Entrepreneur Luc Pettett
Controversial neobank Xinja faces another potential roadblock to the launch of its US share trading platform known as “Dabble”.
The bank, which originally planned to add the platform to its banking app in August, is still waiting on approval from APRA before it can proceed with the business expansion.
However, even if Xinja gets the regulatory green light, it may have to consider a rebrand of the service because another fintech has lodged a claim with IP Australia to use a trademark for a new investor information business known as Dabble Australia Pty Ltd.
The new fintech is the brainchild of Queensland technology entrepreneur Luc Pettett – the founder of the successful punters.com.au website that was sold in 2016 to News Corp Australia.
Pettett told Banking Day that he had a team of 15 people working on the rollout of his Dabble business, which was aimed mainly at the US market.
"For most of 2020 I have been negotiating the purchase of the domain name dabble.com and recently it has been transferred over to us which is very exciting," he said.
"I've been working for some time on the business case for Dabble - it's a great name and we'll soon be launching the website."
Pettett is keeping a lid on the specifics of Dabble’s business case, but described it as a platform for people to organise investment ideas.
"We have established a corporate entity in Delaware in the United States and we have also incorporated a local operation known as Dabble Australia and plan to offer services here as well,” he said.
The presence of two investment-related services in Australia could potentially lead to confusion among consumers, which raises the possibility of a legal stoush over the right to trade under the Dabble moniker.
Pettett could not rule out the possibility of launching a share trading service in the future and also acknowledged that a potential brand clash with Xinja’s Dabble platform would need to be dealt with.
"Of course, like all startups the course we take with our products, what our users want and where we see opportunity is impossible to predict but certainly we can rule out banking,” he said.
"I think if another company is planning to use the Dabble brand in Australia then that will have to be dealt with in time."
Pettett confirmed that his business was looking to offer the investment service through a website and a mobile solution.
Banking Day has sought comment from Xinja Bank’s public relations representative.