Notes and coins seem anachronistic
Apart from the introduction of polymer banknotes back in the 1980s, Australian cash has remained largely the same since its creation. Now, rapid advances in technology are making the concept of crinkled pieces of plastic and metal coins seem anachronistic. The latest payment method to garner widespread public attention has been contactless payments. Customers can pay for purchases at the point of sale by simply tapping their credit or debit card on a compatible terminal. For lower-value transactions, even a PIN is not required. Contactless payment systems typically make use of near-field communication (NFC) technology that allows transactions to take place when the card or phone is within a few […]
Security important but most consumers prefer convenience
The fact convenience trumps security for most consumers when it comes to online shopping was one of the more alarming revelations to come out of the recent Future of Payments roundtable co-hosted by The Australian Financial Review and Braintree. For founder and CEO of online beauty store Adore Beauty, Kate Morris, the level of concern people have about security at present is nothing compared to what it was when she began in 2000. “People just assume that so long as your website looks legit, that you are all right.” CEO and founder of online personal brand consultants Social Check, David Griffiths, believes consumers are in for a huge wake-up call […]
Finding the right partners key to success
In a recent white paper on the future of payments involving The Australian Financial Review and Braintree, one of the key findings was more than a quarter of businesses work with three or more payment partners. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it ensures an organisation can reach a wider range of consumers but on the other, it injects more complexity into the mix such as more security issues. For business, getting the payments element of online commerce right is critical as is getting the right payments partner. Growing companies need a payments partner that can scale quickly and deal with a range […]
Former AFL star Ted Richards’ goal for robo adviser Six Park
Ted Richards learnt an important investment lesson as a young footballer, one that would lead him to pursuing a career in the financial services sector after he retired from sport. Richards was drafted to AFL club Essendon as a 17-year-old in late 2000 and once in the sporting system found himself getting paid relatively well for someone his age and wondering what to do with his money. A gift from his father, the Peter Lynch book One Up On Wall Street, gave him the idea of dabbling in the stock market. “I was 17, living at home and didn’t have a lot of expenses, so when I started getting pay […]
Open banking – Australia, behind the eight ball, report says
A report by Capgemini and Efma, entitled World Retail Banking Report 2017 (WRBR 2017), states that as the Open Banking revolution continues to unfold, banks risk disintermediation. The report offers two suggestions for how banks can avoid disintermediation: Firstly, banks must carefully choose their customer interaction business model, and secondly, they must use application programming interfaces (APIs). The report also states that banks, in collaboration with FinTechs, can lead the Open Banking movement by offering their customer bases innovative and personalised services that create new revenue streams and provide more value to customers. “FinTechs are now earning higher positive customer experience scores than traditional banks, and banks are openly seeking […]
High schooler becomes millionaire thanks to Bitcoin
The rags-to-riches stories about Bitcoin investors are a consistent theme with the rise in the value of Bitcoin over the past six months. The most recent is Erik Finman, who invested USD$1,000 in Bitcoin in 2011 when it was valued at USD$12. His parents had made an agreement with him that if he were a millionaire by 18, he wouldn’t have to attend college. A child of two Stanford Ph.D. holders, Finman was willing to take the bet. He now holds 403 Bitcoins, which, at their current valuation of USD$2,700, represent USD$1.09 mln. He also manages investments for the rest of his family, who have begun looking into Bitcoin as […]
The finalists for the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017
The 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017 celebrate the achievements of the dynamic people and businesses comprising the FinTech sector. These Awards seek to recognise success in the FinTech sector in its many forms. This event will be an evening of celebrating the best innovation, created by the best innovators and entrepreneurs that live and work in Australia. Here are the finalists for the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017 to be held Thursday 22 June in Sydney: FinTech Innovation in payments Tyro Payments ZipMoney Afterpay FinTech Innovation in Wealth Management (Robo-Advice) Acorns Grow Australia Six Park Pocketbook FinTech Innovation in Lending SocietyOne MoneyMe Financial Group Tyro Payments […]
Big banks and fintech start-ups face up to Jack Ma’s mobile payments juggernaut Ant Financial
As Australia’s retailers steel themselves for the arrival of US online shopping giant Amazon, our banks are also set for a big disruption. They’re already staring down competition from small, home-grown digital financial start-ups, but there’s a much bigger threat on the horizon. Ant Financial is the financial services arm of the Chinese internet shopping giant Alibaba and boasts 450 million daily users worldwide. While Ant Financial says it wants to work with our banks, not against them, some are warning disruption from a global digital giant is inevitable, even if it doesn’t come from China. To find out more and hear the audio, please click on the link […]
