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Finance & Investment

Nayax process develops extraordinary flexibility with cashless payment technologies

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

THE FUTURE of fintech is growing. And it’s remarkable.

Take the story for example of Nayax, a global fintech leader in cashless payment technology servicing unattended devices like vending machines, self-serve car washes, EV chargers and coffee machines.

Dylan Winik, Oceana CEO at Nayax, said the global company takes care of all the unattended devices.

“There’s a very large amount of unattended machines in the country as well as the world that require payments,” Mr Winik told Talking Business.

“Specifically in Australia, 90% of payments were contactless, were cashless. Nayax Grow without adding a machine CEO Dylan Winik

“So cash is on the downfall and we are applying the full A to Z service,” he said. “Not only the card reader but we also provide the full back end solutions, the banking solutions, but also the back end solutions so that customers can actually manage their whole business including stock control if it’s a vending machine – which machines need to be filled up, setting levels, managing how much money is going in and out.”

Sizeable infrastructure coverage

That requires a lot of infrastructure. Nayax has 1500 employees globally and has multiple server banks in different continents that actively sync between each other – and that keeps the firm reliable across the globe.

“They actively work together with the different server banks across the world so that should we need to do an upgrade or change or have an issue with an Australian server, out customers would not have any impact or know that’s something was going on. We would just bounce off the other servers around the world,” he said.

Mr Winik said there would be no time lost and all the devices have roaming SIMs in them.

When the Optus outage occurred two years ago, Nayax clients seamlessly bounced to Telstra or Vodaphone and didn’t experience any problem.

“Our devices picked the strongest network at the time and if that that stronger network became unavailable, it bounced to a secondary network,” he said.

Mr Winik said Nayax is consistently looking at the market to find different scenarios of what is and what isn’t available.

This means it is putting a lot of its profits into R&D.

“We have six or seven hundred people in our head office, the majority of them are developers and technical people who are consistently working around the clock to develop new features and functionality to keep us ahead of the market,” he said.

“A lot of our profits are reinvested in R&D in order to gap into new verticals.” 

New Nyax retail device being launched

Mr Winik said, this quarter, Nayax would be introducing a new retail device. Dylan Winik Nayax

“Imagine walking into a hotel and part of your hotel key which you use to get into your door,” he said.

“And you walk downstairs there is a vending machine at one or two o’clock in the morning which you can use – not with your credit card but with your hotel key.

“You arrive downstairs in the parking lot and you start an EV charger using your hotel key.

“When you walk into the bar area and you’re buying dinner or a drink. Imagine the ecosystem where you can tap your room key.

“And when you check out, it will itemise everything,”

Mr Winik said the R&D is never-ending. 

“We are consistently thinking of new features and benefits, new markets to break into, new businesses to acquire globally,” he said. Leon Gettler suit 300pxw

“It’s the beginning.” 

www.nayax.com

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness 

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-28-interview-with-dylan-winik-from-nayax

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Australia’s tax changes on trusts are ‘generationally’ impactful for family businesses

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

THE ALBANESE LABOR GOVERNMENT's Federal Budget changes mean that it’s the first time in a generation that the considerations for investments, from a tax point of view, will be different.

Darren Connolly, the CEO of Investment Markets, said with the Budget changes, investors needed to look at their portfolios and see if they were still set up ‘right’ for them.

“Fundamentally, you should never make a decision based on the tax rate,” Mr Connolly told Talking Business. “But the challenge for investors is to consider what is my after tax return going to look like and where will I get it -- because different types of investments provide different returns.

“There are different mixes of returns between income and capital growth.” Darren Connolly CEO InvestmentMarkets Image2 LOW RES

Change of perspectives on income

Mr Connolly said this new tax approach meant investors needed to ask whether they preferred a higher level of certainty on their income versus “rolling the dice on something that has little income but potentially larger capital returns further down the line”.

At the same time, this would also carry a risk of keeping less of that capital gain.

“It’s a bird in the hand consideration to some extent,” Mr Connolly said.

“I think a lot of people will move their focus to the relative benefit of income and investments that provide more certainty.”

Rise in superannuation investment

Mr Connolly said this could also see many more investors putting their money into superannuation.

“Super is unaffected and it is the number one place for most people to out their investment dollars from an after tax point of view,” he said.

“I would fully expect investors to be increasingly maximising the amount they can put into super to the relevant different caps.”

Mr Connolly said, outside of super, there were fixed income funds and commercial property investments, particularly if there were tax-deferred elements to that type of investment, which will be relatively more appealing to investors.

