“Profitability can come later on”: Aussie fintech growing into a huge opportunity, despite ongoing talent pool challenges
Australian fintechs are on average a little older, a little more mature, and generating a lot more revenue than they were this time last year, but there are still challenges in the sector according to the EY FinTech Australia Census 2018, released this week. Following a survey of 151 fintechs across Australia, and a series of in-depth interviews, the report shows a maturing fintech market in Australia, with 43% of fintechs over three years old, compared to 31% in 2017 and 20% in 2016. While it’s clearly a good thing these companies are surviving — even thriving — this could also be indicative of a lack of early-stage fintechs following […]
How cryptocurrency is disrupting the global economy & the financial system
For the longest time now, cryptocurrency has been slowly rising and increasing its powers in the background. Though not a lot of people have been paying attention to it lately, it’s still going strong with no signs of stopping. Because of the technology behind it, cryptocurrency has the potential to be one of the biggest disruptors in the global business process. As for the financial sector, here are some of the ways cryptocurrency can change it. Fewer barriers to entry One of the best things about cryptocurrency is that just about everyone can get involved. There are little to no barriers to investing or trading cryptocurrency. And as more people […]
Financial planners should focus on money management
Financial planners should embrace technology to help their clients focus on money management as a central component of financial advice, according to Moneysoft. Although the technology was out there, only a minority of financial planners offered money management or budgeting advice to their clients, citing concerns about the time it would take to offer such services and how to charge clients for this, the firm said. At the same time, the lack of advice on budgeting was named as one of the top unmet advice needs for an average Australian, alongside with retirement planning, according to research house Investment Trends. However, budgeting and money management should be offered as a […]
Young, male and educated: Australian fintech has a type
Australia’s typical fintech founder is a bloke in his 40s with a postgraduate degree. That’s one of the findings of the 2018 EY Fintech Australia census, which shows 72 per cent of Australia’s financial technology startup employees and 81 per cent of founders are men. FinTech Australia chairman Alan Tsen says the sector is focused on boosting the participation of women, noting female fintech staff numbers are up 4 per cent in the past 12 months. “The Fintech Australia board, which is 50:50 gender balance, remains committed to driving tangible actions and initiatives to help further increase female participation in the sector,” he said in a statement when the census […]
The business case for blockchain is often bigger than one organisation, says ASX CIO
Developing a business case for blockchain is inherently more challenging than other technology projects, because the cumulative value of the distributed network technology is often broader than one individual organisation. That’s the view of Dan Chesterman, CIO of the ASX, which is currently replacing its aging Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) with a blockchain solution. During a Q&A session at Gartner Symposium on the Gold Coast yesterday, David Furlonger, distinguished VP Analyst Gartner, cited a lack of a viable business case as a key challenge for advancing blockchain proofs of concept to “full blown deployment and development”. Chesterman said there is a much harder piece, which involves “building the […]
Finastra launches Open Banking Readiness Index in Asia Pacific
Finastra today launched its Open Banking Readiness Index, providing for the first time a framework for banks in the Asia-Pacific region to assess their capabilities and benchmark readiness against peers in the race towards Open Banking. Unveiled during Hong Kong Fintech Week, the research reveals that 84% of the top 146 banks in Asia Pacific are considering collaborating with external partners to enhance their Open Banking capabilities between 2018 and 2020. Developed in partnership with IDC Financial Insights, the Finastra Open Banking Readiness Index measures banks across five dimensions – Adoption of APIs, Fintech/Third-Party Ecosystem, State of Data-based Transformation, Data Monetization, and State of Innovation. It is based on interviews […]
Neobank pioneer Brett King joins Xinja
Xinja, which is building a 100% independent digital bank, or ‘neobank’ for mobile, is adding significant global expertise to its organisation with the announcement that Brett King will act as a permanent advisor to the Board, and help guide Xinja’s strategic direction. Brett King founded neobank Moven in 2011, which launched the world’s first mobile, downloadable bank account. He is widely considered the most influential expert on retail banking innovation globally. Mr King was an advisor to the Obama White House, the US Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on the future of banking in the United States. Mr King said: “I have been working […]
Peppermint to receive $1.5m via placement to strategic Fintech investor Smidge Digital Unit Trust
Peppermint Innovation Ltd (ASX: PIL) announce continued strategic and funding support from Smidge Digital Unit Trust (SDUT) with a further investment into Peppermint of $1.5 million. The investment was transacted via a share placement of 60,000,000 shares to SDUT at 2.5 cents per share and represents a 32% premium to PIL’s last traded price of 1.7 cents. The funds will be used to continue to accelerate the roll-out of the Company’s Bizmoto agent network in the Philippines as well as the development of a number of enterprise capabilities in micro finance and international remittance business opportunities. They will also advance work on innovative fintech products and technology platform services (to […]
