Australian bank doubles down investment on fintech funds

Westpac Bank, Australia’s leading financial services company, has announced that it is doubling down on its investment in fintech venture funds, driving another $50 million into a second fund that will be managed by Reinventure Group, an independent venture capital.

According to Finextra.com, Reinventure has invested in ten Australian startups including SocietyOne, Coinbase, Nabo, Zetaris, PromisePay among others and its first $50 million fund was launched in 2014. With a keen focus on disruptive technologies that has a direct bearing on Westpac's core business, the group invests from seed through to Series A and up.

"The Australian fintech industry is developing rapidly and we continue to be impressed by the quality of the talent, ideas and technology that exists in the start-ups. Our vision is to be one of the world's great services companies and we believe the adoption of new customer-focused technologies is an important step in achieving this goal,” Gary Thursby, Westpac chief strategy officer said as reported by finextra.

In terms of investments, the venture capital is yet to see returns that represent approximately 60% of the fund's total value.