Fintech needs security baked in from the start
Fintech has been labelled a modern day gold rush fuelled by ambitious entrepreneurs and innovative technologies and consumer demand. KPMG and CB Insights’ “The Pulse of Fintech”report found that global investment in fintech currently sits at $13.8 billion with $4.5bn invested in the Asia-Pacific, across 140 deals. But as the relationship between new technologies, such as bitcoin and blockchain, and financial services deepens, so do the threats posed by increasingly sophisticated hackers. No market is more affected by cybercrime than financial services. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2016 Global Economic Crime Survey found that 48 per cent of financial sector respondents reported to have been affected by cybercrime, compared with 36 per cent across […]
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 […]
Fintech luring more bank customers, says UBS
More Australians will turn to start-ups for financial services in the next year, according to a UBS report, which shows incumbent banks are complacent about the threat of disruption but are also seeking to partner with fintech firms to help them cut costs and improve customer experiences. UBS banking analysts surveyed 27,914 customers of more than 210 banks in 24 countries, along with 61 management teams from banks around the world. Local UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott along with analysts in London, New York and Tokyo contributed to the global report, titled Global banks: Is fintech a threat or an opportunity? UBS suggests the answer to the question is “Both”. […]
Brexit provides lessons for Australia’s FinTech start-ups
[ Extract ] Lessons for Australia Australia’s FinTech scene, scarcely acknowledged eighteen months ago, has developing rapidly and now commands the attention of policymakers, banking executives and the financial media here alike. We have a highly advanced financial services sector, one that is acknowledged globally as mature, skilful and well regulated. It contributes around AU$140 billion to GDP each year and employs some 450,000 people. We have the fourth largest pool of investment funds in the world, anchored by the AU$2 trillion-plus in our nation’s superannuation funds. That a viable FinTech ecosystem has developed Down Under should therefore come as no surprise. Australian start-ups span the FinTech spectrum across peer-to-peer […]
Class partners with peer-to-peer lender
Cloud SMSF administration software provider, Class, has collaborated with peer-to-peer lender, RateSetter, to provide self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) accountants and their clients with a direct-connect date feed. This would allow for automated data entry and transactions processing within Class. Class chief executive, Kevin Bungard, said the increase in digitisation in the finance sector was appealing to all ages and would allow for a streamlined execution of necessary tasks. “Some industry commentators have previously suggested that peer-to-peer lending may be more attractive to Gen Ys,” he said. “RateSetter experience has shown that a significant percentage of SMSFs, which typically comprise older age groups, are very much on board with the concept […]
The Invoice Market sees significant changes in the industry as having both positive and negative impacts
Peer-to-peer alternative financier, The Invoice Market (tim), reached a notable milestone recently, celebrating two years since it helped its first business client cash flow a batch of invoices to the value of $968,340. As one of the earlier entrants to offer flexible invoice funding, the company has seen significant changes, both positive and negative, in the industry over this time. “From funding our first client, a fresh produce supplier, tim has built a strong business supporting SMEs where the traditional funders are unwilling or unable to do so. And, in remaining focused on our core objective, we have now provided funding to over 100 Australian businesses, making tim a […]
