Brokers in ‘unique position’ to benefit from fintech: CEOs
The heads of an Australian lending business and an industry association believe forward-thinking mortgage brokers are poised to benefit from the growing fintech trend. Marketplace lender FundX says the symbiotic nature of the broker/fintech relationship will serve both channels well, provided brokers are open-minded about new technology. FundX founder and CEO David Jackson believes the additional value brokers can offer clients via fintech products and services, combined with the reliance many fintechs have on brokers as an important avenue for growth via referrals, means those who leverage this relationship instead of resisting it may be poised to benefit most from the fintech revolution. “At its core, finance broking is based […]
Fintech B2B small business lending marketplace Bigstone raises $3 million
Fintech start-up Bigstone has raised $3 million from a range of investors, including ASX-listed diversified investments and venture capital firm CVC, to grow its small business lending marketplace and offer an alternative to the big banks. The seed funding round is the first capital raised by the start-up, which connects small businesses wanting to borrow up to $250,000 with non-bank lenders. Other major investors in the round were the founders of Bangkok-based fund Lighthouse Venture Partners Paniti Junhasavasdikul and Narith Phadungchai, in addition to private investors. Bigstone co-founder and chief executive Boyd Pederson said the capital would be used to fuel expansion, grow its marketing team and to continue developing […]
Major mortgage group partners with US-based fintech player
One of Australia’s largest providers of mortgage broking services has formed a strategic alliance with an international fintech company. AFG today announced that it has partnered with New York-based Biz2Credit. The exclusive agreement will enable AFG brokers to deliver an innovative lending experience for small businesses in Australia. AFG will leverage Biz2Credit’s patented analytics and financial services technology to process small business loan requests more efficiently. “Loan applicants will enter information through a new online small business portal,” AFG said in a statement. “The technology will enable AFG brokers to provide small business borrowers with a broader range of options and deliver faster access to capital.” Using the new online […]
Fintech platform revenues set for massive rise: Juniper
Fintech platform revenues for unsecured consumer loans issued using machine learning technology are set to jump by a whopping 960% globally over the next six years, according to new research from Juniper. According to the latest report on the worldwide Fintech market from Juniper Research, revenues will rise to US$17 billion by 2021, with spending advancing rapidly due to the highly data-driven nature of the market, “meaning that AI integration is likely to spell substantial benefits”. Juniper says that until recently, machine learning was too expensive and computationally time-intensive to break into the mainstream, while access to extensive data sets for algorithm training were limited. Research author Steffen Sorrell says […]
FinTech Solutions For Enhanced Income and Economic Growth
Small business plays an important role in innovation and employment, so financial mechanisms that make it easier for small business to grow must be welcomed. P2P Business Lenders are intent on improving small business financing options by connecting investors (i.e. lenders) with a choice of loans in a digital market place. Much like an eBay for small business loans or a match making market. P2P Business Lending is about using technology to make what was once unviable, viable. This article looks at emerging innovators ThinCats and True Pillars as a source of funding for small businesses and enhanced income for professionally managed SMSFs. Technology Makes Small Loans Affordable Small business […]
DomaCom partners with peer-to-peer lender
DomaCom has announced it will partner with a peer-to-peer lending company to extend opportunities for advisers in the property sector. DomaCom chief executive Arthur Naoumidis said DomaCom’s partnership with ThinCats Australia will allow advisers to be on both sides of property transactions by creating leveraged book builds. “This also provides the 350 lenders on the ThinCats platform the opportunity to gain exposure to property assets and the ability to lend funds at an attractive interest rate with a lower risk profile,” Mr Naoumidis said. ThinCats Australia, which has been operating in Australia for the past 18 months, is a peer-to-peer lending platform for secured business loans to small and medium […]
RateSetter Australia passes $50 million in record time
This month RateSetter achieved an important milestone – passing $50 million in funds matched between investors and creditworthy borrowers. This milestone was reached in record time for an Australian peer-to-peer lending platform. RateSetter Australia CEO, Daniel Foggo, commented: “From the start our objective has been to give Australian investors and borrowers a better, fairer deal. Our growth since launch shows the enthasiam with which Australians are embracing an alternative that offers them better value and real convenience compared with traditional financial institutions. “Combined with the success of RateSetter in the United Kingdom, this record-breaking growth makes the RateSetter group one of the largest and fastest growing online retail money markets […]
Moula ramps up for long-term growth
Australia’s leading data-driven lending platform for small businesses Moula, today announced the appointment of former Managing Director of Xero, Chris Ridd, to its board as it positions itself for significant growth. The announcement coincides with the release of findings from the Disruption Index, showing that the number of data-approved loan applicants has doubled over the past year. The Disruption Index is a Moula initiative designed to track the waves of disruption in Australia in the small business lending sector. Ridd’s appointment comes off the back of strong growth for Moula over the past twelve months, as Australian small businesses change the way they access loans. Business confidence among SMEs seeking […]
