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 […]
How fintech is helping peer-to-peer lending disrupt the Big Four
When talking about fintech, the word disruptive is thrown around a lot. However, the two terms don’t go hand in hand. A company can create fintech without being disruptive, and a company can have disruptive ideas without the technology to back it. What makes a disruptive company? Is it simply operating in a technological industry? Is it being part of a business that produces an innovative product? Or is is something else? Looking at peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, it’s tempting to consider the entire industry as “disruptive”. Peer-to-peer lenders link individuals willing to lend money with people seeking finance, using online platforms to create connections that would never exist […]
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 […]
Why fintech’s herbivores are eating with banks
FinTech Herbivores & Carnivores – a great analogy for those wanting to disrupt and those wanting to co-exist in the financial sector. At FinovateEurope, a start-up pitchfest held in the Old Billingsgate Market Hall on the River Thames in London the week before last, new nomenclature emerged to describe the evolution of fintech disruption. Some of the 70 start-ups in attendance were classified as “carnivores” – disrupters wanting to kill traditional banks. But others were not seeking to attack. They were the “herbivores”. This fintech posse want to work with incumbents, who can provide real-world problems and customers to help the start-ups scale up. Ian Pollari, KPMG’s global co-head […]
Macquarie takes stake in fintech minnow
It’s a positive sign to see Macquarie Group investing more in the Australian FinTech sector. They seem to be getting very active very quickly. It will be interesting to see which of the other big banks will follow suit… Macquarie Group has waded deeper into the fintech sector with an equity agreement with listed marketplace lender DirectMoney to assist in the development of what the minnow claimed would be a new securitisation funding market. In a boost after a bumpy listing in July, DirectMoney yesterday said it had sold $5 million of personal loans to Macquarie and secured the investment bank as an adviser to assist access to funding, […]
