Member announcements in October 2017

We've listed some of the great announcements and achievements from our members in the month of September, 2017.

• Westpac has invested another $5 million into Sydney-based digital broker Uno home loans, taking the majority shareholders total investment in the Sydney-based fintech to $26.5 million in just 20 months.
• SocietyOne, Australias consumer marketplace lender, has set new records for lending with growth in 2017 already surpassing the level of volumes for the whole of 2016. Its CEO Jason Yetton has also responded to comments from bankers who said tech giants such as Google and Facebook were unlikely to go head-to-head with Australian banks because they weren't prepared for either the level of regulatory oversight or the fierce competition.
• Online share trading platform and investment community Selfwealth has pushed the button on its initial public offering as it looks to expand its suite of offerings and position itself as the Facebook of investing.
• Melbourne-founded co-working space York Butter Factory has brought on its first chief executive, appointing ex-BP and GE executive Farley Blackman to lead its operations as the company looks to international expansion.
• Sydney-based financial advice firm Spring Financial has announced a partnership with MoneyBrilliant.
• Personal finance apps - Pocketbook, Finch, Carrott, Acorns, Alt, MoneyBrilliant, PictureWealth and Easyshare have been profiled as the apps launched this year to challenge the dominance of the big banks.
• UK-based Digi.me has partnered with Sydney start-up ID Exchange to help Australian consumers enjoy more control over their personal data. ID Exchangeand digi.me will collaborate as vanguards for personal data sharing, working jointly to simplify user processes around consent.
• Online investment service Macrovue has announced two appointments to its board of directors which include SuperConcepts chief executive Natasha Fenech and AMP director of strategic marketing and customer experience Rod Finch.
• Payments platform, Stripe has launched Elements, a new service designed to make it super-simple for developers to build checkout forms on their apps for better checkout pages.
• Peer-to-peer lender RateSettersays 56 per cent of money invested with it is from savers withdrawing their money from their bank savings accounts.
• Melbourne-based online retail marketplace MyDeal.com.au is partnering with fintech start-up Prospa, allowing retailers on its platform to apply for loans of up to $250,000.
• Short-term lending's popularity with the young has helped propel P2P lending platform, Ratesetter's average investment from A$3,777 two years ago to A$11,483 today. The company also raised $10.5 million.
• Melbourne based Airwallex has partnered with AI regtech provider ComplyAdvantage to address compliance, anti-money laundering and terror financing issues using AI.
• Study Loans has launched its student loans platform, supported by $2 million in seed funding and $5 million in debt equity.
• Stockspot has launched its 5th annual Fat Cat Funds report, which analyses thousands of super funds and finds that funds with the highest fees are generally "fat cat" funds with the worst performance.
• Family and friends lending platform, Credi is expanding to New Zealand in October, and also plans to expand to the US and UK. The company also appointed a former CEO of the Australian arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland to its advisory board.
• Entrepreneurs who can grow their business through equity crowdfunding because of legislative reforms can use OnMarket for the funding. The company will be one of the first in Australia to apply for the crowd sourcing platform licence.
• Chief executive and director of micro savings and investment app, Acorns Australia's George Lucas speaks about the challenges facing Aussie fintech, and the future of the industry.
• IDC financial insights has unveiled a list of 10 fast-growing fintechsin Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) as part of the broader FinTech 101 list for Asia/Pacific. Nine of these companies are members of FinTech Australia.
• Audeamus Riskhas also just been showcased in the AON Global Insurance Innovation Report.
• Millennial superannuation app Spaceshiphas has announced it is cutting fees, increasing its exposure to tech stocks, launching a new investment option and forming an advisory board.
• Personal finance appMoneyBrillianthas added a bill watch service, including alerts on significant bill changes, to help Australian consumers get the best deals on gas and electricity.