A partnership with DomaCom has helped ThinCats Australia offer its first mortgage loan on residential property; the funder of the firm's first mortgage-backed loan requested a loan-to-value ratio of 36% resulting in a A$212,000 interest-only loan with a term of 24 months and interest rate of 6.5%; prior to the residential property lending expansion, ThinCats has primarily been focused on small business loans. Source
Open banking is facilitating innovation across the banking sector and ING has plans to use it for voice automated artificial intelligence services; the bank's vision includes voice automated banking services through devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, where digital assistants can pay bills and provide personalized advice through voice prompts; the bank is seeking to utilize new concepts being developed in Europe and has invested EUR800 million ($945 million) in a digital transformation. Source
Australian robo advisor SuperEd is seeking AUS$6 million (USD$4.53 million) to expand its services; the founders expect to use the funds to provide white label robo advisory services for Australian superannuation funds; the robo advisor is also developing tools for analyzing retirement income from the funds. Source
The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) space is probably the hottest vertical in all of fintech. Consumers like the flexibility...
Personal loans increased in Australia in March with credit card applications decreasing by approximately 4%; peer-to-peer personal loan borrowing is reportedly a factor driving personal loan applications which increased by 13.5% in March; according to the senior general manager of consumer products at Equifax, "The growth in personal loans has, in large part, been driven by newer lenders who cater to consumers' increasing demand for an online experience." Source
Australian Fintech is broadening their industry census to better understand how companies can expand overseas, interact with regulators and handle gender diversity; Ernst & Young is partnering with Australian Fintech on the census and the deadline is set for September 3rd; "Last year's inaugural census - released as part of our 2016 Collab/Collide Summit - provided an extremely robust evidence base to help FinTech Australia advocate on behalf of the industry. This year's census will be even more important as it will for the first time give us trend-based information about the industry," FinTech Australia Vice-Chair Stuart Stoyan tells AltFi. Source
Volt, a challenger bank in Australia has raised $70 million in a Series C round; they have now raised $100...
Afterpay and Touchcorp are merging to form NewCo which will provide an advanced solution for merchant network installment payments; Afterpay has steadily grown its merchant network which pays a 4% fee for the installment service; Touchcorp will help provide advancements in payments technology for Afterpay and the integrated services will allow for broader expansion. Source
Shares closed Friday at $1.32, above the $1.21 offer price; the company raised a total of $67 million and is now valued at $306.6 million; the IPO was Australia’s biggest tech IPO of the year. Source
European online lender Spotcap has received A$20 million (USD$15.15 million) from New Zealand Bank, Heartland; Spotcap has also launched its platform in New Zealand and will be accelerating growth in Australia, helping to expand its business in the Asia Pacific region; Spotcap's lending targets small and medium enterprises with credit lines and loans of up to $250,000. Source