SocietyOne’s Jason Yetton backs Maile Carnegie on fintech disruption threat
The former head of Westpac’s retail bank Jason Yetton has backed the call by ANZ’s new head of digital banking Maile Carnegie, who says that big banks will have to lift the pace of innovation in order to fend off disruption from fintech companies seeking a slice of their billions of dollars of profits. In his first speech as chief executive of peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne five months into the job, Mr Yetton said that UBS’s recent forecast of growth in P2P lending activity over the next 12 months of between 47 per cent and 150 per cent was an “increasing possibility” given recent market traction. Australian banks would be disrupted […]
6 enterprise technologies that may affect your business this year
We’re just over halfway through 2016, and it’s already proven to be a turbulent year in the realm of technology. We’re seeing more and more intersection between technology and other economic and industrial forces. Whether it’s Apple’s refusal to unlock the iPhone for the FBI or the upcoming presidential election adding uncertainty to the future of Biotech stocks, technology is practically inextricable from the other major factors that keep our world going. These turbulent shifts in tech are catching the attention of huge enterprises, as new products have led to innovative practices in consumer tech, manufacturing, and even politics. There’s still half of 2016 left to go, and these next […]
digi.cash launches digital Australian dollar
digi.cash, a spin-off company of the Capital Markets CRC, today officially launched the digital Australian dollar. The electronic version of the currency is digitally ‘minted’ as electronically signed coins and banknotes. These can be held on smartphones, computers or storage media. Just like cash, online users can transfer coins and notes between each other via free, instant transactions. The encryption technology used means that the electronic banknotes can securely circulate over public communication networks, without the risk of theft or counterfeiting. Digi.cash founder Andreas Furche, along with Chairman David Skellern and Director Peter Clare, said the launch represented a fulcrum moment for Australian FinTech. “Unlike other digital money products, digi.cash […]
How incubators are empowering fintech startups
Of all the technological innovations taking the world by storm, fintech has certainly been one of the most prolific. Hundreds of new startups are entering the space, offering products including everything from lending to more specialised fare. Older, more experienced bankers and financial experts leaving their industries have created many of these startups. But just as many have started through young up-and-comers – and they’ve needed a little helping hand along the way. This is one of the reasons incubators and accelerators have been such a key part of the fintech industry. All over the world, fintech businesses have been flocking to incubators in droves. In the United States, the […]
Money for nothing, cheques for free in the sharing economy
THE bank of mum and dad is receiving a welcome cash injection as a growing number of households put a price on the things they previously gave away for free. More households are renting out a spare room, car sharing, selling goods and services and even lending to each other as the “sharing economy’’ expands, research shows. According to polling by RateSetter, some households are earning up to $120 a month. On the downside, however, all those people who benefited from the “free economy” are now having to wait their turn, or pay for it. Free rides, spare rooms, and even the kids’ old books and toys are increasingly thin […]
P2P lifts in popularity amid miserable year for banks
With deposit rates at low levels and the local share market still choppy, peer-to-peer lending has become an interesting alternative for Australian investors over the last few years. But some cracks in the model appeared in the US recently when one of the biggest peer-to-peer platforms was caught up in a scandal that it is now scrambling to fix, offering a warning for the Australian industry about the importance of transparency. LendingClub had been seen as one of the leading lights of this space in the US, amid a range of players that use technology to match investors with borrowers, cutting out the overheads incurred by banks and aiming to […]
Ignition Wealth previews single page financial wellness profile
Ignition Wealth took the stage at last week’s dynamic Class CUP Connect conference event to unveil the latest development in their world leading digital financial technology. Ignition Wealth presented at the Class CUP Connect conference as partners of Class Super. The Ignition Wealth technology stack is fully integrated with Class Super, the leading cloudbased SMSF administration software. Class Super customers can now seamlessly access Ignition Wealth digital financial advice via the Class Super portal. Using the latest in cloudbased financial aggregation technology the new Ignition Wealth technology provides consumers with a holistic, interactive, personal financial wellness profile. One simple registration process allows the consumer to aggregate all of […]
Kerry Agiasotis of WUBS: Win-win when rivals turn partners
One of the world’s largest non-bank providers of international business payment solutions says aspiring fintech companies should seek to pursue partnerships with their big company rivals rather than fighting them if they want their ideas to reach their full potential. The chief executive of Western Union Business Solutions, the dedicated business payments unit of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Western Union Company, said the firm was increasingly looking to partner with fintechs and other start-ups. WUBS is primary spot foreign currency trading provider to 20 per cent of the SME market in Australia and secondary provider to another 20 per cent, including the big four banks. It has more than […]
