BPAY Group launches Sypht and Lodge
BPAY Group, announced today the launch of Sypht and Lodge. The addition of the new companies is a strategic move for BPAY Group and signals its transformation beyond payments. BPAY Group recently worked with BCG Digital Ventures to identify frictions in the Australian marketplace that it could help address from its unique position within Australia’s financial services industry. The result has been the introduction of two new companies, Sypht and Lodge, within the BPAY Group family of businesses. The companies operate independently and are headed by their own CEOs. Sypht uniquely uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to unlock the power of data. Sypht’s recently appointed CEO is Warren Billington. […]
PlayChip digital currency exchange “PlayXchange” registered
The PlayChip Foundation has been registered as the first digital currency exchange in Australia with its own native token. Last week the PlayChip Foundation Ltd was registered to provide Digital Currency Exchange services by Australian regulatory body AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, is Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator and financial intelligence unit. The registration is pursuant to subsection 76E(2) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2017 (AML/CTF Act Amendment Act 2017). The registration signals a huge step forward to the Foundation, which will operate a cryptocurrency exchange called the PlayXchange as part of a global payment solution to its more than […]
Brave fintech MoneyMe to test the market
Trying to list a financial services company while a royal commission into banking is going on is not for the faint-hearted, but it does not appear to be preventing small financial technology lender MoneyMe from attempting the move. Moneyme.com.au offers personal loans, cash loans, short-term loans and fast cash advances and is attempting to launch an initial public offering through Bell Potter and Ord Minnett. The company was co-founded about two years ago by Clayton Howes, who secured $30m in debt and equity funding at the time, according to reports. No doubt the deal will be a tough ask for the brokers involved in trying to list the business, but […]
ASIC warns all fintech business lenders over contracts
The corporate regulator wants all online business lenders to remove unfair terms from their contracts just like Prospa has done, indicating start-ups that want to compete against banks will be held to similar regulatory standards as community expectations lift following the royal commission. In a letter sent last week to Brad Kitschke, CEO of industry lobby group FinTech Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission declared “action [is] required”. ASIC said it “will consider regulatory action where appropriate” if fintechs don’t comply with the 2016 laws that prevent lenders using excessive contractual power over business borrowers. Banks have already been forced by ASIC to make the changes, although Hayne royal […]
ANZ bank launches phone wallet to withdraw cash from ATMs
The days of carrying a plastic bank card could be numbered, with ANZ customers now being offered the option of ditching their wallet for an all-digital profile. The bank’s latest innovation is technology allowing consumers to use a smartphone or watch to withdraw their cash from an ATM. The move means all ATM functions can now be completed without a card, and follows the widespread use of devices to process payments and purchases. “It is more secure than plastic cards because customers have to either use their face ID, or thumbprint or pin on their phone before they can even use cash, and take the cash out at the ATM,” […]
Policies to build a data economy
Australia has a rare opportunity to capture a disproportionately large proportion of emerging data economy, according to Reinventure Group co-founder and managing director Danny Gilligan. But the effort is going to take a top-down, nationally coordinated policy effort to build competitive and exportable regulatory frameworks for data. Mr Gilligan holds deeply the belief that data is the single biggest lever for delivering microeconomic and social reform in the next two decades and should be made a material part of policy development and trade considerations at all levels of thinking across both government and the private sector. The potential size of the global data economy is difficult to quantify. There is […]
Commonwealth Bank adds Visa to digital wallets across Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit and more
After a long wait, Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has today announced they’ve added Visa support across their Digital Wallet solutions. The support for using Visa credit cards and business debit cards comes after Commonwealth Bank saw a large increase in the use of Tap & Pay. The bank saw an increase of 35 per cent to 16.8 million transactions from 5 million Commbank App users over the past six months. It’s not just the Commbank App which gains Tap & Pay support for Visa, with the bank also adding support in Visa to Samsung Pay and Google Pay as well as for customers using fitness watches from Fitbit and Garmin using […]
What’s the deal with equity crowdfunding, and should I do it?
What’s changed? The updated legislation passed on September 12, including an amendment from Labor which means it will come into effect in 28 days. Equity crowdfunding will now be available to private companies, but there are still some restrictions. Companies must have less than $25 million in turnover and gross assets, and funds raised will be restricted to $5 million each year. Startups using the method will also be subject to transaction rules and stringent reporting and disclosure obligations, with annual reports and directors’ reports required. Once companies raise $3 million or more, they will also be subject to auditing requirements. Matt Vitale, co-founder of equity crowdfunding platform Birchal, tells […]
