Startup sanctuary: WA first blockchain centre opens in West Perth
Perth’s who’s who of blockchain were at the opening of the world’s ninth Blockchain centre in West Perth on Monday night. The centre is a WA-first and will allow startups with products that revolve around blockchain technology to share resources and ideas with like-minded entrepreneurs. Blockchain is the underlying technology behind cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. It is a digital transaction record that cannot be tampered with, making it attractive to a range of industries. Sam Lee is the brainchild of the Blockchain centre concept and said the idea helped keep startups in the city they were born in. “Access to capital has been a major pain point for a lot of […]
Josh Frydenberg says ‘open banking’ will let customers navigate complexity
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says growing complexity in financial services has made it tough for customers to compare prices and products but “open banking” will help overcome this by ensuring banks present information in a standardised, simpler way under a policy that aims to facilitate account switching and stir competition. With the government planning to introduce its Consumer Data Right law into Parliament on Thursday, Mr Frydenberg told The Australian Financial Review technology was advancing rapidly over the banking sector and he wants open banking, the first industry application of the new right, to encourage fintech innovation and allow customers to “harness their data for their own benefit”. “We live in […]
How game theory and Blockchain can help support a better banking network
Banking today is far from what it used to be. Increasingly, in order to power the services that consumers demand, banks need to have access to wider arrays of tech as well as new methods of interaction and transaction. While this may seem like it would only lead to further inefficiencies in banking, it can actually streamline the industry thanks to new innovations in blockchain tech, all taking inspiration from game theory. Modern banking, the type that you access on your phone when you deposit a check with a photo or when you send money using Venmo, often functions according to a Banking as a Service (BaaS) model. This lets […]
Stablecoins: Money of the Future
Stablecoins are currently the fastest growing sector of the cryptocurrency market, worth $186 billion; these constitute cryptocurrencies whose values are pegged to real life commodities like gold or the US dollar. This is opposed to traditional cryptocurrencies—such as Bitcoin or Ethereum—whose markets are very volatile and can fluctuate by 10-20 percent in the space of a few hours, causing massive uncertainty among investors. Governments across the globe, from Australia to Sweden, are realizing stablecoins’s potential and developing their own, in addition to official blockchain funds which develop GPB and Japanese Yen-pegged coins. Types of Stablecoins There are numerous stablecoins on the market, which fall into three main categories: fully collateralized, […]
Australian payments fintech start-up Verrency secures major deal with the fastest growing bank in the United Arab Emirates
Global payments innovation service and Australia-based fintech Verrency is enabling payments innovation for the fastest growing bank in the United Arab Emirates, Liv., Emirates NBD’s lifestyle digital bank for millennials. The agreement will enable Liv. to leverage Verrency’s cloud-based payments service and fintech partners to enable cost-effective delivery of a multitude of value-added services to customers. Launched last year, Liv. is a mobile-only bank offering a lifestyle-based banking experience targeted at millennials. It is also the fastest growing bank in the country, with over 150,000 customers as of date. Verrency’s Commercial Director for Asia and Middle East, Aaron Oliver, said: “Verrency will enable Liv. to deliver on its innovation-led proposition […]
Australia’s first accredited blockchain courses have arrived
Australia now has a formal, accredited and nationally recognised way of identifying blockchain people. The Advanced Diploma of Applied Blockchain (10747NAT) consists of eight modules, including six core modules and two electives. Developed by Blockchain Collective, it’s the first blockchain course to be accredited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), making it Australia’s first formal, nationally recognised, accredited blockchain course. What you’ll find The course is a deep dive into the technology and is intended to prepare students for experiences such as transitioning an operation to a blockchain network, assessing the performance of a business model deployed on blockchain and more. The course is delivered through registered training organisations, […]
Bankwest accelerates shift to digital cards
Australian retail banks are accelerating their push towards deploying virtualised payment cards to replace vulnerable legacy plastic, as the pace and scale of breaches intensifies sharply. Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest revealed on Monday it has gone live with a ‘digital card’ feature that can activate a credit card in a digital wallet via the Bankwest Mobile app within 24 hours rather than having to wait for embossed plastic to arrive via snail mail. It’s a small but significant move because it signals the transition by banks to a truly digital-first payments footing as major card schemes American Express, Mastercard and Visa all heavily push tokenisation efforts that remove the need […]
Lakeba achieves $20M startup sales record for Paid By Coins
Australian technology innovator Lakeba, who has launched over ten new ventures in the Australian market since 2016, today announced the $20M sale of their Paid by Coins venture to Mobecom (ASX:MOB) only seven months after launching the platform in early 2018. “Lakeba built, deployed and exited the Paid By Coins business in less than seven months, achieving what few startups have before them. This accelerated acquisition timeline demonstrates the rigour and depth of Australian innovation and sets a new benchmark for the rapid commercialisation and sale of market-relevant, high demand emerging technology solutions,” said Giuseppe Porcelli, CEO and Founder of Lakeba. Paid by Coins is a secure payment solution for consumers, enabling […]
