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 »
Australia has a new bank, with fintech Alex granted a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution (Restricted ADI) licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). The digital bank has already been busy lending, writing more than $8 million in personal loans since it was founded in 2018. The neobank has already raised more than $35 million… Read more »
Fintech Australia has announced it will postpone the annual Finnies awards until September to give Sydney-based fintechs the chance to be part of the celebrations. It’s the second time rolling COVID-19 lockdowns have forced the date to shift. Originally scheduled for June 9, The Finnies awards then moved to July 21, after Victoria went into… Read more »
Small and medium-sized business (SME) lender Judo Bank has seen its valuation climb by $300 million to $1.9 billion after raising an extra $174 million in capital. The challenger bank raised $284 million in a round 4 just four months ago for a $1.6 billion valuation. Judo has now raised $688 in 13 months and… Read more »
A new savings app offering a 3% fixed income return and targeting millennial savers has seen $3.4 million from 850 investors flow into its coffers in the week since it launched. Blossom, which is targeting women, and honours the nickname of founder Gaby Rosenberg’s late grandfather, is being backed by Fortlake Asset Management, which has serial… Read more »
Three months ago, Lygon launched the world’s first digital bank guarantee using blockchain technology, marking the beginning of the end for the paper-based guarantee which has been the dominant form of contractual surety in the western world for around 200 years. The launch of Lygon was the first time a bank guarantee had been fully… Read more »
Multi-currency payments startup Paytron has raised a $4.35 million seed round as it launches it product for the SMB market. Australian VC fund Carthona Capital and Germany’s Picus Capital were the major backers in the raise. Co-founders and former banking execs Jaco Veldsman and Francois Henrion set out to address the pain point of small… Read more »
It’s no secret that when it comes to superannuation, Australian women continue to suffer undue and persistent disadvantage. A series of structural inadequacies and varied dynamics over the course of a woman’s life can, and in many cases do, lead to superannuation poverty. The concept of compulsory superannuation was designed with a full-time worker in… Read more »
Supermarket giant Woolworths is creating its own fintech startup by spinning out its payments business, Wpay, as a stand-alone venture offering end-to-end payment solutions to merchants outside the group. Woolworths is the nation’s fifth largest processor of card payments, worth more than $50 billion annually across more than 1.3 billion transactions. The move pushes Wpay… Read more »
Fintech Australia has been forced to postpone The Finnies less than a fortnight before the awards were due to be held on June 9 as Victoria goes into a week-long snap lockdown after 34 active Covid-19 cases emerged in the last three days. With surrounding states also imposing restrictions on anyway who’s been in Victoria… Read more »
Queenie Tan is full of financial advice. Whether it is cheap date ideas, buying furniture, saving your first $100,000, doing your tax return or investing in Dogecoin, there is seemingly no topic the 24-year-old Sydney woman can’t confidently tackle. Her posts and videos have gained her 15,000 followers on Instagram and 42,000 followers on TikTok.… 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 »
ASX-listed payments platform Tryo (ASX: TYR) is spending $22.5 million to acquire NAB-backed digital health payment startup Medipass Solutions The deal gives an exit for the four-year-old Melbourne-based startup’s key investor, NAB Ventures. Founder Peter Williams and CEO Jonathan Davey will also sell their stakes, in the 100% acquisition by Tyro, but will remain with… Read more »
It’s arguable that 2020 was the hardest year that our emerging fintech sector ever faced. But as we all know, adversity breeds innovation. And nowhere was that more apparent than in the entries for this year’s Finnie Award submissions. We received a record 290 entries across 20 categories. Overall, the calibre of submissions was outstanding.… Read more »
Brisbane fintech EML Payments (ASX: EML) has released a white-label digital wallet giving lenders and other fintechs great access to Open Banking as part of the Consumer Data Right. The digital wallet, Nuapay, combines Open Banking with personal finance management and payments in a customisable solution digital solution, in a partnership with fellow fintech Frollo.… Read more »
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