The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has backed US cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in a US$400 million (A$500m) capital raise. It was Gemini’s first outside financing, and values the business, founded in 2015 by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, at US$7.1 billion. The round was led by Morgan Creek Digital with CBA taking a minority stake alongside 10T,… Read more »
x15ventures, the Commonwealth Bank’s venture scaling arm, has tipped an additional $700,000 into its joint venture fintech Payble. The startup is a subsidiary of ASX-listed Sydney fintech Identitii (ASX: ID8), which uses blockchain and tokenisation to connect banks and businesses with the data for payments, in a joint venture with x15. Payble co-founder and MD… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank venture-scaling entity, x15ventures, has launched a new venture targeting Gen Z and Millennials with a brand and deal discovery shopping app that offers cashback rewards Cheddar uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help customers discover personalised brands, authentic content and deals, alongside a rewards program, serving up bite-sized content in the style of… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced last week that it will allow its customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its app, in the first move of its kind by a major Australian bank. If Australia’s biggest bank is willing to offer unregulated products like crypto to their customers and take on board a high… Read more »
Australia’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth (CBA) has made a major play in artificial intelligence, investing $134 million (US$100m) in California AI market leader H2O.ai, for a minority stake. The bank is hoping the exclusive partnership with the Silicon Valley machine learning platform will help make Australia a leading force in AI. H2O is CBA’s exclusive… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank is embracing cryptocurrencies, and will allow CommBank app customers to buy, sell and hold crypto assets. In the a game-changing move for the sector by the country’s biggest bank will see it partnered with crypto exchange Gemini – founded by the Winklevoss twins of Facebook fame – and blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis.… Read more »
Carbon footprint tracking startup CoGo has partnered with the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) to help CBA customers track the carbon footprint generated by their spending. The feature will initially involve a trial of CommBank app customers able to view their carbon footprint and offset the previous month’s transactions by buying carbon credits. Following testing and further… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank’s venture-scaling arm, x15ventures, has added a new proptech startup to its investment portfolio, taking a stake in the Antler-backed property management company :Different. Co-founded in 2017 by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Mina Radhakrishnan and her husband Ruwin Perera, whose CVs include Google, Uber and other tech giants, :Different digitises a large slab of property… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank’s new buy now pay later product, StepPay, went live today with CBA no doubt hoping plenty of its 4 million customers will give the app a crack. More than 86,000 CBA customers had pre-registered for it after the idea was announced in April. This is CBA’s first outright BNPL, and sits alongside… Read more »
Splashup, an ecommerce startup hoping to simplify online shopping and the comparison experience to find what customers want, has won the pitch competition by the Commonwealth Bank’s venture-scaling entity, x15ventures. Splashup co-founders Nathalie Rafeh and Vivek Bharadwaj will receive a $150,000 SAFE note as the winners of the Xccelerate21 program. Now in its third run,… Read more »
CBA’s venture-scaling arm, x15ventures, has singled out 5 startups to present for investment at its upcoming Pitch Day. The VC accelerator had more than 60 entrepreneurs apply for its Xccelerate21 program, which this year is looking for ideas around how retail customers shop, pay and are rewarded. Ten companies were chosen for this week’s initial… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank has made a second major investment in a digital startup, investing $20 million in a series B round for electricity retailer Amber. The deal follows a $30 million investment by CBA for a 23% stake in e-commerce retail platform Little Birdie. The Amber investment gives CBA a 25% stake in the business.… Read more »
Digital wallets use has jumped 90% in a year, and the amount paid has risen 110%, pushing it towards becoming the most popular contactless way to pay according to new analysis from the Commonwealth Bank. Digital wallet usage is the 12 months spanning the coronavirus pandemic to March 2021 saw transactions rise from 36 million… Read more »
Australia’s biggest bank will take on fintech powerhouses such as Afterpay, Zip and Sezzle by launching its own Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) product within months. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will offer its own BNPL product to CBA customers from mid-2021 to use anywhere Mastercard payments are accepted. The move will be CBA’s… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank is launching a CommBank Green Loan for its home loan customers to purchase and install renewable technology, offering an interest rate of just 0.99%. CBA Group Executive Angus Sullivan said the move was part of the bank’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. “The CommBank Green Loan offers an historically low… Read more »
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