From cryptocurrencies to ChatGPT, digital and tech were headline news in 2022. That’s unlikely to change in the year ahead, although inevitably we will see the hype fade on some innovations to be replaced by the latest shiny new thing. The one constant that transcends the news cycle is the relentless pace of technological change,… Read more »
Buy-now-pay-later market leader Afterpay (ASX: APT) is getting into ibanking, launching an app-based no fee deposit account paying 1% interest. The ASX-listed fintech has been granted an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) by ASIC so it can provide general financial product advice and distribute basic deposit products and debit cards. Called Money by Afterpay, the… Read more »
January 2015 was an interesting time for bitcoin and Westpac’s fintech venture capital fund, Reinventure. Simon Cant and Danny Gilligan, co-founded the VC with Westpac the year before. Bitcoin kicked off the year at around US$300, before crashing to $170 within a fortnight. The cryptocurrency would climb to $465 before the year was out and… Read more »
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gone on a tear this afternoon, surging to record highs ahead of the direct listing of US crypto exchange Coinbase on the Nasdaq tonight. The listing is also good news for Westpac and its investment fund, Reinventure, which dropped $50 million investment in Coinbase back in 2015 and could be… Read more »
The rapid rise of online shopping and ecommerce has flipped consumer behaviour from the era when shoppers crammed into retail stores on Boxing Day sale with the recent Black Friday promotion beating December 26 as Australia’s most popular time to shop according to new data from Westpac. Westpac merchant facilities processed a record 68 million… Read more »
Westpac Group has offloaded its 10.7% stake in fintech Zip Co Limited (ASX: Z1P) in a deal that should net the bank around $300 million in profit. The sale comes 24 hours after the bank announced a collaboration with Afterpay that will see the rival BNPL service offer a savings account and other cashflow management… Read more »
Shares in fintech MoneyMe (ASX: MME) have jumped more than 12% in opening trade on Tuesday after the company announced a new $167 million warehouse funding facility led by Westpac, that will cut its funding costs by more than 50%. The company put its shares in a trading halt yesterday pending the announcement. The deal… Read more »
Australian banks are expanding their program of six-month loan deferrals to larger companies, offering relief on up to $250 billion in business borrowing. The major banks are backing the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) extended Business Support Package to 98% of all businesses with a loan from an Australian bank, increasing the existing $3 million small… Read more »
Westpac has launched its sixth annual Innovation Challenge, offering startups, scale-ups and entrepreneurs the chance to win $50,000 and professional support to grow their business. The Challenge seeks data solutions solviong a business problems in five different sectors: micro business, energy, insurance, aged care or government. The latest challenge comes head of the phased introduction… Read more »
More than half (53%) of small business owners are worried about being scammed Yet only a third train staff in scam awareness and prevention Australian small businesses lose an average of nearly $40,000 per scam Scams on small businesses are costing owners more than $20,000 a scam according to new research from Westpac. The… Read more »
ANZ has released ‘Wallets@ATM’, a feature allowing customers to withdraw cash from the bank’s ATM using their mobile device rather than their plastic card.
First announced last October, payments app Beem It has launched this month with backing from Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, and NAB.
VC firm Reinventure Group has closed its third $50 million fund, with Westpac once more backing the firm as it looks to expand its focus to Asia-Pacific.
Westpac-backed venture capital firm Reinventure has backed property investment platform BrickX, as part of the startup’s yet-to-close Series A round.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank are launching a payments app to enable instant payments for consumers and businesses.
The lessons from Uber, Ola and rideshare’s disruption is that in the end, the consumer still pays 
Here are the finalists in Fintech Australia’s 2024 Finnies awards 
Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar steps down as co-CEO 
Unicorn dehorned: Nasdaq-listed Brisbane EV charging venture Tritium collapses into receivership 
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