Tech startup investor David Jackson launches P2P fintech platform FundX
Prominent Sydney-based venture capital investor David Jackson has branched out from advisory positions and founded FundX to help small and medium-sized businesses get funding. Mr Jackson, was an early stage investor in businesses such as Ingogo, Hey You, Crowd Mobile and Drive My Car and is well known in the local tech start-up industry. He is part of fintech incubator Stone & Chalk, tech accelerator BlueChilli and a board member of angel investment group Sydney Angels. Despite only being in beta testing since October, his peer-to-peer lending site has processed $1 million in loans and rejected another $5 million. FundX uses big data, machine learning and predictive algorithms to assess […]
ANZ boss Shayne Elliott hot for start-up investments as it partners with Honcho
ANZ Banking Group has partnered with Sydney-based Honcho to fast-track customer small business registrations, as new boss Shayne Elliott drives the bank to work more closely with technology start-ups. ANZ’s managing director of corporate and commercial banking, Mark Hand, says ANZ is open to investing equity into fintech start-ups. It could establish a referral relationship with an online business lender, similar to the arrangement Westpac has with Prospa and Commonwealth Bank of Australia has with OnDeck. After Mr Elliott said he wanted his legacy to be defined by digital banking and criticised ANZ’s siloed approach to technological innovation in an interview with BOSS magazine earlier this month, Mr Hand said […]
Media Release – Turnbull Government backing FinTech
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison today announced the establishment of an expert advisory group to help make Australia the leading market for financial technology – or FinTech – in the Asia Pacific region. Financial services is the largest sector of our economy, employing around 450,000 people and contributing over $140 billion to the economy last financial year. Although Australia is a leading financial services market in the region, the sector is becoming increasingly globalised and exposed to technological disruption. Many traditional financial products are being disrupted by the FinTech sector, which is well positioned to become a leading player in the Asia-Pacific. FinTech is at the cutting […]
PromisePay’s a disruptive influence that has learned well
As some of the heat recedes from the bubbly global fintech sector, Melbourne-based payments disrupter PromisePay is among a select group of local start-ups with a rapidly deepening revenue stream, serious global prospects and an embarrassment of funding options. Sometime this year, PromisePay will start taking bids for a second round of funding. One of founder chief executive Simon Lee’s problems is that he can’t accommodate everyone who wants to clamber aboard the PromisePay bandwagon, which is why a $10 million cash-grab is likely to be upgraded to $30m-$40m. That way, PromisePay can flaunt its balance sheet to customers generally concerned about trust and stability, and lock in adequate funding […]
MoneyMe gets $30m capital raise
Consumer fintech firm, MoneyMe, has announced a $30 million capital raise from an ultra-high net worth Australian family office, which has branched out into fintech after investing mostly in large scale property on the eastern seaboard. The capital raise includes both debt and equity, and will fund the launch of a series of niche financial products aimed at millennial throughout 2016. MoneyMe chief executive, Clayton Howes, said the millennial market was important for fintech as they were inclined to spend big on lifestyle and convenience, and were willing to pay a premium for it. “Fintechs with the ability to create niche products that are delivered in a tailored way that […]
Australian Startup Rewards Customers Paying Bills with Bitcoin
An Australian startup that acts as an intermediary to enable Australians to pay their bills with Bitcoin is now rewarding customers with a first-of-its-kind loyalty program. Living Room of Satoshi, aptly named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto is an Australian blockchain-based payments company that enables its users to settle their bills with bitcoin. Customers can use bitcoin to pay for utilities, home and property rent, school fees, credit card payments and insurance premiums. Now, the payments company has announced a loyalty program which will reap rewards for Australians who choose to make their payments in bitcoin. The rewards include the likes of Apple TVs, PlayStation 4 consoles, Fitbit wristbands […]
Reserve Bank says Australian dollars could come in digital form in future
Death of the cheque and the rise of Bitcoin? FinTech is certainly gaining momentum in Australia with the RBA hinting at digital dollars, or a form of Bitcoin, in the future is quite a possibility. It is entirely possible that Australian dollars will come in digital form in the future, breaking the link entirely between material notes and coins, the Reserve Bank says. In a speech where he also flagged the end of the cheque, Mr Richards said the RBA had been watching the growth in demand for privately-established virtual currencies like Bitcoin, and believed there was a place for a central-bank-issued digital currency in Australia. It thinks digital […]
VC tells fintech start-ups to target superannuation sector
Australian fintech start-ups are being told to focus their efforts on selling services to the $2 trillion superannuation industry in order to attract venture capital funding. Melbourne-based Trimantium Capital is looking to deploy $700 million during the next 12 months into financial services technology, or “fintech”, ventures and its managing director Phillip Kingston said the super industry was in clear need of better technology automation options to lower administration costs and cut fees. “To date most large funds have either shied away from that challenge or tried to undertake large technology projects in house, which typically hasn’t worked out too well,” Mr Kingston said. An attempt by five of Australia’s […]
