Top reward credit cards for Apple, Samsung, Google, Fitbit, Garmin Pay
Whether you’re an Apple or Android smartphone user or prefer Apple, Fitbit or Garmin smartwatches, chances are you already have access to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay and/or Garmin Pay – all of which can be your ticket to earning valuable frequent flyer points with just one tap. For example, you might have an iPhone – compatible with Apple Pay – and can use that to pay for purchases in-store and online using your points-earning credit card. At the same time, a Fitbit Ionic or Versa smartwatch – both of which work with Fitbit Pay – might come in handy for making small purchases after your workout, […]
ASX pushes back the start date for its blockchain
ASX has pushed back the “go live” date for its blockchain to clear and settle the Australian equities market by around six months, after market participants expressed concerns about meeting an ambitious timeline given the complexity of the technological change. Market players used a consultation process to express “a strong interest in better understanding the potential benefits that a DLT [distributed ledger technology]-based system can offer”, ASX said in a new “scope and implementation plan” for its replacement of the CHESS system. Brokers and investors want as much time as possible to get their heads around the technology, and to determine what investment spending will be required to connect with […]
Cryptocurrency behind Great Keppel Island’s $300 million resurrection
There was a time when Great Keppel Island was sold as the ideal place to go and “get wrecked”, a party island at the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. It then faded into disrepair and then into memory. Now an ambitious cryptocurrency consortium plans to resurrect it as a high-tech wonderland including a luxury resort, private villas and apartments, a golf course, retail outlets and a marina in what is being sold as the world’s largest cryptocurrency-backed property deal. If all goes to plan, they boast, when the development is complete Great Keppel will become the world’s largest island cryptocurrency micro-economy, a project that could bring the new digital […]
Australia to trial a SWIFT-er cross-border payments service
SWIFT, the organization providing messaging and standards frameworks to financial institutions, will start trialing its new real-time cross-border payments service in the Asia Pacific region, initially focusing on inbound payments to Australia. With the new instant global payments innovation (gpi) service, banks can improve customer experience by providing faster P2P remittances and SME trade settlement. The trial will initially include banks from Australia, China, Singapore, and Thailand, using the New Payments Platform (NPP). NPP is Australia’s new real-time payments system which went live earlier this year. Although the trial is currently being run on NPP, the service is designed to scale and integrate with real-time systems around the region. According […]
A fireside chat with Evan Wong, CEO of Australia’s leading Regtech – Checkbox.ai
Evan Wong is CEO and Co-founder of Checkbox. At only 25 he already has two successful startups under his belt. Checkbox is a Regtech solution that enables business people to build software without any sort of coding. Checkbox is to business applications what WordPress is to Web Design. Used by lawyers, accountants and bankers Checkbox is considered the ideal tool to fix the Regulatory and Compliance issues facing many financial institutions. How did you become an Entrepreneur? Evan: I founded my first business when I was 17, an education business called Hero Education. Until that point I’d never shown any signs that I was going to be an entrepreneur. Looking […]
The $4b buy now pay later startup built on a legal loophole
“I’m pretty bad when it comes to shopping,” Amanda*, a 23-year-old disability worker based in Melbourne tells Fairfax Media. “If I liked it, I’d Afterpay it”. It’s been said that the ultimate goal for a tech startup is to become a verb. If that’s the case, then Sydney-based Afterpay has well and truly made it. Amanda started using the buy now pay later service in 2016. She used it to purchase clothes, electronics and Christmas presents. But when her financial circumstances changed, she quickly ran into trouble. “When I started using it I was getting good money from work. I could afford the repayments, I always made sure I would […]
Wall Street has helped eliminate one of bitcoin’s biggest problems, and it could fulfil ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision’
Many crypto enthusiast long for a day when bitcoin will replace the entire financial system. But in the meantime, Wall Street might actually be helping the digital asset’s long term adoption, one firm says. New data from SFOX, the cryptocurrency trading technology firm, shows that 2018 has witnessed a drop-off in price variations on digital asset exchanges. The firm argues that trend is tied to the entrance of large Wall Street firms into the market, which makes it more stable. “Before institutional firms were actively trading crypto or heavily involved (before 2018) bitcoin price differences between exchanges varied as high as 4.5%,” said Danny Kim, head of growth at SFOX. […]
Neo-lender raises $4m in capital
A neo-lender has raised more than $4million from shares, saying the investment acknowledges the transformation of the business. Wisr, which has also released its figures for the last financial year, provides personal loans and technology products to help borrowers. It will use the funds to take a more innovative approach on how loans are funded and to potentially increase margins. The capital will also assist in helping the company’s ongoing growth initiatives as part of its customer acquisition and retention strategy. Commenting on the capital raise, Anthony Nantes, chief executive officer, said, “We are delighted with the strong support we received from the capital raise. “This investment acknowledges the transformation […]
