Payments startup Sniip announces national Australia Post partnership
Mobile payment technology company Sniip is today announcing a new nation-wide partnership with Australia Post to explore the use of Sniip to enable consumers to pay bills using the Post BillPay barcode anytime, anywhere. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sniip, Damien Vasta, said the company was excited to be working with Australia Post to provide greater choice to consumers in how they pay their bills. “Working with Australia Post presents an exciting opportunity to bring the benefits of speedy and secure bill-payment to the vast network of Post Billpay users Australia-wide,’’ Mr Vasta said. “This partnership is truly a breakthrough in customer service delivery, meeting the […]
Hyperwallet facilitates AUD transfers for Amazon sellers
Hyperwallet, a top global payout provider to digital marketplaces, today revealed that it will support international seller disbursements from Amazon’s new Australia-based marketplace. Hyperwallet’s multi-currency payout solution enables Amazon Marketplace sellers from across the globe to quickly and easily accept payment to their bank account across a wide range of local currencies. Hyperwallet is offering sellers the ability to use ‘Login with Amazon’ on its website to register for Hyperwallet’s self-serve payment portal, providing a simplified onboarding process for global sellers. Hyperwallet then ensures fast, convenient payment to sellers’ local bank accounts through its global network of banking relationships. “Amazon has long been recognized as a pioneer in […]
The time is now for financial advisers to embrace fintechs
Advisers need to think about fintech services as more than just potential competitors for their market and start thinking about how to capitalise on the sectors’ strengths, writes Sharesight’s Douglas Morris. Recently, the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) released a white paper on fintech titled Mapping Fintech to the Financial Planning Process – Why Fintech is Not a Threat. “Not a threat” meaning fintech provides an opportunity for financial advisers as opposed to eating a financial planner’s lunch. The FPA has done a commendable job assessing the landscape, asking the right questions and separating out what really should concern financial advisers. Disruptive moments are paired with opportunity and they’ve […]
Sydney co-working institution Tank Stream Labs to open Perth office
One of the country’s oldest and most well-respected co-working space providers Tank Stream Labs has announced it will be expanding into Perth in a bid to help link the startup ecosystems on Australia’s east and west coasts. Faced with many alluring prospects when considering which Australian capital cities to launch TSL’s first every non-Sydney co-working space into, chief executive Bradley Delamare tells StartupSmart he picked Perth because of the potential for growth in the city’s startup ecosystem. “Melbourne has almost double the co-working spaces of Sydney, and Brisbane is small market already with some standouts like Fishburners and River City Labs,” he says. “Perth is an interesting one, and over […]
Traders brace for volatile bitcoin futures launch
The newest way to bet on bitcoin will arrive when futures of the cryptocurrency that has taken Wall Street by a storm begin trading. The first bitcoin future trades are set to kick off at 6pm New York time on Sunday (10AM AEDT Monday) on CBOE Global Markets Inc’s CBOE Futures Exchange. This has given an extra kick to the cryptocurrency’s scorching run this year. Bitcoin’s price soared so far this month, but it has made sharp moves in both directions in recent days, falling by almost a fifth on Friday after surging more than 40 per cent in the previous 48 hours. On Sunday, bitcoin was up about 3 […]
Aussie Bitcoin exchanges now need to register with the govt
Operators of Australian exchanges for Bitcoin and other digital currencies will now need to register with the country’s anti-money laundering agency after new legislation passed through parliament. AUSTRAC has been given the authority to monitor local cryptocurrency exchanges through the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017. The bill was introduced in August to combat the threat of serious financial crime, in the wake of revelations about the Commonwealth Bank’s breaches of money laundering laws. It was also spurred on by global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) findings of significant deficiencies in Australia’s anti-money laundering framework two years prior. The new law, which passed through the senate yesterday, for […]
Why most Australians don’t invest in shares
The vast majority of Australians have never invested in shares, and there’s no great mystery why – they can’t afford it. But the rise of fintech solutions such as Acorns has made share trading more accessible to everyday Australians, a survey by comparison site Finder suggests. The online survey of 2017 Australians aged 18 to 90 found that three out of four people had never invested in shares. Men are nearly twice as likely to have invested in shares as women, with 35 per cent of men having tried it compared with 17 per cent of women. The majority of shares investment is traditional ASX investing, which one in five […]
Bank rules get tougher so technology’s importance grows
Borrowers who embrace apps and budgeting technology that tracks their spending are giving themselves a better chance of grabbing a good loan amid a crackdown by regulators. Stricter rules around loan serviceability means people able to prove what they spend are getting the upper hand. Financial regulator APRA last month called for more realistic living expense details on loan applications and increased vigilance by lenders. People’s Choice Credit Union spokesman Stuart Symons said reliable records were becoming increasingly important, and borrowers could help themselves “by being on the front foot”. “If you can’t show what you spend, a lender may look instead to an estimate that shows a higher level […]
