Silicon Valley coins a new means of fundraising
When tech start-up Gnosis raised about $US12.5 million in April, the company didn’t tap the typical Silicon Valley funding network of venture capital firms or wealthy investors. Instead, it auctioned tokens online in a process called an “initial coin offering”. They sold out in 12 minutes. These digital coins are essentially clones of the virtual currency bitcoin, which has come under scrutiny for its use in last week’s global hacking attack. The newer coins are the proverbial next big thing in the world of cryptocurrencies, but also pose big risks to buyers. The digital coins theoretically can be used to one day purchase services from issuers such as Gnosis, which […]
Lendy hits £300m investment mark
The slowdown in bank lending prompted by the Brexit vote has helped Lendy hit the £300m investment mark in April, having channelled £50m to property borrowers in the last 100 days alone. With new loans on the peer-to-peer platform often up to five times oversubscribed, the firm was able to add three larger-size loans over the last three months, it told Peer2Peer Finance News. It directed £7.5m to the purchase and redevelopment of a commercial building in Marylebone, £5.7m to the development of a major residential building on Liverpool’s waterfront and £2.4m to the development of a major student accommodation complex in Huddersfield. The firm said it was able to […]
Humaniq to use blockchain for social good
A London/Luxembourg start-up is planning to use the blockchain to create a new kind of bank that will help tackle global poverty. It will enable people to use its cryptocurrency to donate or lend money, and bring banking services and income generation opportunities to “the last billion”. Humaniq has been developed by a group of people, many with experience in cryptocurrencies, who have seen the potential of biometrics, blockchain and mobile to help solve a number of social and economic problems. The challenge they aim to tackle is considerable. “Over 2 billion people in the world don’t have bank accounts. About 1.5 billion people don’t have any identification documents. They […]
ChimpChange growth supercharged by U.S. tax season
ChimpChange Limited, Australia’s only listed digital banking platform, is pleased to present its March 2017 quarterly report on business progress. Strong organic growth supercharged by the U.S. tax refund season The Company delivered strong growth across all areas of its business and continued to confirm the opportunity in the US market for an innovative tech-driven fee-free consumer banking product. Key metrics including customer deposits, new customers, and customer spend utilising the ChimpChange MasterCard all grew ahead of forecast and delivered company-wide records during the quarter. The period also saw a seasonal boost in deposits in the form of tax refund inflows, which we now expect to experience annually, and which […]
Hong Kong news stands to accept cashless payments in bid to boost business
With their numbers dwindling, news vendors will now accept cashless payments from e-wallet firm TNG Wallet. Hong Kong’s half-century-old news stand industry has teamed up with a home-grown electronic wallet firm, hoping to rescue their dwindling business by tapping into the fast growing digital world. From Wednesday, people will be able to buy newspapers and magazines by simply scanning a QR code through TNG Wallet’s mobile application at about 30 stalls in Central and the Western district. The service will be further expanded to 100 operators across 18 districts by the end of April. The move is a step forward for the city’s 400 cash-only news stands, who are struggling […]
Alibaba’s Ant Financial to raise as much as $3 billion in debt
China’s most valuable online finance company, Ant Financial, is in early stage talks with banks to raise between $2 billion to $3 billion in debt to fund acquisitions and foreign investments, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Banks have made “soft pitches” to help Ant raise funds, most likely through loans, to be used by the company for acquisitions such as that of MoneyGram International Inc as well as for boosting existing investments, the person said. Ant, an affiliate of online shopping giant Alibaba Group, dominates China’s online payment market, but has been ramping up investment overseas amid fierce rivalry at home with peers like Tencent […]
Octopus gets FCA authorisation
OCTOPUS Choice is the latest peer-to-peer lending platform to be granted full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), just nine months after launch. The property lender has attracted almost £45m from lenders and funded 75 deals since it launched last April. Richard Wazacz, head of Octopus Choice, said authorisation now opens the door for the firm to launch its Innovative Finance ISA later this year. “The incredible demand we’ve witnessed in the nine months since launch underlines the level of interest for this sort of investment – and the authorisation that the FCA has now granted us will no doubt give renewed confidence to our fast-growing base of investors,” […]
Australia needs to foster FinTech with level playing field
The recent Presidential election in the US and the Brexit vote in the UK clearly show that the public in liberal democracies like Australia are tired of failure by governments to ensure social justice is being served on all levels. Political and corporate leaders appear to the public to act with impunity and social policies are not addressing the increasing inequality of wealth. These leaders seem to be out of touch with their constituents, illustrated by the surprise results in US and UK. Leaders in Australia should be warned — they ignore, at their peril, social justice issues such as the behaviour of the ‘Big Four’ banks, who operate in […]