Australia also has the benefit of franking credits delivering 8-9% yields every single year with less risk of a capital gain.

Adapt to new investment environment

Mr Connolly said whether investors agreed with the 2026 tax reforms changes or not, they had to adapt to the new environment.

“There are always changes in the investment environment,” he said.

“It’s interest rates, inflation, the economy, taxes. They are some of the things you need to consider but not the only thing to consider.

“What we encourage investors to do is to look at their portfolio and consider whether it’s still right for them.

“That’s a good piece of housekeeping that everybody should be doing.”

Mr Connolly said the big change was the government announcing it would introduce a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts from July 1, 2028. The minimum tax will apply at the trustee level.

Non-corporate beneficiaries who are presently entitled to a share of the net income of the trust will be able to claim a non-refundable income tax credit for the tax paid by the trustee on that income.

“Wrapping into all that will be the structure you are holding your investments in,” Mr Connolly said.  Leon Gettler suit 300pxw

“Having a minimum 30% on trusts is certainly going to have an impact on people holding business assets or business premises in a trust structure.” 

www.investmentmarkets.com.au

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness 

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-23-interview-with-darren-connolly-from-inve

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John Hanna has spent a lifetime explaining his financial vision

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business>>

WHAT ARE THE SECRETS to becoming so wealthy that you don’t have to worry about your next pay coming in? Why do people sabotage themselves? How do they build confidence to manage themselves financially?

John Hanna, the strategic advisor at Est Financial, has spent his life solving these issues.

It goes back to the time when his parents emigrated from Egypt in 1969. He and his brother watched them work hard and that experience left John with the determination to become a millionaire. John Hanna speaking strategic advisor est financial

“Growing up, for me, the biggest void was money – so what became important for me was pursuing wealth,’’ Mr Hanna told Talking Business.

“I just wanted to become a millionaire, I wanted to achieve wealth.

“So to answer your question, if you don’t feel you deserve something, it will be taken away from you,” Mr Hanna said.

“So I think the first thing people (have) to look at as they are attracting a level of wealth is: why do they deserve it?

“If your ‘why’ is big enough, the ‘hows’ will take care of themselves.”

Property investment reasoning

Mr Hanna said people should invest in property “for the right reasons”.

“I get a lot of clients saying: ‘I just want to reduce my tax’,” he said.

“The real reason you should invest in property is for long term capital growth.

“Can you make money by flipping properties and investing short term? Yes. But the average person can also lose money if the market is zigging when it should be zagging.

“So if you look at property as a long term investment, the main reason of supplementing your income when you come to retire, the chances are that you’ll do better.”

‘Defining’ wealth is important too

Mr Hanna defines wealth as “how many days, weeks, months or years you could live comfortably if you stopped working”.

“Most of the people that I speak to, if their income was to stop today for some reason, they’re maybe three weeks, three months away from technical bankruptcy,” he said.

“So the ‘who’ premise of what I do is helping people get to a point where they’ve got a portfolio of investment properties so by the time they come to retire, the rental income from those properties is at least equal to if not great than they income they were used to earn from their 9-to-5 job,” Mr Hanna said.

“So the psychology behind property is: you buy, you hold, you build, so when you come to retire, you’re not relying on the pension, you’re not relying on family and friends.”

Mr Hanna said there was only one way people could move from fear and nervousness to financial confidence: slowly.

He said most people want to do it overnight, but that, he warned, “is too risky”.

“One of the first things I tell people is to save a portion of what you earn,” Mr Hanna said.

“If we can handle a plus or minus 10% in our income, without having emotional volatility.

“Anything less than that, if we lose more than 10%, we go into fear, we regress and we also make unwise decisions,” Mr Hanna said.

“So the first thing I say to people is, ‘Save 10% … 10% of what you make is yours to keep.” Leon Gettler suit 300pxw

www.est.com.au

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness 

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-20-interview-with-john-hanna-from-est-finan

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Pepperstone Crypto research chief Chris Weston welcomes stronger regulation

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

CRYPTOCURRENCY, digital money created an alternative government issue currency, has major advantages over traditional money transfers. Think privacy, security decentralisation and speed.

Examples include Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

But there are disadvantages. These include instability, with crypto prices changing quickly; the environmental impact with studies showing that worldwide crypto mining requires twice as much energy to power homes; potential for abuse with crypto’s anonymous nature meaning illicit transactions are impossible to trace; as well as tax and legal issues.

