Xinja launches equity crowdfunding with partner Equitise
Crowdfunding is about to become reality with Xinja today unveiling plans that allow everyday Australians to directly join the digital banking revolution through the Equitise crowdfunding platform.
Xinja’s full retail crowdfunding round follows the passage of national legislation last month that gave the green light to this form of capital raising.
Investors will be able to invest as little as $1,000 in Xinja, with at least $500,000 likely to be injected via crowdfunding into the neobank’s current $10 million-$15 million round.
Eric Wilson, the Chief Executive of Xinja, said he is very excited that Australian consumers now have the chance to be ground-floor investors in the digital banking revolution.
“Xinja is all about creating a new kind of banking experience – and crowdfunding is part of that. If people want a new kind of bank, this is their opportunity to build their own,” Mr Wilson said.
‘Equitise have a similar attitude to their industry as we do to ours. They are passionate about the untapped possibilities for equity crowdfunding in Australia, and this matched our desire to involve our customers in Xinja,” he said.
Equitise co-founder Chris Gilbert said there is huge demand in the market from investors looking to help build and cultivate disruptive companies like Xinja.
“For everyday Aussie investors this is their chance to not only invest in a bank, but to build a better kind of bank in Xinja,” Mr Gilbert said.
“We’re thrilled that this truly disruptive neobank will be the first one that retail investors can invest in on our platform. It’s a great fit, with Equitise and Xinja coming together to form the future of digital banking by harnessing the power and amazing potential of equity crowdfunding.”
Mr Wilson said Xinja had always planned to access crowdfunding as soon as it became legal in Australia to give its founding customers a chance to own a part of the business.
“It is very important to us that our customers can share in our future success. While Xinja already has a number of committed and prominent investors on-board, equity crowdfunding means that others who are energised by the Xinja story can also become directly involved and benefit from our commitment to change the face of Australian banking,” he added.
Mr Wilson said Xinja is delighted that the overwhelming majority of current investors are again participating in the latest capital raising and has been inspired by the incoming stream of new investors wanting to help build the company.
“A significant inspiration for us was the success Monzo achieved in the UK crowdfunding market. This certainly gives us confidence that Australian customers will be very interested in Xinja’s offering,” he said.
Monzo – the UK neobank – is a trailblazer in the UK finance industry and Jason Bates, one of Monzo’s founders, sits on the Xinja board.
Funds raised from the crowdfunding will be used for developing Xinja’s core banking platform, which is the next cab off the rank after the first product – a pre-paid card – launches in February next year.
Xinja has applied to be an ADI (Approved Deposit-taking Institution) and aims to launch deposit accounts in mid-2018, subject to licence approval
