Xinja hits minimum target on path to $5m equity raise

Newly licensed neobank Xinja has announced that its second crowdfunding campaign, launched on the Equitise platform, has raised the minimum target of $500,000.

Xinja has offered shares at $2.04 each, with minimum investment of $255 from interested stakeholders, with expectations of raising up to $5 million.

The campaign opened early to existing investors, customers and people who had registered interest, with Xinja founder and CEO Eric Wilson stating that he’s confident of further investment before the campaign closes.

“A year ago, when Xinja was the first company to launch an equity crowdfunding campaign, we raised more than half a million dollars in less than 18 hours,“ Mr Wilson said. “A lot has happened since then.”

He continued: “We can now call ourselves a bank: we have a restricted banking licence, more products in development, and we have the momentum to become partners with thousands more Australians.”

Co-founder of Equitise, Jonny Wilkinson, added that since the last raise, Xinja has continued to receive significant interest from investors, customers and the Australian public.

“Xinja hit the ground running with its first equity crowdfund and interest continued to remain strong from previous and new investors who were keen to know when the next raise would be,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“Xinja is a fantastic example of the power of equity crowdfunding where ‘the crowd’ is given the opportunity to back a company they believe in.”

In 2018, Xinja successfully closed its first crowdfund, reaching its minimum funding goal within 18 hours and raising a total of $2.7 million.

This initial crowdfund campaign was pitched at $1.25 a share and added more than 1,220 new investors to the Xinja share register.

“Nearly to the day, Xinja has returned for its second raise, gearing up for a hugely exciting 2019 after recently receiving its RADI (restricted authorised deposit-taking institution licence) from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. This creates a really exciting investment opportunity for Australians,” Mr Wilkinson said.

Mr Wilson claimed that Xinja is now “a step closer” to delivering “real competition” in the Australian banking sector, as it works towards receiving a full banking licence.

“We’re about banking technology that more closely resembles what people expect from innovators and disruptors, like Netflix or Uber, as opposed to old-style, bricks and mortar-based banking,” Mr Wilson added.

“We want people to make better decisions about their money. Getting them on board, as early shareholders, also helps us build a better bank.”

[Related: APRA grants banking licence to neobank]