Wealth scandals open door for new entrants
A global data provider believes neobanks and robo-advisers stand a good chance of gaining traction in an industry where incumbents are plagued with scandals. Following the news that troubled wealth giant IOOF could face several class action lawsuits, GlobalData believes the damage to public trust in the financial services industry will have significant long-term implications for how Australians invest. Andrew Haslip, head of banking content for Asia Pacific at GlobalData, said superannuation has a prized place in the heart of many Aussies and allegations of misuse of client money in this area are particularly damaging on top of a string of other banking and wealth-related scandals. It has given the […]
The rise of non-banks
Non-bank lending reached an 11-year high in September 2018, and the share of broker originated loans with non-majors and their affiliates increased by almost 3% in the January to March quarter. Capitalising on the trend private equity firms from across the world are now looking for a foot in the door, with a number of major acquisition deals confirmed since 2017: KKR took over Pepper Money; Blackstone became a majority stakeholder in La Trobe Financial; and Cerberus Capital Management acquired Bluestone. Royden D’Vaz, head of sales and marketing at Bluestone APAC, says, “This acquisition enabled us to pursue aggressive growth targets via mass rate cuts and strategic growth across all […]
CBA to turn on Apple Pay in January
Commonwealth Bank of Australia will share a slice of its transaction revenue with the world’s largest company, Apple, after relenting to customer demand and agreeing to turn on Apple Pay in January, a move which indicates the technology giant has the upper hand in the battle to control smartphone digital wallets. More than two-and-a-half years after rival ANZ Banking Group made Apple Pay available, CBA’s move will put pressure on National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, who continue to prevent their iPhone-carrying customers from using them or their Apple watches to make tap-and-go payments. After sustaining a year of intense pressure at the banking royal commission, CBA’s group executive […]
Temenos acquires Australian banking fintech Avoka for US$245m
Temenos, the banking software company, today announces it has agreed to acquire Avoka, a leader in digital customer acquisition and onboarding, subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition further strengthens the Temenos Digital Front Office product, which has over 300 banking clients and has been recognized as a leader by top analyst houses such as Forrester and Ovum. The Avoka platform will be integrated with the Temenos Digital Front Office product, providing banks with a comprehensive single solution for their omni-channel digital banking needs. Temenos has agreed to purchase Avoka for USD 245 million. Through this acquisition, Temenos continues to bring innovative capabilities to its Digital Front Office product that includes […]
Fintech joins express loans partnership
A digital mortgage service fintech has announced it will join a partnership to create fast, paperless home loans. Tic:Toc and Bendigo Bank announced recently they would be teaming up to offer “express” loans. Now, legal fintech LeadPoint, which specialises in providing automated home loan documentation, has announced it would join them. The group has generated more than 50,000 home loan contracts through its platform since it launched in 2013. LeadPoint’s involvement in Bendigo Bank Express is the next phase of LeadPoint’s partnership with Tic:Toc loans, which already offers ‘webmortgages’ loan documentation as part of its instant home loan assessment and approval platform. LeadPoint uses its proprietary platform to produce digital […]
Australian fintech Ignition forms multi year multi million dollar partnership with tier one bank
Bank of Ireland’s Seán Ó Murchú joined Manish Prasad and Alan Quinlan from Ignition Advice in today launching a new digital advice platform for Irish consumers. Seán Ó Murchú, Director, Wealth Advice and Distribution at Bank of Ireland, said, “Creating a single, digital advice platform will have a transformational impact on the Irish market,”. Ignition Advice technology will support Bank of Ireland customers across all areas of their financial lives, from financial wellness and saving, to investment and insurance. Scalable solutions allow the bank to offer digital financial advice to all of their customers, while the Ignition Advice hybrid model allows the bank to fully integrate digital advice with telephone […]
Assembly Payments rolls out Westpac partnership while announcing international expansion
Leading Australian fintech Assembly Payments has today announced the next stage in its partnership with Westpac and its international expansion. Assembly’s Westpac partnership has seen its unique in-store solution approved by POS companies serving more than 50% of Australian retailers. The solution, which supports Westpac’s Presto payment device, was highlighted by Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer in his result statement in November. The success of Assembly’s first partnership with a major financial institution has drawn global attention from similar finance behemoths, which the Assembly team is moving rapidly to capitalise on. “Australia was only the beginning,” co-founder and CEO Simon Lee said. “We have been working with a range of international […]
Fintech player Douugh scores MasterCard partnership
Australian fintech start-up Douugh has scored a new partnership with MasterCard, joining forces to launch a smart bank account with a debit card from the global payments giant. Douugh, which was founded by SocietyOne’s Andy Taylor, has created a personal financial assistant utilising artificial intelligence. But the start-up does not intend to become a bank, rather it claims to want to help people save more and live debt free. Mr Taylor said the partnership with MasterCard would give the company a “big boost of horsepower”, letting it create a product that would be available in three of MasterCard’s major regions – the US, Australia and Britain – by 2020. “MasterCard […]