But Chris Weston, Pepperstone Crypto’s head of research, is backing stronger regulation. Pepperstone Crypto wants greater transparency, and it wants to push down costs for everyday traders. 

Australia leads in crypto adoption

Mr Weston said the adoption rates of crypto in Australia were higher on a relative basis than anywhere else in the world.

“We think there’s an edge on the pricing situation,” Mr Weston told Talking Business.

“From a cost perspective, there’s an increasing transparency angle where if you look at what it costs to buy and sell crypto, there’s a fee involved and also a spread.”

Mr Weston said, from a costing perspective, there was the chance for Pepperstone to be cheaper and more transparent and offer better liquidity conditions for the domestic market.

“We know the market, we know the regulations and from a trader and investor experience perspective, there’s the transparency angel that can be solved and heightened and we’re trying to address it,” he said.

Mr Weston said the volatility of crypto could be an attribute for people looking to diversify their portfolios.

“It depends on who you are and your risk tolerance and what you’re trying to achieve,” he said.

“The volatility is an attribute to some people. If you’re trying to spread the variance in your portfolio, having a high volatility asset can increase diversification.

“Of course, if you’re super low risk across all your investments, then crypto may not be the asset you’d look at. Bur for a large period of time, having a high volatility asset can be advantageous.”

Volatility has worked for crypto in the US

Mr Weston said the US has been a good example of this, where there are spot ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), regulated investment funds that hold actual, underlying assets in safe storage and track the market price in real-time.

These allow investors to gain direct exposure to assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum through a standard brokerage account without needing digital wallets.

Mr Weston said this has given institutional investors and high net worth individuals a compliant vehicle to buy sport crypto

The bottom line, however, is that so many Australians are now investing in crypto.

“What we’ve seen locally is there’s been a huge adoption story in Australia,” Mr Weston said.

 “30% of Australians have invested in crypto at some stage. Younger cohorts of people have a strong interest in it.

“The adoption rates in Australia have been really strong.”

Mr Weston said crypto had held up really well during the US-Iran conflict.

“Much better than gold,” he said.

“It’s outperformed during this geopolitical conflict and higher inflation regime.”

Mr Weston said Pepperstone wanted transparency in the crypto market.

“That’s what builds trust,” he said. 

www.pepperstone.com

www.leongettler.com

 

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness 

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-17-interview-with-chris-weston-from-peppers

 

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How should Australians invest in this time of Middle East turmoil? Dale Gillham has some ideas ...

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

MARKETS have become so volatile with the Middle East in turmoil over oil and the Strait of Hormuz.

How should people invest?

Dale Gillham, professional trader and chief analyst at WealthWithin said people need to think long term about potential investments.

He also said the current nervousness in the market created opportunities for people to get in at better prices.

“I just think the current situation around the world was creating that nervousness but that also creates exactly the opposite,” Mr Gillham told Talking Business. 

“It creates a lot of opportunity for people to get into some really good stocks at better prices. So once things have settled down, they’ll be able to take of that.”

Psychology and investment attitudes are key

Mr Gillham said he had been mentoring and teaching investment for three decades and most investor success comes down to investor psychology and investor behaviour.

“It’s not about skill in analysing the next stock,” Mr Gillham said. “It’s about their actions when the market is very volatile or very uncertain and it’s also (about) their actions when the market is very bullish

“One thing I know is markets change, volatility changes but human behaviour doesn’t change and human behaviour determines whether we make money out of the stock market or we don’t.”

Mr Gillham said people have to think long term when it comes to investing “but we are now becoming short term thinkers”.

“I’m seeing a lot more people, especially since the turn of the century, they’re getting a lot more algorithms and AI,” he said.

“They’re armed with smart phones that can give you every single thing you need on the planet, with red and green buttons and gamifying the stock market.

“It’s creating that short term vision.

“Most people I’m meeting at the moment, they’re looking at small micro-cap stocks, very illiquid stocks with the false view that they’ll make a lot of money quickly on those stocks but what they don’t understand is that the percentage chance of them getting it right, especially with little knowledge and experience in the stock market is they’ll get it wrong 99% or probably 99.9% of the time.”

Stock investing: don’t follow the herd

Mr Gillham said the stock market generally has a big move very 54 years – from low to high to low.  We saw that in 1929, we saw that in the 1987 crash.

He said if you’re following the crowd, you’re going the wrong way when it comes to the stock market.

Mr Gillham said one prime example of that is the way investors piled into Bitcoin before it plummeted.

“Every single man, woman, dog and child is talking about Bitcoin,” he said.

