Business-only bank Tyro in deal with China’s Alipay
Australian business-only bank Tyro has entered into an agreement with the world’s largest online payment platform, Alipay, to become the first Australian bank to offer an all-in-one Eftpos solution with the Chinese outfit. The partnership, which will be live from the second quarter of 2019, is designed to improve Australian business access to the Chinese visitor market. “Based on requests from several of our merchants to accept Alipay, Tyro and Alipay entered discussions to explore the best way we could work together,” Tyro CEO Robbie Cooke told The Australian. “With Tyro’s in-house engineering team, we were able to deliver Alipay in an agile way which allows for rapid market delivery.” […]
Is the future of banking Fintech or Techfin?
The banking industry is experiencing disruption at an increasing pace. Over the past few years, traditional financial institutions and non-traditional fintech firms have begun to understand that collaboration may be the best path to long-term growth. At the same time, big tech firms are offering financial services, creating techfin solutions. The rationale for collaboration is the ability to bring strengths of both banks and fintech firms together to create an stronger entity than either unit could bring on their own. For most fintech organizations, the primary advantages are an innovation mindset, agility (speed to adjust), consumer-centric perspective, and an infrastructure built for digital. These are advantages that most legacy financial […]
Xinja first to use innovative IRESS home loans platform in Australian market
Xinja has moved a step closer to delivering speedy, paperless home loans with the confirmation of its ongoing engagement with IRESS to process Xinja home loans. IRESS specialises in building technology for the financial services industry and the partnership provides Xinja with a home loan workflow platform that delivers fast decisions for consumers supported by IRESS technology. IRESS is a market leader in the UK, where one in every four home loans are processed using IRESS technology. Xinja is not yet a bank, but is building an independent, 100% digital bank – or ‘neobank’ – for Australians, designed entirely for mobile. It will offer a radically new banking experience built […]
APRA prepares to approve three new banks
There’s a prospect of there will be three new banks in the Australian market by Christmas, operating under unrestricted, full banking licences. That these could be held by three start-ups less than a year old – Volt Bank, 86400 and Judo Capital – shows just how fast the regulatory environment is changing under policy leadership of new Prime Minister Scott Morrison. As Treasurer, he championed the need for more competition to pressure incumbent banks to become more customer-centric. Before Morrison’s 2017 budget paved the way for new entrants to enter the deposit market by streamlining application procedures, APRA had granted only one new banking licence to a local player in […]
Could Bitcoin replace Credit Cards?
Growing competition in the retail sector – and the possibility that the digital currency could help merchants lower transaction fees that cut into profit margins — could induce them to replace credit cards with Bitcoin. “From a merchant perspective, Bitcoin has the advantage of not having large fees from credit card companies that cut into profits,” writes Ian DeMartino, in The Bitcoin Guidebook: How To Obtain, Invest, And Spend The World’s First Decentralized Cryptocurrency. “Credit card companies typically charge between three to four percent for each transaction, a fee the merchants normally take on themselves. For merchants with small profit margins, that fee could be up half or more of […]
‘Overwhelming’ response to World Bank’s blockchain bond: CBA
The world’s first public bond created and managed using only blockchain had support from seven investors, Commonwealth Bank of Australia the sole lead manager of the deal said on Friday, helping raise A$110 million ($80.48 million) for the World Bank. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) executive general manager James Wall said that the deal, designed to test how the technology might improve decades-old bond sales practices, had exceeded expectations and interest had been “overwhelming.” The American fund Northern Trust, three Australian state governments, local pension fund First State Super, and CBA were the investors in the deal, which is being viewed as an initial step in moving bond sales away from manual […]
Banks and fintechs lock horns on consumer data
If you’re interested in the design of policy to put data into the hands of customers, there’s three weeks to provide Treasury with a response to its draft bill that will introduce a “consumer data right” into the Australian economy. Banking will be the first sector to which the new right will apply – and fintech innovation is set to proliferate as a result. It will then extend to energy and telecommunications, meaning the law will stir competitive forces across some of the most important industries in the country. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2018, released for comment last week, is being closely scrutinised by banks, fintechs […]
FinTech Aus calls on Parliament to pass consumer-friendly laws
Voluntary promises by the Australian Banking Association on behalf of the big four banks can’t be relied on, and Parliament should pass consumer-friendly legislation, like Comprehensive Credit Reporting, without delay, according to FinTech Australia. FinTech Australia voiced concerns that there may have already been attempts by the banks to delay or roll back on the promise, and suggested it could have been a tactic to prevent compulsory regime. CEO of FinTech Australia, Brad Kitschke, said trusting the banks to share data on a voluntary basis would end in poor consumer outcomes, and delaying legislation would only be in the interests of the banks. “Allowing the big banks to control or […]
