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 […]
The opportunity of open banking
Open banking is set to reshape the way customers access their data and banks and other financial institutions are now getting ready to start implementing the system from next year. Australia’s four major banks must have implemented an open banking standard by 1 July 2019 and other banks will need to follow by the same time in 2020. One company, which has been working with open banking before it even began, said the regime will make things much easier. MoneyTree launched in Tokyo, Japan, six years ago based on the idea customers should have better access to their data. It started with a personal finance app which categorised users’ spending […]
Ord Minnett readies online consumer lender MoneyMe for fund raising
Fast-growing consumer lending company MoneyMe knows plenty about writing cheques, and now it is asking potential investors to do the same. Street Talk understands MoneyMe will front institutional investors and family offices in coming days, seeking support for a pre-initial public offering funding round. The raising is expected to be worth as much as $15 million and structured as a convertible note issue. Stockbroker Ord Minnett has been lining up investor meetings in Sydney and Melbourne, fund manager sources said. If successful, it would be the first (quasi) equity raising by the personal lender. The company made headlines when it secured $100 million from global credit investor Fortress Investment Group […]
The lucky country for fintechs
A new report points to Australia as a leader in supporting the development of fintech solutions and exploring their potential. In a new research paper, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion has reviewed the varying approaches of some of the world’s developing, emerging and developed nations to cultivating fintech offerings. On regulatory attitudes, the report highlights the proactive approach of ASIC in establishing an innovation hub to run alongside its regulatory sandbox and the Digital Finance Advisory Committee. “First, establishing a sandbox sends a strong message to fintechs that the regulator is open to innovation. Second, it provides an important learning opportunity for regulators, especially when coupled with an ‘innovation hub’, […]
Wirecard brings its platform services around digital financial technology to Australia and New Zealand
Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, today announced its platform expansion in Australia and New Zealand. The Wirecard platform is now available in New Zealand for e-commerce services and Australia for omnichannel solutions. With this expansion, Wirecard is extending its ecosystem of real-time value added services around innovative digital payments in Oceania. This leverages on the global Wirecard strategy of digitizing payments worldwide as Australia is leading innovation in areas such as contactless payments, bill payments, digital commerce, and point-of-sale applications, and the market is ready to make the next transformation. Research and Markets found out that the Australian payment mix is shifting heavily toward electronic payments. […]
