MyGigsters, a fintech the helps gig economy workers track their income and spending to build financial security, has raised a $1.1 million Seed round. It leverages real-time data on earnings, expenses and work history, alongside advanced analytics, to provide hyper-personalised insights for people to improve their financial wellbeing. The fintech launched in 2022 with pre-Seed… Read more »
2024 was a pivotal year for Australian open banking. While Australia is seen as an open banking leader, its CDR regime has been criticised for issues including quality of data, slowness of adoption, cost of execution and cumbersome user experiences. This led to Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones announcing a CDR… Read more »
FinTech Australia has released its formal position on the RBA’s review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging, advocating for an approach which keeps competition high but does not place an outright ban on surcharging. The view was formed after months of consulting with the peak body’s member base of over 400 companies and commissioning… Read more »
Industry group FinTech Australia has two new board members following its AGM, with Tiimely chief risk and compliance officer Jodi Ross and Tractor Ventures CEO and cofounder Jodie Imam signing on as directors. Chair Sarah Gorman said the candidates nominated this year were all women 2024. “Both Jodi and Jodie bring a wealth of experience… Read more »
Financial institutions, fintechs, and regulators have welcomed new buy now, pay later (BNPL) rules that will finally treat the sector like other credit providers, with new legislation passed hours before shoppers tapped BNPL to propel Black Friday sales to record-breaking heights. The new regulations will apply corporate regulator ASIC’s National Credit Code (NCC) to a BNPL sector that has… Read more »
Zip cofounder Larry Diamond has called time on his board roles at the ASX-listed buy-now-pay-later fintech, stepping down as a director and US chairman, effective immediately. “Now is the right time for me to step back from my day-to-day role at Zip,” he said in a statement to the ASX. “I’m very proud of what… Read more »
Comparison fintech Finder has acquired cashback platform Grow My Money for an undisclosed sum. Founder Pascale Helyar–Moray originally launched Grow My Money as Super-Rewards in late 2019, helping people save for the retirement with a cashback program from shopping. She subsequently expanded into mortage repayments, transforming the fintech into its current form and brand People can shop… Read more »
New Zealand fintech Emerge has raised $12 million in a Series A, amid hopes to build NZ’s first challenger bank. The round was led by Altered Capital with support from Icehouse Ventures, K1W1 and NZ Fintech Fund, plus US VC Hard Yaka. It’s the second investment for Altered Capital, an early investors in UK challenger… Read more »
Global payments platform Banked has tapped into Australian real-time payments with the acquisition of Waave, a fintech using the consumer data right (CDR) to offer a lower cost direct debit alternative to card payments. The sale, for an undisclosed sum, comes less than 18 months after Waave launched following a $4.7 million Seed round in April… Read more »
Consumer debt collection fintech InDebted has raised $50 million in a Series C that values the scaleup at more than $350 million The round was led by Airtree and supported by Australian Retirement Trust and new growth fund Premier Capital Partners. Existing shareholders Reinventure, Carthona and Perennial also chipped in. Indebted previously raised $22.5 million… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) will test a generative AI-based chatbot that could replace its call centre staff as part of Australia’s largest financial institution’s expanded use of AI technology. On Tuesday, CBA announced it would become the first Australian company to use Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) P5s, which are based on Nvidia computer chips supporting… Read more »
This year marks a decade of Stripe in Australia. The US global payments behemoth founded 14 years ago by Irish-American siblings John and Patrick Collison now services over 500,000 Australian businesses and has processed more than A$200 billion since landing here The Stripe World Tour rolled into Sydney recently to showcase the fintech’s products and users, and including a… Read more »
The promise of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) was a future where businesses are empowered to make informed, confident decisions based on a comprehensive understanding of their financial health. Yet, despite the significant potential of this initiative, its implementation has been mired in unnecessary complexity, lack of clear guidelines and the reluctance of traditional financial… Read more »
The amount of capital flowing into local fintechs is nearly double the known figures according to estimates from funding analytics firm Techboard, which has launched a new report into investment in the sector. Some of that funding includes millions into VC-backed startups with around $684 million in unannounced funding discovered alongside $769m in announced deals… Read more »
Despite being drafted and tabled in the Australian Senate in 2022, the Action Initiation Bill was only passed last week. Action initiation would transform the Consumer Data Right (CDR) from merely a data-sharing framework into a dynamic system that empowers consumers to take action based on the insights they gain. The CDR was created to… Read more »
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