Crowdfunding start-up DomaCom eyes $100m ASX float
DomaCom, the company that shot to prominence with a crowdfunding campaign to acquire the property assets of the iconic Kidman Station empire, is looking to float as a near $100 million company on the Australian Securities Exchange. The ambitious group is hoping to ride the worldwide popularity of crowdfunding which it has used to set up real estate funds and it plans to extend its reach into the corporate bond market and equity release products. Company founder, Arthur Naoumidis, who also set up the now listed portfolio technology provider Praemium, had previously flagged plans to raise $100m through a float last year but the timing of the IPO was pushed […]
nura breaks Aussie Kickstarter record with world-first headphones
Melbourne startup nura has officially broken a record to become the most funded Australian Kickstarter campaign ever, reaching a current total of AU$1.2 million in pledges, with 12 days to go, for its world-first invention — headphones that learn and adapt to your unique hearing. Globally, less than 1 per cent of Kickstarter projects reach funding of more than US$1 million, and nura is well on track to join this group. The average Kickstarter attracts approximately 3 per cent of backers from Australia, but almost 20 per cent of nura’s backers are Australian. There are currently more than 5,500 Australian projects on Kickstarter, across creative categories including film, music, art, theatre, games, […]
Fintech has chance to capitalise on Whatsapp, WeChat and more, says Citi’s Linda Duncombe
Integrating financial services into messaging applications such as Whatsapp and WeChat is the next big opportunity for the fintech sector, Citibank global fintech chief marketing officer Linda Duncombe says. The environment where consumers are communicating is changing and the financial services sector needs to develop its products to changing habits. “Look at messaging apps and their growth, it is phenomenal,” Ms Duncombe told The Australian Financial Review. “I think about my life, living in New York, Whatsapp is a huge part of my life and how I stay engaged and connected to my family and friends in Australia. “When you hear the word disruption … no consumer is saying that. […]
Robo-advice start-ups go beyond disruption to new clients
Robo-advice start-ups are looking to use technology to drive massive expansion in the financial advice market, rather than to simply disrupt it. While established players, such as AMP, and the wealth management arms of banks are among those vulnerable to robo-advice, start-ups claim they are not targeting their market. “People talk about disrupting the financial services industry with robo-advice, but only 20 per cent of the country gets advice,” David Pettit, chief executive of Perth-based robo-advice start-up Future Penny, told The Australian. “There’s a massive piece of the market that aren’t seeking or engaging with advice professionals.” Robo-advice delivers investors a low-cost investment management portfolio based on algorithms and technology. […]
Ignition Wealth superannuation tools drive superfund engagement
Ignition Wealth is Australia’s leading provider of superannuation tools and calculators. Since 2010 our tools and calculators have been used by superannuation funds to drive member engagement and provide excellence in client experience. “With 750,000 members served over the past six years we know that user friendly tools and calculators hold the key to powerful member engagement. Our technology allows superfund clients and prospective clients to do their financial homework while becoming comfortable with the superfund. This leads to a solid growth in the superfund’s business.” Mark Fordree, CEO, Ignition Wealth. The Ignition Wealth wealth management solutions are hosted on the superfund’s own website or mobile app. Recognising […]
Resellers, get yourself a Bitcoin account and get to know blockchains
Don’t know what the hell I’m talking about? Bitcoin should need no introduction. If you haven’t heard of the world’s best-known cryptocurrency then spend some time with our old friend Mr Google and get up to speed. The news here isn’t Bitcoin itself. It’s the backend technology that makes Bitcoin work which has found itself on the PM’s National Innovation and Science Agenda. The blockchain is a new kind of database. Although it was first invented to store financial transactions with Bitcoin, in principle it can store any kind of data. The magic about blockchains is that they are distributed ledgers, just like the internet is a distributed network. Every […]
NAB launches instant card feature with NAB Pay
Whether you’ve lost your card or left it at home, you can now use NAB Pay to make contactless payments with your Android phone. NAB is the latest bank to launch a new feature to add to the contactless payments bandwagon. With the launch of a new instant card feature on the NAB Pay app, customers with compatible Android devices can now use their phone to make payments if they’ve lost their card. As a replacement card typically takes a few days to arrive, the feature is an easy way for cardholders to continue making payments without their card. You can use your Android phone for payments wherever contactless cards […]
ANZ backs private blockchain, but won’t go public
Like all the big banks, ANZ Banking Group is experimenting and investing in blockchain technologies, but don’t expect it to adopt a public ledger any time soon. The recent hack of the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), a cryptocurrency experiment built on the Ethereum blockchain network that raised more than $US150 million worth of cryptocurrency, served as further proof for the bank that public blockchains were still too risky for adoption, and would likely remain so for the forseeable future. “The point about who controls a public blockchain is slightly worrying and what happened with Ethereum two weeks ago is a great test case,” ANZ group strategy executive manager Nicholas Groves […]
