This Month
This billionaire started his company to avoid paying bank fees
Kristo Käärmann found a cheap way to send British pounds to his native Estonia. His solution now has 16 million global users.
- James Eyers
Sargon’s Kingston bankrupted over $154m China financier debt
Phillip Kingston, founder of superannuation technology venture Sargon Capital, did not appear at a court hearing about money. He says he’s in Ukraine.
- Liam Walsh and Max Mason
Afterpay’s bad debts climb, just like its costs
Accounts filed by the Block-owned buy now, pay later company for the 18 months to December 2022 show scale eluded the Australian business.
- Nick Bonyhady
November
VC firm Antler doubles down on insto money with new partner
Street Talk can reveal the early-stage VC has appointed investment and super industry exec Graeme Mather as a global partner.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
CBA’s Yello rewards program takes leaf out of Afterpay’s playbook
The bank’s new rewards program, being used by 8 million users of its banking app, is driving new sales to a host of large retailers.
- James Eyers
Finance upstarts step in where banks fear to tread
Making it easier to send money back to family overseas was the key driver for the founders of EzyRemit.
- Alexandra Cain
Plenti soars after striking deal with NAB for EV, solar loans
The bank will use Plenti’s technology to write co-branded, secured car loans, and send customers seeking renewable energy finance to the ASX-listed fintech.
- James Eyers
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Two Australian fintech deals close as acquisition season kicks off
A Brisbane digital lender has bought out one of its rivals, while TaxLeopard has acquired a firm that provides software to help Uber drivers do their accounting.
- Paul Smith
Cash register closed: Till Payments changes hands for meagre sum
Street Talk understands Canadian payments processor Nuvei is set to buy the struggling fintech.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Buy now, pay later companies will struggle to survive, Moody’s warns
The rating agency says that without stemming losses or raising more capital, most companies risk depleting their equity in the next two to three years.
- Jonathan Shapiro
Qld family office buys local fintech; ex Clearview boss named chair
The Tozer family office has completed a $30 million recapitalisation of Navigate Global in a transaction expected to complete on Monday.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Klarna returns to profitability as more shoppers borrow
The Swedish fintech reported an operating profit of $18.5 million in the July to September quarter.
- Aisha S Gani
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Salter Brothers allegedly ‘conspired’ to avoid Verrency loan repayment
The Melbourne private equity firm says the allegations are baseless. The carbon emissions measurement start-up has begun raising more capital from small investors.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Big money fintech Athena struggles to vanquish banks in mortgage wars
Heavily backed home loan industry disruptor Athena’s loan book shrank markedly last year, and it has slashed jobs to extend its funding runway.
- Nick Bonyhady
Jack Dorsey’s Block soars 25pc as it lifts guidance, cuts jobs
Block announced a $1b share buyback, said it would cut 1500 jobs, and lifted FY24 profit guidance. The market approved.
- James Eyers
October
IPO hopeful Cuscal flips to back-end bookbuild amid market volatility
The payment processor has fixed its offer price at $2.50 per share.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
NRMA to offer home loans funded by Bendigo Bank
Like Qantas, the IAG-owned insurer will distribute mortgages to its customers via an origination platform created by fintech Tic:Toc, funded by Bendigo Bank.
- James Eyers
NAB says AI will cut the drudgery for its bankers
The bank is working with Microsoft to embed AI into its 365 software, which bankers use for emails and presentations. It is also using AWS and Databricks.
- James Eyers
Tokenisation of real-world assets is the killer app for crypto
What if crypto was not only a speculative asset class but a new technology stack for financial markets?
- James Eyers and Jessica Sier
BofA kicks off $531m Cuscal IPO bookbuild; pricing out
The end-to-end payments outfit is expected to list on the Australia Securities Exchange by late November.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
