The FinTech Report

The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 53: Melanie Hayden, Truyu, x15Melanie started her career as a lawyer, with tier 1 law firm Allens, specialising in banking M&A; she then spent the next 6 years at the Commonwealth Bank, in various roles, most recently being in charge of partnerships and business development; the past year has seen Melanie take on a new challenge; as the Managing Director of a Truyu, a new Identity and fraud prevention business within x15 ventures, the commonwealth bank’s venture scaler division.Outside of her role at Truyu, Melanie is a coach at Startmate, and a Board Member of the Liverpool Women’s Resource Centre, a charity helping women and their children access services they need to live stable lives and help their communities.https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniehayden/ ** Details of CBA’s/x15 Ai competition https://www.linkedin.com/company/x15ventures/ ** Consumers are targeted with investment scams, dating scams and false billing scams, leaving them embarrassed and often financially compromised. How can financial services firms combat scams and Identity Theft? From giving consumers an easy way to protect their credit reports to creating a secure digital identity, this podcast explores how technology is helping financial services. Problem and solutionWe know fraud and scams are a significant problem in Australia with estimates placing this at about $3 billion each year (ACCC Targeting Scams report, April 2023. Not adjusted for under-reporting). Drilling down further, identity fraud is a big and growing problem in Australia, with 25% year-on-year growth over the last year and 199,000 individual cases based on ABS data (FY22 / 23). Truyu is a new app launched in early May, available on a free trial in the Apple and Google app stores. It is an Australian first solution, built inside x15, that alerts you in real time when your identity is used, either by you or by someone else. To bring this to life, if you sign up for a new phone plan at a telco, you will get an alert from Truyu. In this scenario there’s hopefully nothing to worry about – the alert simply provides reassurance the product is working. However, if you’re sat at home on the couch and get a Truyu alert that someone is using your identity to attempt to open a bank account at a major bank, you may be about to become a victim of identity fraud. And because Truyu alerts you in near real-time, it helps you to stop the fraud in the moment before an account or new service has even been opened.Just a couple of months in market and Truyu has already prevented major cases of fraud, which have enabled customers to change their licence details and take other steps to prevent future identity fraud. Interestingly, some of these cases of attempted fraud are not yet resulting in an account being opened. Instead, it seems the fraudster could be using an identity check to test whether the stolen details work, with perhaps a view to on-sell them further. If this is what’s happening, Truyu is alerting customers to something that would’ve otherwise likely gone undetected, enabling customers to stop fraudsters in real-time.  Other commentsTruyu believe that fighting fraud and scams will require a whole of ecosystem approach, with the private and public sectors working closely together. One way Truyu think they can help industry and government is by moving fast and testing propositions. Truyu built the app in just over four months to ensure that they could get a solution quickly in the hands of customers, and Truyu are fully committed to sharing learnings from the pilot. Truyu know the Government is building a similar solution and expects to launch the first iteration later in the year, s

The FinTech Report Podcast: Pablo Seoane, Co-Founder, BIGGER  Delighted to welcome Pablo Seoane, Co-Founder, BIGGER to the podcast.Contact Pablo here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/p-seoane/ Email Pablo Seoane: pablo@biggertech.co  Website: https://www.biggertech.co/ Pablo is the Co-founder of Bigger, their mission is to remove barriers for early-stage startups to help them achieve their full potential. they do this by providing tailored software engineering services for early-stage startups. Since launch, they’ve grown the team to over 70 professionals and have successfully assisted more than 26 startups.Before Bigger, Pablo served as the General Manager of Byjus Australia, one of the world's largest EdTech companies. he established the local entity from the ground up, growing the team to over 70 individuals and taking annual recurring revenue from zero to $20 million.Pablo is truly passionate about startups and always eager to connect with other entrepreneurs.In this episode we discuss:1.     Why did Pablo start BIGGER? What do you do?2.     Who are your customers? sectors3.     What are the key issues? Eg tech co-founder may not have right skills4.     What tech do you use? Why? 5.     How is BIGGER set up? (ie Australia, Argentina – plus BIGGER ACADEMY)6.     Case studies – client success7.     Your experience at Byjus – lessons? Learnings? Esp tech at scale, lockdowns ?8.     How else do you help? Eg help find clients a CTO9.     Message for early stage founders10.  Message for mid to later stage looking to rebuild tech stack?

