Westpac puts another $50 million into Reinventure
Westpac Banking Corp has doubled its exposure to venture capital, investing a further $50 million into a second fund to be managed by Reinventure Group to invest in fintech start-ups including those which could potentially disrupt the bank. The closure of Reinventure’s $50 million Fund 2 reflects Westpac’s belief that technology is reshaping financial markets and that the bank should hold equity stakes in a selection of potential disrupters as a defence mechanism to potential disintermediation. It also shows how Westpac wants to improve the experiences of its customers by developing relationships with start-ups. The second fund will be managed by Simon Cant and Danny Gilligan, the co-founders of Reinventure […]
FINCAST has secured a pilot programme with OCBC
Australian headquartered Fintech start-up, FINCAST, has secured a pilot programme with Singaporean headquartered Asian bank OCBC as its first deal. Managing Director and Co-Founder, Andrew Connors, commented, “the appetite for and commitment to innovation by Asian banks means the Australian big four banks are being left behind. Major Asian banks like OCBC aren’t just kicking the tyres on new technologies that will advance their business, they are firmly focussed on having a first-mover advantage by utilising technology”. “We are still hopeful that early adopters of our technology will include an Australian bank or corporate partner of our home, the Stone & Chalk Fintech hub”. The pilot between FINCAST […]
Equip launches pilot program for Equip MyMoney robo investment service
Equip is piloting its robo investment service, branded Equip MyMoney, with a select group of members, with release to all members planned by the end of the month. Equip MyMoney is the fund’s custom-built superannuation version of Clover.com.au’s automated investment service and will help members make the right choice from the fund’s existing investment options based on their risk profile. This is calculated from user responses to a short series of questions. Equip’s Executive Officer, Member Relationships, Justin Sadler, said: “Equip MyMoney will be a quantum leap forward in the online experience and capability available to our members, and reflects our commitment to on-going development of our financial education and […]
Rubik joins forces with Class
Rubik Financial Limited (ASX: RFL), a leading fintech company delivering innovative banking, wealth and mortgage solutions to the financial services industry, has partnered with Class Super Pty Ltd, to provide advice technology for accountants who are limited licence holders. The partnership is a timely one given the change to regulation as part of the FOFA reforms which came into effect on 1 July requiring accountants to obtain the newly created ‘limited’ AFS licence in order to continue giving advice to their clients about SMSFs. According to Rubik CEO, Iain Dunstan, “As part of Rubik’s omni-channel offering, the Provisio module is perfectly suited to accountants because of its ease of use […]
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 […]
