Why trade finance is a good use case for blockchain
Trade finance is shaping up as one of the most promising early use cases for blockchain technology. The arrival of blockchain is prompting banks to search for analogue processes across the global economy which could be digitised to reduce financing risk. As a cumbersome process using multiple paper-based contracts with settlement typically taking weeks, the $US4 trillion ($5.3 trillion) trade-financing industry is set to be revolutionised by distributed ledger technology in the coming years. Many of the world’s largest banks and various start-ups have been pumping funds into blockchain research and development. They are now branching out of their laboratories to explain the opportunity to customers. In the trade finance […]
Brexit provides lessons for Australia’s FinTech start-ups
[ Extract ] Lessons for Australia Australia’s FinTech scene, scarcely acknowledged eighteen months ago, has developing rapidly and now commands the attention of policymakers, banking executives and the financial media here alike. We have a highly advanced financial services sector, one that is acknowledged globally as mature, skilful and well regulated. It contributes around AU$140 billion to GDP each year and employs some 450,000 people. We have the fourth largest pool of investment funds in the world, anchored by the AU$2 trillion-plus in our nation’s superannuation funds. That a viable FinTech ecosystem has developed Down Under should therefore come as no surprise. Australian start-ups span the FinTech spectrum across peer-to-peer […]
Westpac is the world’s best at mobile banking says Forrester
Westpac is the world leader in mobile banking functionality, according to a global rating from Forrester Research. In Forrester’s annual Global Mobile Banking Benchmark, the bank — one of Australia’s Big Four — scored an impressive 86 out of 100 in the evaluation. The global industry average was 65. It was just ahead of last year’s winner, CaixaBank, on 85. Indeed, all of the Big Four banks from Australia were rated by the research company, with Commonwealth Bank and NAB both scoring well. ANZ, however, fell well below the global average, with a score of only 44. The benchmark assessed the retail mobile banking services of 46 large retail banks […]
Quantifeed Raises US$4.5 Million in Series A Funding
Quantifeed, a leader in digital wealth management solutions in Asia, has reached a significant milestone by closing US$4.5 million in a Series A financing round. Shanghai-based PGA Venture Partners led the investment. The funds will enable Quantifeed to accelerate expansion in key markets in the Asia Pacific region, including China. “The battle in digital wealth management will be won by the institutions with the strongest distribution and the richest customer experience. We are working with some of the top institutions in Asia to build them a customer investment journey,” said Alex Ypsilanti, CEO and Co-founder of Quantifeed. “PGA Venture Partners has an incredible track record of building successful companies and […]
Class partners with peer-to-peer lender
Cloud SMSF administration software provider, Class, has collaborated with peer-to-peer lender, RateSetter, to provide self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) accountants and their clients with a direct-connect date feed. This would allow for automated data entry and transactions processing within Class. Class chief executive, Kevin Bungard, said the increase in digitisation in the finance sector was appealing to all ages and would allow for a streamlined execution of necessary tasks. “Some industry commentators have previously suggested that peer-to-peer lending may be more attractive to Gen Ys,” he said. “RateSetter experience has shown that a significant percentage of SMSFs, which typically comprise older age groups, are very much on board with the concept […]
Fintech lender launches unique broker portal
An alternative online lender has launched a free digital marketing portal for mortgage brokers as it looks to strengthen its relationships with the third-party channel. Small business lender Prospa recently launched the Prospa Uplift Marketing Portal (PUMP) an online marketing resource of its partners. PUMP enables brokers to download application forms and fact sheets, send customised email and direct mail to clients and download images to use for social media. “There are over 60 registered partners in the first week who took it on board and ran activities with it,” Prospa CEO Beau Bertoli told The Adviser. “It is an easy to use but very powerful online marketing platform that […]
HashChing surpasses $1billion of home loans
Australia’s first marketplace for home loans, HashChing has today announced it has surpassed its $1 Billion of home loans milestone as momentum builds for the Sydney FinTech. The team also welcomes corporate heavyweight, Claire Wivell Plater of The Fold Legal to its Advisory Board, further strengthening its position in the market. Dubbed the Mortgage Whisperers, Mandeep Sodhi and Atul Narang are the founders of HashChing – an online marketplace for pre-negotiated home loan deals so good the banks don’t want you to know about them. HashChing offers home loans with interest rates below 4 per cent and well below banks’ standard advertised variable rates. The platform initially launched in August with […]
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott says digital wallets may displace plastic cards in less than a decade
Digital wallets could take over from plastic credit and debit cards in less than a decade, as consumers become more comfortable making purchases on smart phones, ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott predicts. Google on Thursday launched its Android Pay system in Australia, which will allow consumers to use their smart phones for payments wherever contactless card payments are accepted, and to make purchases within apps. ANZ is the first Big Four bank to offer the service to its customers, and Mr Elliott anticipates it won’t be long before payments on smart phones overtake those using plastic cards. Digital wallet offerings from banks started to emerge a couple of years ago […]
