A LAKE Macquarie start-up technology company has sold its first product to one of the “big four” banks.
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I was a business owner and I was frustrated that I didn’t know more about the charges on the account statement.
- - Stuart Grover
Stuart Grover, a co-founder of Look Who’s Charging, a website that allows users to cross-reference bank card charges with merchant details, confirmed that the website had been sold to one of the big banks but declined to say which one.
Mr Grover was speaking after the business won first place at CeBIT Australia’s start-up PitchFest competition.
“It’s validation,” he said of the win.
“When you start the business you wonder whether other people see the same problem that we saw, so it’s wonderful in that sense.”
Look Who’s Charging was established with the help of Lake Macquarie’s Dantia Smart Hub, a partnership between the council and University of Newcastle that assists small businesses get off the ground.
“Winning the prestigious CeBIT PitchFest competition provides validation that our mission to eradicate the 10 million plus hours Australians waste trying to figure out who has charged their card, is a core issue that every Australian can relate to,” Mr Grover said.
“This is our first PitchFest competition, and already doors have opened with meaningful business and investor conversations.
“Thank you to CeBIT Australia and TiE Sydney for continuing to foster an ecosystem for start-up organisations and innovation to thrive across NSW and Australia.”
Mr Grover said the website was expecting more than a million page views per month after the bank takes over.
He said the bank sees the website as a way to increase customer convenience, with account holders no longer having to ring the bank for charge queries.
The website lets users search the details of companies that charge their cards.
Users can contact the merchants through the website for card queries.
Mr Grover said the idea for the website came from personal experience.
“I was a business owner and I was frustrated that I didn’t know more about the charges on the account statement,” he said.
“It’s a problem the world over, not just in Australia.”