One-month P2P investments popular with Millennials and Gen X
Data has revealed Millennial and Gen X peer-to-peer lending investors utilise the one-month market more than any other. Analysis of the $150 million invested in peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platform RateSetter since its 2014 launch shows over 70% of Millennial and Gen X investors on the platform have invested in the one-month market. For the one-year market, this figure was only 40% for Millennial investors and 42% for Gen X investors. CEO of RateSetter Daniel Foggo said the one-month market provides a “stable, attractive return of around 4% p.a.” with ready access to money. “Far from wasting money on avocado toast, these young investors are seizing the opportunity to make their […]
Older Aussies ‘lack’ confidence with financial technology
It’s not that older Australians lack the capacity to engage with modern banking technology, but that they lack the confidence, a major Australian bank has said. New data from the Commonwealth Bank shows that older Aussies are “increasingly” using technology to stay on top of their finances. However, while the bank noted that this group has “strong ATM usage” and has seen a “big uplift in online banking”, they nevertheless lack confidence. The head of retail sales strategy and projects at CBA, Anna Mankiewicz said: “What we find in our everyday interactions with older customers is that, when it comes to keeping up with the fast evolution of technology, it […]
Australian Fintech finalists at the Optus My Business Awards
Congratulations to all the Australian Fintech companies and leaders who have been nominated as finalists in this year’s Optus My Business Awards: Business Leader of the Year Andrew Murray, Curve Securities Young Business Leader of the Year Larry Diamond, zipMoney Mandeep Sodhi, HashChing Finance Business of the Year zipMoney Fintech Business of the Year Curve Securities ezyCollect Maestrano MAUS Business Systems MoneyMe Financial Group NowInfinity Practice Ignition SelfWealth Sniip zipMoney Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Business of the Year Maestrano Innovator of the Year Practice Ignition Pocketbook
Woolworths & Apple alliance set to increase Aus digital wallet use
Customers of Australian grocery giant Woolworths will soon be able to acquire and redeem rewards points through Apple’s Wallet App. The retailer has made an agreement with Apple to store its loyalty cards within their digital wallet. The decision is tipped to significantly increase the uptake of digital wallets within Australia. With about 10 million members, Woolworths is said to boast the largest customer loyalty reward scheme in Australia. Though not every member will have an iPhone, nor be inclined to use Apple’s digital wallet. Reports state Apple and Woolworth will announce the agreement this week, prior to a launch in mid-October. Paul Monnington, Woolworths’ Head of Digital and Payments, states the decision is […]
‘Banking for blockchain’ platform raises AUD$37m in pre-ICO round
ASX-listed blockchain solutions company DigitalX has announced Bankera has successfully closed its Pre-Initial Coin Offering (ICO) round by raising €25m (AUD$37m). Bankera, a digital fintech solution platform based in Europe, has closed €25m via the sale of 2.5 Billion Banker (BNK) tokens at €0.01 each. Bankera is building a regulated bank for the blockchain era, so it means it will be a digital bank with traditional banking services (eg, giving out loans) and will support both cryptocurrencies and regular currencies. With DigitalX as its corporate advisor, it held the token sale to fast-track the development of a ‘digital bank’ for consumers operating in the blockchain era. “This announcement is an […]
AI RegTech deal boosts compliance speeds for Airwallex
Melbourne headquartered fintech startup Airwallex today announced a partnership with AI-driven RegTech ComplyAdvantage. The partnership will allow Airwallex to conduct real-time screening and monitoring of transactions for sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF), following a US$13 million Series A funding round from Tencent, Sequoia and Mastercard that has spurred rapid growth into new regions. ComplyAdvantage helps firms make intelligent choices by using Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics to manage their compliance and risk obligations, and to prevent the occurrence of financial crime. Regarded as one of the most trusted and innovative compliance solutions in the industry, ComplyAdvantage’s real-time insights will minimise risk on transactions conducted […]
Digital banking has way to go: neobank Xinja’s Eric Wilson
The way neobanks see it, digital banking has barely scratched the surface, with newfangled banking apps nothing more than digitised versions of analog capabilities. It’s a view strongly endorsed by former National Australia Bank executive Eric Wilson, who is the co-founder of Australia’s first neobank Xinja — a 100 per cent digital bank (presently under construction) that’s designed entirely for the mobile market. Xinja’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s consultation paper on competition in the financial system, lodged yesterday, encapsulates why it stands alone in this country, in contrast to the proliferation of neobanks in countries like Britain (Monzo, Starling, Atom Bank and Tandem), and Germany (N26 and Fidor). Thankfully, […]
‘Better than blockchain’ new asset trading system unveiled
The chief scientist of the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre, Michael Aitken, has demonstrated a new asset trading system – known as digi.cash – which he says will allow a broad range of financial assets to be traded at virtually no cost with immediate settlement, potentially disruptive to existing markets like the Australian Securities Exchange. Digi.cash works via a system of “tokenisation”, where a digital representation is made of a physical asset. When the “token” is sent from one person to another, settlement is instant. The receiver can then “withdraw” the real asset. In a presentation to the Financial Review Innovation Summit, Professor Aitken, who received the Prime Minister’s innovation […]
