Pinned straw:
Maybe I can understand why no one really follows Wrkr and so maybe this is another "has been" and move on.
The chart doesn't look good with early investors burnt in the beginning and is another risk that I took into account in the subscribing for the recent capital raise. Plus the ability to control costs early in the company journey.
Anyway, while everyone talks about AI, I'll just pen some thoughts here on what I see coming up.
Looking forward - Payday super:
Although this list is only for SMSF holders and not significant, still this offers clues on who may benefit from the Payday super changes
https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-electronically-through-superstream/self-managed-super-funds/electronic-service-address/register-of-smsf-messaging-providers
I see Class (the spurned HUB24???), Macquarie and Netwealth there. But Netwealth and Mac doesn't offer rollovers so I wonder if they will work on upgrading their messaging platform? Not sure about Westpac and Colonial either
Anyway I'm creating a sounding board here while I figure out who could benefit big from the Payday super change that needs to be done by July 2026. I feel there could be many ways to play this and not just in Wrkr. Ironically I think Wrkr is not the best way to play this narrative so am thinking carefully about this before I post any more on this.
In meantime, feel free to post some thoughts.
[held]
SudMav
Thanks for the overview of this stock @edgescape
I agree with you that the number of shares outstanding is a bit of a concern, which is further compounded by the recent capital raise. Once profitable, they will need some big profit numbers to significantly move the EPS dial. I don't really know enough about all the WRKR offering and whether their compliance and time/error saving benefits differentiate their offering from the competition.
I might be able to add some commentary, as I have had a little bit of exposure to this subject matter (in an interim capacity) when my previous workplace transitioned their banking (and super payment arrangements) from one major bank to the competition. My former workplace was able to become compliant for SuperStream using the MYOB offering integrated with the banking platform solution and the Bluedoor cloud hosted registry platform.
In relation to potential 2026 payday super winners, it might be worth having a look at the SuperStream certified product register on the ATO website for some ideas on opportunity and potential competition in the to get ESA SMSF Market pre 2026. As you can see from this list, a number of the big players in this field are already compliant with the SuperStream requirements as a fully integrated offering, or data file integration in batch uploads that can process the data and payments into Super on behalf of the employer.
Depending on the employer's banking/payroll/HR provider and their capabilities, these super payment transactions can potentially be automated with API calls and/or regularly scheduled batch uploads in the payroll/banking platform to align with other scheduled payments.
I can also add, that similar to Strawman's experiences shared on the podcast, the change process for transitioning the banking/super was painful (especially from a payroll perspective), and it was challenging to sell the benefits to the end users. It also sometimes required technical solutions to be developed that could integrate the new offering with the other new or legacy third party systems (payroll, transaction, other) in use across the business.
From my perspective, the big winners from these upcoming changes are the Super Funds and the Australian public, who can take advantage of the additional compounding growth from more frequent payments. I too will be monitoring this space to work out who would be the potential winners in this space, or from second/third tier flow on effects.
Would also be keen to see if any other out there have some further experiences that they could share.
edgescape
A few points on the link under heading clearinghouse
- Clicksuper is WrkrPay and WrkrSMSF probably leverages this.
- Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is planned to be retired.
- There's some statement from Trent that Westpac being "quiet" on Quicksuper but knows "Super Choice" is the competitor. MUFG (Super Clearing House online???) is legacy and is why they are looking at Trent for solutions (from a recent transcript I found)
So if Small business goes, then there is a chance some of the transactions go to other providers including Wrkr
edgescape
I sort of think the real winners will be the next gen wealth platforms like the dreaded Netwealth and Hub24
And to some extent, Xero, since they probably have a loyal base to convert to the premium offering that is integrated with SuperChoice
Not sure about RKN, they use BeamConnect which uses the Wrkr platform software license (not Wrkr Pay).
But in case you are curious here are some slides of the super funds.
IFL has 121bn but annoyingly they have hidden the growth so I need to look a bit harder
AMP is pretty tiny growth - 54bn
And AEF which is tiny but is growing. Christian Super seems like a good acquisition.
Of the all the super funds, IFL is the best performing, followed by AMP and then AEF when I use the quick comparison tool.
AEF perhaps has the stickier client base in Christian Super (according to them).
Interesting price action also in AEF recently.
But as you know, AEF has holdings where ESG is questionable. Rubicon Water is one. Sometimes I wonder if AEF strictly follows the ESG playbook (examining the sustainability reports and making sure they conform to SASB, GRI and SBTs (science based targets) or just want a fast return. Anyway that's another story.