Link4 Australia gears up for international expansion
Adelaide FinTech company Link4 recently launched their new office space on Waymouth Street to give the company more space to grow as they expand internationally this year. Renew Adelaide and the Adelaide City Council hosted a launched in the new space to celebrate Link4’s achievements so far and to support the company for their exciting year ahead. In this new space, the Link4 team has already grown to strengthen their support and management teams, offering a well-rounded experience for their clients. “Our team is set to double in four months when we expand our product to the United Kingdom and New Zealand,” said Robin Sands, CEO and Co-Founder of Link4 […]
Australians essentially are trading with one hand behind their back
The CEO of a fintech start-up has said Australian traders need to consider exposure to international markets, arguing that those who do so are “several steps ahead”. Speaking to Nest Egg, the CEO of the self-described “shop for shares”, Stake’s Matt Leibowitz, said while it always comes down to strategy, Australian investors who limit themselves to local opportunities tend to be “playing with one hand tied behind your back”. Reflecting on this week’s markets volatility, he said traders need to have the tools to be able to profit from opportunities like down-turns, whether traders predict such down-turns to be a fluctuation or a trend. “Whether you want to trade long, […]
Tether: How a cryptocurrency you’ve never heard of could tank the price of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is crashing, but you probably already knew that. However, if you haven’t spent the past few weeks desperately refreshing CoinMarketCap (or one of the other sites that tracks the value of cryptocurrencies) you may have missed a shocking drop that’s erased much of the value built up over 2017. Tether It’s still unclear exactly what’s causing the price of Bitcoin to drop so rapidly (currently hovering at around $8000, down from $21,500 a month ago). Of course, it’s no secret that the value of cryptocurrencies can be volatile, but recent reports suggest that one particular currency could be responsible for artificially driving up the price of Bitcoin, leading up […]
Local digital currency exchange Independent Reserve adds two new execs, turns to institutions
Independent Reserve, the Australian Digital Currency exchange, has added two executives to its senior management team as the company turns its attention to its growing stable of institutional and SMSF clients. Roman Stefanidi joined Independent Reserve as Chief Technology Officer in August, and Lasanka Perera as Head of Strategy in October. CEO Adrian Przelozny said the firm was now well positioned to grow as it focuses on institutional clientele. “Digital Currency has reached a level of awareness now where we’re seeing investors who have been waiting on the sidelines starting to enter the market,” he said. “Factors like the the new regulation by AUSTRAC, emerging ETFs and crypto […]
CUA launches Apple Pay on its EFTPOS rediCARD
Apple Pay is now available on the full range of CUA-issued debit and credit cards. Australia’s largest credit union CUA has today launched Apple Pay to its EFTPOS rediCARDs, allowing customers with the rediCARD to make real-time contactless purchases via their iPhone or Apple watch. The integration completes the loop for CUA, with Apple Pay now available on the full range of CUA-issued cards. The new functionality will enable CUA customers with rediCARD to make EFTPOS purchases via the digital wallet securely using their own money and in real-time. Customers with a compatible Apple device will now be able to choose to make the contactless payment with EFTPOS, by selecting […]
Cryptocurrency craze drives two Perth ventures
Two Perth start-ups are entering the world of blockchain very differently, one to serve the layman and the other the expert, but both are undaunted by the drastic fall last month in the value of the technology’s high-profile product — cryptocurrency. Blockboxx founder Martin McGinty wants to gather together the existing expertise in Perth to move the technology forward. Mr McGinty, an IT professional, became involved with blockchain only early last year but, like the technology itself, wants to move fast. He said there were hundreds of online platforms where the enthusiastic early adopters of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency trading exchanged ideas. “I want to get all that and bring […]
Open banking regime to boost advice
Australia’s open banking regime will fundamentally change the way financial advisers interact with consumers but several hurdles must be cleared before any true potential is realised. The expected multi-billion dollar implementation of open banking will give consumers greater access to and control over their banking data – allowing them to share it with wealth managers for new or better services. However, giving consumers more control does not automatically translate to immediate benefit. In its submission to Treasury’s review of open banking in Australia, Fintech Australia described the initiative as vital but notes several shortcomings to customer data collection and reuse. It said reports from its 170 members indicated between 10 […]
Westpac, ANZ and NAB aren’t planning a bitcoin crackdown … yet
Australia’s largest banks have confirmed they do not currently have plans to block their customers from buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This differs from the approach taken by UK-based Lloyds Banking Group, and US banks JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citi.Those banks, in recent days, have announced they will ban their customers from using credit cards to purchase digital currencies. ANZ’s response ANZ told the ABC that it “does not prohibit customers buying digital or cryptocurrencies, or accepting them as a form of payment”. However, ANZ’s spokesperson said: “We monitor transactions for unusual behaviour to protect against potential fraud and in line with our regulatory responsibilities.” “We do not […]
