within five to 10 years” most home loans will be sourced through digital platforms. Re-iterating what he told The Adviser in May, the founder and CEO of online brokerage uno. has predicted that there is “huge potential” for digital broking in the future, despite digital mortgage origination currently representing less than 3 per cent of the mortgage market. Vincent Turner highlighted research undertaken by financial services firm Deloitte in 2016 for the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, which found that 27 per cent of broker customers and 34 per cent of direct-to-lender customers would consider making digital mortgage applications, as testament to this […]
Tech bounty to outstrip negative cyber-effects
The international ransomware attack this month that ensnared more than 150 countries — including Australia — brings to mind an intriguing question: can we afford to openly embrace digitalisation? Anthony Wong prefers to approach the conundrum from the opposite direction: can we afford not to? As president of the Australian Computer Society, Mr Wong is constantly told of the risks of digitalisation: robots replacing workers, disrupters pushing industries to extinction and personal data shipped off to the highest bidder. While he doesn’t discredit those fears, he reckons such concerns are outweighed by the opportunity to find solutions, adopt new skills and create fresh industries. “Artificial intelligence, robo advice, driverless cars, […]
The shape of superannuation to come
The superannuation system has undergone sweeping changes in recent years and the dust has yet to settle. According to a finance software provider, tomorrow’s super system will look markedly different to the one we know today. In a recently released white paper, software company Bravura said Australia’s super system is likely to undergo a number of changes to meet the new regulatory environment and the advancement of modern technology. The role technology is slated to play in the delivery of superannuation services in coming years is likely to increase drastically, the company said. Super funds will be able to collect “unprecedented” amounts of data from their members and use this […]