“They were borrowing money to buy Bitcoin and it crashed in three months.”

He said the key rule is that “when taxi drivers are giving you stock tips, get out”.

Mr Gillham said he had seen it so many times over the last few years, including the 1987 crash and the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) crash.

“I’ve studied our Australian stock market back to 1875 and the Dow back to 1900 and human psychology does not change ever,” he said.

“Fear and greed runs the market.” Leon Gettler suit 300pxw

www.wealthwithin.com.au

www.leongettler.com

 

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness 

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-14-interview-with-dale-gilham-from-wealthwi

ends

Moneytech wants non-bank lenders to be included in the $1 billion Economic Resilience Program

NON-BANK LENDER Moneytech has welcomed the Albanese Government’s $1 billion Economic Resilience Program (ERP)1 as a “timely and important measure” to protect Australian businesses from global supply chain shocks – but is raising questions about why non-bank lenders have been excluded from delivering it.

The program, administered through the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), provides zero-interest loans of up to $5 million to eligible small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in fuel, fertiliser, plastics and other critical supply chain sectors.

Applications are currently being processed exclusively through a small group of participating banks, with no pathway for non-bank lenders – even though these lenders now finance a significant share of SME loans across Australia. 

Moneytech CEO Nick McGrath said the program was “exactly the kind of intervention Australian SMEs need right now” but its reach could be meaningfully extended by opening it up to non-bank lenders.

“This is a well-designed program tackling a real problem, and the (Federal) Government deserves credit for acting quickly,” Mr McGrath said. “Our question is a constructive one though, if the objective is to get capital into the hands of as many eligible Australian SMEs as possible, as quickly as possible, why limit delivery to the major banks?

“Non-bank lenders are now a core part of how Australian SMEs access finance. The Reserve Bank of Australia2  itself has noted that the non-bank share of SME lending has grown strongly since 2022, particularly for smaller loans driven by demand from SMEs for faster decisions, more flexible criteria and funding options the majors don’t offer.

“Many of the businesses this program is designed to help already rely on non-bank lenders for their day-to-day finance.”

Pandemic response boosted non-bank lending

Mr McGrath pointed to the precedent set during the pandemic, when non-bank lenders including Moneytech were accredited to deliver loans under the government’s SME Guarantee Scheme alongside the major banks.

“The SME Guarantee Scheme worked because the government recognised that a diverse group of lenders would reach a broader group of businesses. That logic hasn’t changed. If anything, the role non-banks play has grown significantly since then.”

Mr McGrath said Moneytech was not arguing that banks should be cut out, but that the program’s impact would be greater if SMEs could access it through the lender they already use and trust.

“This is about giving Australian businesses more choices, not fewer,” he said. “The SMEs running fuel distribution, logistics, fertiliser supply and manufacturing operations aren’t a monolithic group.

“Some bank with the majors; many don’t. A program that genuinely supports the breadth of Australian industry should be accessible through the breadth of Australian lenders.”

Engaging the finance brokers

Moneytech also highlighted the role of finance brokers, who are the primary distribution channel for SME funding across Australia and would be critical to getting a program like the ERP into the hands of eligible businesses quickly.

“Brokers are often the first call a business owner makes when conditions tighten,” Mr McGrath said. “They understand their clients’ operations and can quickly determine whether a business is best supported by a bank, a non-bank lender, or a combination of both.

“Any program designed to move capital fast should be built around the channels SMEs actually use and brokers are central to that.”

Brokers were also key distribution partners during the COVID-era SME Guarantee Scheme, helping lenders – banks and non-banks alike – reach businesses that needed support quickly.

Moneytech has called for the Federal Government and the NRFC to open consultation with the non-bank sector on how lenders outside the majors can be accredited to participate in the ERP, and will engage directly with the relevant ministers and officials.

www.moneytech.com.au

[1] https://www.nrf.gov.au/what-we-do/investment-sub-funds/economic-resilience-program

[2] https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2025/oct/small-business-economic-and-financial-conditions.html

10 investment experts show where opportunities may be in volatile markets today

WITH GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICT driving energy prices higher, bond yields rising, US tariff uncertainty persisting and artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping entire sectors, Australian investors find themselves navigating one of the most complex environments in recent memory.

InvestmentMarkets, an Australian independent investment marketplace, has brought together views from 10 leading fund managers, market strategists and sector specialists across equities, fixed income, property, private credit and global macro to cut through the noise – with each offering a distinct perspective on where the risks and opportunities sit heading into the second half of 2026.

