ICYMI: DayTek Capital buddies up with Visa, Alex launches personal loan

No it’s not just you - things have been quiet on the neobank front over the past few months, with just a few rate tweaks and minor feature releases of note. Neobanks have also taken a hit to their media profiles as a result of COVID-19, says media monitor Streem, particularly well known outfits like 86 400 and Xinja.

However, there have been some recent developments from two of Australia’s prospective digital banks which you may have missed. Here’s a snapshot:

DayTek Capital joins Visa fintech program

DayTek Capital, the Queensland-based firm building prospective neobank Infinity, announced earlier this week that they had joined the Visa Fintech Fast Track program which, it hopes, will assist in bringing Infinity to market. 

“We are delighted to partner with Visa as we build Australia’s first ‘product-disruptive’ bank,” said DayTek Capital co-founder, Krish Gosai. 

“Visa is a global leader in payments and is continuing to invest in advanced technology developments to adapt to the fast-changing financial landscape. Through this collaboration, Infinity will not only bear the Visa logo on our cards but will be leveraging Visa’s new and innovative solutions across our unique product offerings and technology stack.”

While it is still likely some way away from launching, Infinity has promised to offer Australian users a more personalised, technology and data-driven banking experience with some new, ‘disruptive’ products.

Alex launches online personal loan 

In other news, fellow aspiring neobank Alex, formally known as Bene, has launched its first product: the Alex Personal Loan. 

Available online, the unsecured loan features rates starting from 6.95% (7.37% comparison rate^) on loans between $2,100 and $30,000, with terms ranging from six months up to five years. 

And while the Alex personal loan doesn’t come with any ongoing or early repayment fees, borrowers will be charged a one off $295 application fee. 

Next in the product pipeline for Alex is a savings account, though users may still have a while to wait on that front as Alex is yet to receive an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) licence from regulator APRA which would allow it to offer deposit accounts like a bank account or savings account. 

According to Alex, it has applied to APRA though, initially as a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution (R-ADI).

Want to learn more about Australia’s newest banking players? Check out our digital banking and neobanks guide, or start comparing banks today by checking out some of the offers in the table below. 

RELATED: 86 400 announces Zip partnership, releases PayID functionality

^The Comparison Rate combines the lender's interest rate, fees and charges into a single rate to show the true cost of a personal loan. The comparison rates displayed are for the amounts and terms below, based on monthly principal and interest repayments, on a secured basis for secured loans and an unsecured basis for unsecured loans. WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. ^Based on $10,000 over 3 years ^^Based on $30,000 over 5 years.