Midwinter : Reputational risk still a determining factor for advisers when it comes to Social Media
It appears that the Australian advice industry is split when it comes to whether reputational risk prevents them from participating on social media channels, according to research carried out by Midwinter Financial Services in conjunction with Jenesis Consulting. In 2016, Midwinter surveyed 153 advisers of varying backgrounds and specialisations on Digital and social media, with the results revealing mixed feelings on many aspects in regards to how the industry engages with these tools. The responses were compiled and put together in Midwinter’s Digital and Social Media Survey Report. Of particular interest was that 87.3% of planners surveyed believed there to be some degree of reputational risk involved in engaging on […]
UK fintech delegation heads to Australasia
A trade delegation of eleven UK fintech companies will visit Australia and New Zealand in March. The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) will bring a trade delegation of eleven successful UK fintech companies to Australia and New Zealand in March. The trade mission will build on the success achieved by several UK companies in Australia, such as Ratesetter, ThinCats, TruRating and OTCX by promoting opportunities in Australian and New Zealand fintech, including in the emerging regtech, insurtech and blockchain sectors. It will provide a platform for UK and Australian counterparts to exchange ideas, best practice and discover potential areas for collaboration. The selected UK companies will participate in a […]
ASX bullish on fintech stock listings
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) expects to see technology listings on the ASX proliferate in the near future, with fintech companies to play a significant role. Speaking to InvestorDaily, Eddie Grieve, head of listings and issuer services at the ASX, said the institution is encouraged by recent activity from technology companies, and those specialising in financial services in particular. “The broader tech sector has been a key focus of ASX for some time, and we see fintech playing a significant part in the sector’s future growth,” Mr Grieve said. Tech listings in 2016 were at the highest number since the dotcom boom of 1999/2000, Mr Grieve explained, with the fintech […]
ATO signs up as first client for fintech start-up Mainframe Cloud
Fintech start-up Mainframe Cloud (“MfC”) has signed a contract with the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) to deliver a suite of mainframe modernisation solutions to the Australian Government’s major revenue collection agency. The contract follows an extensive and successful Beta testing exercise in 2016 and the achievement of a minimum viable product by MfC. Based at the Stone & Chalk fintech hub in Sydney, MfC simplifies mainframe operations by providing applications that focus on improving productivity and efficiency. The global application development market for mainframes is estimated to be US$23 billion per annum. Mainframes process approximately 80% of the world’s data and are at the core of most of the world’s […]
Cashless society on horizon as Aussies embrace digital transactions
The march towards a cashless society is gathering momentum, with a rise in digital wallet use prompting more companies to offer online only products and services. A report by UK-based Juniper research predicted that digital wallets- in the form of smartphones and other devices used to make online payments- will account for $1.35 trillion in global spend by the end of 2017- a 32 per cent increase on 2016. The research comes just over a year since the Westpac Cash Free report revealed the majority of smart phone users believed Australia could become cashless as early as 2022. Smart phone users already made 53 per cent of their payments digitally […]
Ignition Wealth announces new XPLAN consultancy division assisting advisers to prepare for robo-scale
Ignition Wealth CEO Mark Fordree today announced a new division of Ignition Wealth which will offer full XPLAN support and consulting to help advisers get the most out their XPLAN solutions and prepare to add ‘robo’ services to their businesses. Ignition Wealth will deepen its existing digital advice integration with XPLAN, creating a seamless pathway between automating ‘robo-advice’ and full service advice. “XPLAN is the leading financial planning solution in the market and we are delighted to now offer our clients a range of XPLAN services to help them better leverage technology in their businesses. We believe the true scale of digital advice is best delivered by integrating […]
Apple claims banks want digital wallets as a new revenue source
Apple says three of the big four banks are pushing to pass the costs of Apple Pay on to their customers as a way to “condition the market” into paying extra fees when using a mobile phone to make a ‘tap and go’ payment. One of the issues in the long-running battle between Apple and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is whether the banks can pass through to their customers the fee that Apple will require them to pay to use the iPhone infrastructure. But Apple has described the argument as a “trojan horse”. In a submission published by the […]
Wallet packed with loyalty cards? Solve the problem with Stocard digital wallet
Stocard, a leading mobile wallet app, has announced that it will use recently secured funding to expand its reach in the Australian market and launch a new mobile payment function. While digital wallets have been around in Australia for some time, what makes Stocard’s offering unique to existing mobile wallet apps, is the functionality that allows users to store all their loyalty cards easily in their smartphone, rather than in their wallets. Loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular for Aussie shoppers, with 50% saying they’d be more likely to spend with a store that offers a loyalty program than with one that doesn’t, according to Nielson’s latest Global Loyalty Sentiment […]