The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 51: Cathy Lyall, LIQUIDISEDelighted to welcome Cathy Lyall, Co-Founder and a Director of Liquidise, to the podcast.Cathy Lyall is passionate about developing and growing Australia's FinTech ecosystem and markets infrastructure.  As a Founder, Investor, Adviser and Director of several startups and financial services enterprises both in the UK and Australia, Cathy has lived the founder and startup experience and journey for close on three decades. Cathy co-founded Seismic Foundry in the UK in 2017, a firm that specialises in investing in capital markets fintech. Since moving back to Australia has become a partner in Seed Space Venture Capital and a Non-executive Director of listed fintech Wisr. Cathy is also Executive Director of RedBelly Network, a blockchain network developed by the University of Sydney and CSIRO. Cathy's experiences as a Founder, Manager and Investor were a big driver in creating Liquidise – she realises how important it is for staff in startups and growing private companies to actually have a way to realise their ESOPs.  More on that in our conversation.Liquidise allows private companies to trade their shares on an independent platform. Australian regulated, and featuring instant settlement and proof of ownership, Liquidise unlocks private companies equity for shareholders, promotes capital flow (liquidity, hence the name) and gives investors access to unlisted private companies.Now platforms for private companies share sales aren’t new.  However what Liquidise is doing is providing a guarantee of cash for vendors – in other words liquidity – for all transactions undertaken on their platforms.  Its this guarantee of liquidity – or the pricing of private companies liquidity – that the Liquidise team are hoping will allow their platform to catch on, and their unique point of difference.In this interview we cover:1.What is the story behind Liquidise? Who needs Liquidise?2.What is your vision? 3.Your point of difference. What do you do that is over and above others?4.Who are your clients? Typical client or all different?a.What private companies are using Liquidise … Pipeline?b.Investors? 5.Liquidise: self funded or Money raised to date, various rounds, which VCs / angels?6.Progress so far and next steps/goals? By year end?7.Will you be global? What are the most likely offshore markets?8.Will you be looking at tokenising assets and equities? 9.Regulation: who regulates you? 10.Team size, structure 11.Help from other partners? https://liquidise.com/ 

The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 50: Michael Titshall, CEO of APAC, R/GAWhat are the key challenges for banks when they’re trying to reach GenZ + Gen Alpha?  Michael’s BioMichael leads R/GA APAC, overseeing six offices across Australia, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia. Driven by a passion for transforming brands and businesses with creative solutions, he has led agencies spanning brand, creative, experience, data, technology, and media services.     Prior to his APAC role, Michael led R/GA Australia overseeing a remarkable growth period in the last 18 months. Under his leadership, it doubled its headcount, acquired numerous new clients, and earned accolades at major global and regional award shows, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, the Effies, and Spikes Asia. Before joining R/GA, Michael spent five years with CHE Proximity, where, in his role as Managing Director, the agency earned six accolades as Agency of the Year and was recognised as the fourth Most Innovative Company in Australia.  PODCAST OUTLINE Gen Z is characterised by its digital savviness. However, banks should not assume that Gen Z’s digital-first lifestyle means they want only digital solutions. Are branches still seen as an extension of mobile banking?  Gen Zers have serious concerns about their financial future. Considering this perception of financial uncertainty, it is perhaps no surprise Gen Zers are highly motivated to save money and learn about banking and finance from a young age. This is an opportunity for banks. 73% of GenZ believe banks should provide more advice on spending habits, budgeting, paying off debt and loans Michael discusses work done for Weyay, Bradesco and Mox Bank;  KuwaitWeyay Bankhttps://www.weyaybank.com/Weyay: Creating the first digital bank for the next generation of KuwaitisVideo case study BrazilNext Bank for BradescoA new bank for the digital age goes from zero to 10 million customers in four years.https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2018/graphic-design/26947/banco-bradesco-next-bank/  Hong KongMox BankMox bank treating customers as people, not as datahttps://mox.com/  For further information, contact:Kate NeillDirector, Marketing and Communications (Australia)t: +61 451 135 708e: kate.neill@rga.com    

The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 49: Interview with Mac Duncan, Co-Founder, Constantinople Mac Duncan, Co-Founder of Constantinople. https://www.linkedin.com/in/macgregor-duncan-bb0381179/  Prior to his current role, Mac was Chief Development Officer at Westpac, a non executive director at 10X Technologies, and Associate Director at Goldman Sachs; he started his career as a lawyer working at the High Court. Constantinople is the first of its kind: an all-in-one software and operational platform for banks. Constantinople hosts and manages your bank's customers directly on their cloud native infrastructure. they support a full range of banking products which are branded as the company name, together with all operational services needed to run a bank. Constantinople's state-of-the-art platform frees banks from running expensive infrastructure and replaces manual operational and compliance processes with automation at scale. By removing the operational complexity of banking, Constantinople allows banks to focus on customers and the business of banking.In this episode we discuss:1.     Mac’s background; influences in banking & fintech2.     The vision for Constantinople? What is the story behind Constantinople? Why did you and Di want to start it?3.     Do you call yourself a fintech? Bank tech? do definitions matter? 4.     Money raised to date, various rounds, which VCs / angels etc5.     Will you be global? Can all fintechs plan to be global from Australia?6.     Foundation client? Is focus on SMEs and lending? What is the brief you have to deliver on?7.     Your point of difference. Point solutions vs end-to-end solutions; whats the story here? What is a core banking platform? What do you do that is over and above the core banking?8.     It’s a very competitive field. Who are the competitors? 9.     How do you serve banks who want to be flexible? Flexible on products, pricing, reg, distribution – what other factors?

