Would you bank with Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple?
Soon, going into a bank branch to speak to the manager about getting a loan will be as outdated as driving to Blockbuster to rent a VHS cassette. Banking in Australia will increasingly be digitised over the coming years, as neo-banking looks set to disrupt Australia’s financial industry. What’s a neo-bank? Neo-banks are digital-only banks that don’t have physical branches or rely on legacy operating systems; in other words, they’re not just the digital front of a traditional bank. There are smaller local neo-banks emerging, but the ones that are poised to make the most impact are the big tech behemoths Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon (GAFA). But will neo-banking be […]
The Perth startup revolutionising small business bookkeeping
John Battley says while day-to-day expenses make up just 10-15 per cent of small or medium-sized business costs, they take up at least half of owners’ bookkeeping time. It’s an issue the Perth-based financial technology veteran said ate into business owners’ precious time and money — which is why he started Penny Inc. Penny Inc works by issuing free debit Mastercards to companies, which they then give to their employees. The real time-saving comes from Penny’s back-of-house software platform that updates businesses’ accounts in real time and gives them instantaneous control over where and how employees can spend cash. It also has a world-first integration with accounting software like Quickbooks. […]
Service NSW introduces PayPal option
PayPal is now accepted as a payment option by Service NSW and will progressively roll out across all NSW Government agencies that use this website and app. The initial rollout will commence with Roads and Maritime Services. This partnership is the first wide-scale offering of PayPal for government payments in Australia and responds to the increasing customer demand for mobile digital services, giving NSW citizens more choice and flexibility in how they pay for government services. With 7.2 million customers in Australia, more than one-in-three NSW adults is a PayPal user. Service NSW provides customers with access to more than 1000 government transactions from around 40 different agencies. With PayPal, […]
New breed of savvy Australians embrace digital and choice in pursuit of home ownership
The Lendi Home Loan Index Q3 2018 (LHLI) unveils key trends among Australians searching for a home loan online*. The LHLI suggests that more consumers are taking financial matters in their own hands by embracing a digital-first approach in lieu of the traditional bank or broker model. While the wider home loan industry is dominated by the big fours, the LHLI shows that Australians using Lendi are brand agnostic. In fact, 82.9 per cent of Australians don’t have a preference for settling their loan with a major lender. The LHLI data also signifies Australians’ positive intentions when it comes to their own debt management. An overwhelming 85.5 per cent […]
Managed accounts provider enters crowdfunding
ASIC has granted a variation to the AFSL of a managed accounts provider, allowing it to provide an equity crowdfunding service. BIR Financial told shareholders that its securities trading and corporate advisory business, Pulse Markets, was recently granted permission to begin an equity crowdfunding service. Pulse Markets currently offers several model portfolios to clients as part of its managed discretionary accounts business. It also provides securities trading services to retail and wholesale investors. BIR Financial is listed on the ASX and said in a statement that: “Pulse Markets maintains its advantage in the rapidly evolving financial services industry through independence, innovative financial products and new market opportunities to meet clients’ […]
Banks must reshape to survive compliance and technology crunches
KPMG and EY highlight Australia’s big four banks must balance ongoing compliance costs with continued spending in technology or face being left behind when it comes to innovation. In their post FY18 analysis of Australian bank results, KPMG and EY point to several compliance and technology headwinds facing the sector and suggest cost discipline will be a major focus. It means more restructures and simplifications. KPMG partner, banking strategy, Hessel Verbeek said not only have various compliance and remediation costs translated into higher cost-to-income ratios, “the majors’ investment spend in risk and compliance projects is also up strongly and in most cases investments on growth initiatives has decreased in a […]
GBST and Eagle Investment Systems establish strategic alliance to address Australia tax reporting capabilities
GBST and Eagle Investment Systems announce a strategic alliance that will enable Eagle’s clients to utilise GBST’s best-in-class tax reporting capabilities.
Regulation alone won’t solve financial advice woes
By George Lucas, chief executive of Raiz More regulation will be the most likely result after the Hayne royal commission hands down its final report. But is this really the answer? When then financial services royal commission hands down its final report by 1 February 2019, it’s odds-on it will call for more regulation. And the government of the day will duly oblige, rightly fearing the political fallout if it fails to implement the report’s recommendations in the wake of the malevolent behaviour being unveiled. The legislation will pass the Parliament, giving the regulators more power to keep the top end of town in line. And the regulators, whose reputations […]
