Business payments fintech Zeller is claiming unicorn status less than a year after launching following a $100 million Series B capital raise. The Melbourne startup has again looked offshore for capital with US VC Headline leading the round supported by local industry super fund Hostplus. Founded by former Square exec Ben Pfisterer and Dominic Yap,… Read more »
Australian-founded, Europe-focused buy-now-pay-later startup Scalapay has raised A$692 million in a debt and equity Series B. The round was led by Chinese tech powerhouse Tencent and US VC Willoughby Capital, with participation from existing backer Tiger Global, Gangwal, Moore Capital, Deimos, and Fasanara Capital. The fintech already hit unicorn status last year following a $210… Read more »
Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintechs have built their brands over the last several years selling the convenience of “budgeting” your expenses. You can have your cake now, eat it too, then pay it off over 4 interest-free payments. But there’s been growing concerns about the sector, with nearly two-thirds of Australian financial counsellors supporting clients struggling with… Read more »
Australia’s biggest banks have once again backed digital receipts fintech Slyp in a $25 million Series A. Former PwC boss Luke Sayers joined the round as a new investor through the Sayers Group, along with Gabby and Hezi Leibovich. They join existing backers including Westpac’s Reinventure and NAB Ventures, which first invested in a $2… Read more »
In December, the Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg announced “the most significant reforms” to Australia’s payments system in 25 years. Frydenberg said the policy package will “ensure Australia is at the front of the pack when it comes to harnessing the benefits of the digital economy.” Real-time payments are already proving very popular. Sadly, this popularity… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank has taken a 20% stake in Brisbane fintech startup Paypa Plane for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2018 by Simone Joyce and Jonathan Grant, Paypa Plane is a digital payments provider, building a bank-grade platform where traditional scheduled payments and payment initiation via the New Payments Platform (NPP) and PayTo, which is… Read more »
OwnHome, a fintech startup that wants to turn renters into property owners, has raised $31 million in a Series A. The round was led by VC firm Square Peg with existing backers including the Commonwealth Bank’s VC arm X15, GFC, Entrée Capital, AfterWork, and Possible Ventures doubling down on the startup. The cash injection is… Read more »
The former CEO of fintech startup Spaceship has been banned from acting in the financial services sector for six years by the corporate regulator, ASIC. Paul Kevin Bennetts, of Elanora Heights on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was found to have dishonestly obtained his Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) qualification following an investigation by the company… Read more »
People have wallet overload. Most of us have multiple cards and accounts; business, personal, joint account, investments, home loans, credit cards, debit cards, loyalty and rewards just to name a few. With the rise of contactless transactions, Zibra co-founders Trina Ray Choudhury and Elliot Braham realised there was a huge opportunity to automate the way… Read more »
Waiting for payday is a thing of the past with Paytime, a new HR fintech that gives employees access to their pay checks before pay day. Startup Daily sits down with CEO and founder Steven Furman to find out how technology has fuelled the platform’s rapid growth. Steven came up with the concept of Paytime… Read more »
Sydney BNPL fintech QuickaPay has been acquired by legal services payments platform RapidPay. QuickaPay was co-founded by Nathan Carroll and Nick Glynn in 2019 and was one of the first companies to emerge out of the early-stage VC and startup accelerator Antler Australia. Antler invested pre-seed funding in QuickaPay and it’s the VC’s first exit among… Read more »
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies were among the stock market darlings of 2020 – and nowhere more than in Australia, the birthplace of pioneering companies Afterpay and Zip Co. There are 15 BNPL companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), more than any other exchange in the world. But if you took a… Read more »
Sydney startup DiviPay has raised $20 million in a Series A as it looks to expand internationally. The company did not disclose who led the round, saying only that it was a “global fintech-focused growth equity investor”. Other backers in this round include Global Founders Capital, Rapyd’s new VC arm, Rapyd Ventures, Raffael Johnen from… Read more »
The honeymoon for buy now pay later (BNPL) fintechs continues to sour with Zip (ASX: Z1p) shares falling to an 18-month low in Monday afternoon trade, and Afterpay (ASX:APT) dipped 5% to their lowest level in six months before recovering to close 4% down at $94. Sezzle (ASX: SZL) is among the hardest hit fintechs,… Read more »
Seven West Media has taken a 6.6% strategic investment in financial services platform, Raiz Invest Ltd in a $10 million deal. Raiz (ASX: RZI) shares jumped more than 11% to $ 1.77 in Tuesday AM trade following the news The investment will cost Seven (ASX:SWM) $2 million in cash, with the balance made up of $8… Read more »
An Australian startup just made a major breakthrough in quantum computing
Generation Instagram startup The Daily Aus banks $1.2 million from Canva execs and former Nine boss David Gyngell
Shopping delivery startup Voly shutters warehouses, halves staffing, as startup winter descends
The Victorian government is investing $100 million into university startups
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