Interview with Jordan Lawrence, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Volt.io Jordan Lawrence; Co Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Volt.io | European Advisory Board Member Merchant Risk Council | Real-Time Payments EverywherePrior to Volt.io Jordan was founder of PCN: PCN Capital is a leader in recruitment, focusing on Payments, Fintech, Data Science & Cyber Security through it's brands. Jordan is also a kite surfing expert and started his career in sports and kite surfing instructingVolt is building the next generation payment network that is global, instant and interoperable - connecting real-time payments everywhere. In Volt’s words they are “driving the shift to an era where real-time is the only time.” In this episode, we cover:1.     What is the vision for Volt.io  2.     Progress to date – product, countries3.     Fundraising – from who? Best places & funds/people to raise from?4.     Building the team: in UK, Brazil, Asia, and then Australia5.     Plans for Australia? What will your service be? Target market?6.     What is unique or better about Volt.io in Australia?7.     Typical customer?8.     Partners in Australia? 9.     Why partner, why not go direct?10.  Thoughts/comments on Open Banking 11.  Message to the fintech market? Learn more: https://www.volt.io/ 

Alexandre Chavotier, co-founder and CEO of Upworth, transforms personal finance management through his wealth superapp, which offers a comprehensive dashboard for tracking finances. He discusses the evolution of open banking and how it empowers consumers to control their data and financial decisions. Alex highlights Upworth's innovative features, including mortgage refinancing within the app, and emphasizes the importance of partnerships in enhancing financial services. His insights into revolutionizing wealth management shed light on the future of financial technology.

Systematic change requires collective actionMisha has worked at a number of exciting high growth companies in tech as well as some well known brands in finance and banking, including Boston Consulting Group, the Commonwealth Bank, Uber, startups Eucalyptus (healthcare) and Vow (cultured meat).Misha is the co-founder of Grapevine. Grapevine empowers individuals in Australia's tech scene by spotlighting personal stories and insights. Grapevine provides advice based on lived experience and general legal know-how, to reshape power dynamics for a safer, more inclusive environment.1.What is the story behind Grapevine? 2.Are you a media platform telling stories, self help, legal help; all of the above?3.What is wrong with tech culture?4.What can be done – and the role Grapevine plays – esp role of making stories public – what media works best? LinkedIn, mainstream media?5.Examples of toxic culture6.What to do if you’re in a toxic culture7.How to ask questions 8.What could be done differently within startups ?9.Australia vs International experience10.Help from big and small companies – get in touch with Misha & GrapevineFor more information, please visit:Ask The Grapevine: https://www.askthegrapevine.com/ Whispli: https://www.whispli.com/ 

“Plan your home loan and financial life to be portable,” says Gino Farina“A large part of my job is financial coach, but we use plenty of technology to help us”   In this episode we cover:1.     There are 19,000 mortgage brokers in Australia; they run their own business, and are paid by the banks/others when they write loans and recommend other products.2.     What does a mortgage broker do? Explanation of how brokers help clients, especially educating people about finance3.     Who are your customers? Individuals, couples, businesses4.     What are the key issues? Evaluation, decision making time5.     What tech do brokers use?  Equifax (credit reports), Connective (Mercury), Sales Tracker (CRM, Sales process), Monday (CRM), Cash Deck, My Prosperity and Yodlee (looking at clients cash flows, home loans, interest rates), Canstar, has reviewed Sherlok.6.     What is the bank loyalty tax? What could be done differently? Client engagement and financial advice is needed. There are 200 home loan providers in Australia, Commonwealth Bank has 25% market share.7.     Differences between business loan broking vs residential8.     What is churn and why do people move bank/provider every 7 years?9.     Message to fintechsYou can get in touch with Gino at The Bondi Broker:  https://bondibroker.com.au/  

Join James Bowe, Co-Founder of OwnHome, as he delves into how his company is revolutionizing home ownership in Australia. Discover how their innovative Deposit Boost Loan significantly reduces upfront costs, allowing renters to become homeowners. Bowe discusses the impact of rising wealth disparities on access to housing and the innovative commission structures prioritizing client welfare. With ambitious goals to facilitate $500 million in home purchases, he highlights the importance of technology and strategic partnerships in bridging the homeownership gap.