Rather than a ‘single house’ view, this collection captures the diversity of approaches investors are weighing.

Their assessments range from global macro positioning and contrarian equity strategies through to unlisted property, mortgage funds and the new yield alternatives emerging on the ASX.

To sum the 10 viewpoints up: discipline and diversification matter more than ever.

Darren Connolly, CEO, InvestmentMarkets 

 “Most investors think they’re diversified, but true diversification means more than holding a few different stocks.

“It means exposure across asset classes, geographies and income sources – and it means having parts of your portfolio where the cash flows aren’t driven by market sentiment at all.

“That’s the gap we see most often, and it’s the one that hurts most in periods like this.

 

Michael McCarthy, CEO, Moomoo ANZ 

 “I’m seeing signals from bond markets, currency markets, cryptocurrency markets, and share markets that are all lining up with the same message – growth is slowing and interest rates are headed higher.

“The best time to prepare for volatility is at the beginning when you devise your strategy. The next best time is when markets are going well.

“The third best time is now, because it’s never too late to act.” 

 

Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, founder, FNArena 

 “The share market, outside of a very small selection of winners, is now basically becoming a value proposition for investors who can look beyond the immediate headwinds. 

“The whole AI narrative is a very long-term story. It’s going to change the world, have no doubt but the way it does is open for debate.”

 

Simon Raubenheimer, director, Contrarius Investment Management Simon Raubenheimer Contrarius March 2026

“It is tempting to get excited about shares that are down 70 to 80 percent in a short space of time, but there’s a serious risk of buying a value trap.

“Our challenge is to be extremely disciplined in avoiding companies that face existential risks, even if they look cheap in the rearview mirror.”

 

 

Marc Jocum, product and investment strategist, Global X 

“The current dividend yield on the Australian share market is around 3.2 percent, the lowest it’s been for decades.

“We are heavily weighted into financials and materials, which make up 50 to 60 percent of the market, and significantly underexposed to the sectors projected to grow earnings at double digits.

“Don’t forget that earnings drive the majority of share market returns.” 

 

Michael Saba, portfolio manager, Arculus Funds Management 

 “The landscape has changed dramatically. Hybrids are being phased out, but that doesn’t mean they’re dead, there are still 38 issues and around $37 billion outstanding.

“What’s exciting is the range of new yield products emerging. It’s a sector that has just reached adolescence – it’s going through growing pains, and that’s good, because it will sort itself out.”

 

Nick Alcock, Australian Secure Capital Fund (ASCF) 

 “Since October 2021, APRA has maintained a 3 percent mortgage serviceability buffer. The unintended consequence is that we now see situations where hopeful refinancers can’t even service with their current lenders.

“Borrowers still need funding and projects still need finance, but the traditional banking system is no longer willing to provide it in some cases and that’s the gap private lenders have stepped in to fill.”

 

Vaughan Hayne, managing director and co-founder, Exceed Capital 

“We’ve seen rents on the Gold Coast increase 40 percent in two years, with A-grade office vacancy under 1.7 percent, the lowest it’s ever been.

“Some of our A-grade buildings have moved from $460 to $650 per square metre.

“Construction costs and labour costs are at record highs, which means less new supply – which is generally a good thing for existing commercial property owners. Less supply, more demand, pushes up rental prices.”

 

Michael Fazzini, sales and distribution executive, Capru 

 “The biggest insight in property development that most investors don’t realise is that most of the profit comes from what you pay for the land.

“Market price for land in our world isn’t the last transaction of a similar site or per square metre, it’s working backwards from what the finished product is worth, the build costs, and the minimum return needed to make the project viable.

“Get that wrong and no amount of execution can save you.”

 

Marcus Cleary, head of distribution, Oreana 

“Volatility is a pricing problem, not a cash flow problem.

“Whether it’s tariffs, tech selloffs or oil shocks, the price volatility and breadth of that volatility isn’t seen within the direct asset class because the cash flows we deliver are linked to CPI and backed by long-term leases.

“Regardless of the economic environment, families are still sending their kids to childcare.”

 

Richard Collier, CFO, Heartland Bank 

 “Australians aged over 60 hold more than $3 trillion in property, yet less than 1 percent of that available equity has been unlocked.

“The total reverse mortgage market is only around $5.5 billion against an addressable market of around $600 billion.

“With superannuation balances of just over $4 trillion across the entire system not sufficient to fund the lifestyle Australians expect in retirement, this is the largest store of value that remains untapped.”

www.investmentmarkets.com.au

 

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