AML Accelerate launches a category defining AML/CFT compliance platform
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance requirements are being revised and new requirements are being introduced and enforced around the world, impacting more than 30 financial and non-financial industry sectors, with many being brought into AML/CFT for the first time. Industry sectors including lawyers, accountants, real-estate agents and dealers in high-value goods are soon to be subject to AML/CFT laws which are being progressively rolled-out with law practices in New Zealand the first required to comply by 1 July 2018. Non-compliance could result in fines, penalties, civil or criminal prosecution, loss of license and reputation damage. The estimated cost for an average business to achieve compliance […]
Crypto payments slash transaction costs
Cryptocurrency is a lucrative payments option for slashing transaction fees and building a longer-term business savings fund, a Melbourne business owner has claimed. Robert Tadros, founder of Melbourne digital media agency Impress!ve, which has 19 staff and a revenue of $3.5 million in its first two years, began accepting crypto payments for his services around seven months ago. The business accepts four of the main digital currencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple. “A client who is in the online retail space reached out and said: ‘Rob, I buy a lot of my furniture from Overstocked.com, they accept bitcoin as payment; have you considered offering your service for crypto?’,” Mr Tadros […]
Samsung Pay now available for CommBank customers
From today Commonwealth Bank Mastercard customers will have access to Samsung Pay. The contactless payment platform enables CBA customers to make payments via compatible Samsung phones and wearables. CommBank already offers Android Pay but not Apple Pay. Research released this week suggested smartphones users’ loyalty to their devices was influencing their choice of banks. In a company statement, Samsung said the new partnership with CBA demonstrates their commitment “to making mobile wallets an everyday reality for millions of Australians.” To use the app CBA customers must load their Mastercard debit and credit card information to the Samsung Pay digital wallet. However the app creates a “tokenised card number” for users […]
Seasoned Executive is appointed CEO of leading Fintech Macrovue
AMP-backed fintech Macrovue is pleased to announce today it has appointed Rod Bristow as CEO. Rod is a former Chief Operating Officer and alternate Managing Director of Australia’s largest online stockbroker CommSec. Most recently he was Managing Director and CEO of Infocus Wealth Management – a national financial advice, asset management and technology group. In these roles, Rod led large teams to drive substantial growth organically and via mergers and acquisitions. Macrovue will retain the expertise and capability of Founder Dr Sid Sahgal, who will move into the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer. This strategic move will provide substantial depth of capability for Macrovue to deliver on its […]
Bank-in-an-app startup Pelikin has launched a crowfunding equity raise
Pelikin, a banking alternative designed for digital natives, today launched a $400,000 equity raise on crowdfunding platform Birchal. The fintech startup is founded by 28-year-old Sam Brown, who wants to disrupt traditional retail banking with a more efficient way to manage money in Australia and while travelling abroad. Pelikin users will be able to control and spend in multiple currencies at once, all from the one app and with one debit card, as well as transfer money to other Pelikin users instantly and free. “We’re not ex bankers who’ve had an epiphany that the retail banking world needs to change; we’re frustrated, everyday banking customers who are dedicated to making […]
Peer to Peer lending increasingly popular in Australia
Australian investors and borrowers are increasingly adopting peer to peer lending platforms according to the results of survey undertaken by ASIC. The results of the survey suggest that as much as $300 million of personal and business loans were underwritten by peer to peer lenders over the course of the last fiscal year. That represents a doubling in the amount that was lent on such platforms during the 2015/2016 financial year. Peer to peer will continue to grow John Price ASIC Commissioner says the results of the survey suggest that growth of such lending marketplaces will continue to grow as Australians seek out the best deals and interest rates on […]
Acorns to launch its own superannuation product
The micro-investment app’s new super product, Acorns Grow Australia Super, will be available from March. Micro-investment platform Acorns has today announced it will launch its own super product to sit within its existing app. The Acorns app is popular with Australians, particularly millennials, for its simple approach to investing by rounding up everyday transactions and adding the loose change into an investment portfolio on their behalf. The super product, Acorns Grow Australia Super, will follow in the same footsteps aiming to simplify superannuation. Managing director of Acorns George Lucas said the new super product, like the existing investment product, has been built with young Australians in mind. “We see younger […]
The rise of blockchain as a service
As major cloud providers solidify their blockchain offerings, have real world benefits begun to emerge for enterprise? As a technology, blockchain has been busy. From the frenzied speculation around Bitcoin and any token-related initial coin offerings (ICOs) through to private infrastructure projects, it’s fair to say that blockchain is the flavour du jour, with almost every major enterprise announcing a pilot project or investment. Indeed, several established companies have successfully improved their share price by simply including the word ‘blockchain’ in their trading names – most famously Long Island Iced Tea Corp, which saw a dramatic, albeit fleeting, share price surge of 289% after the company rebranded itself Long Blockchain […]
