Square and BOQ team up to help more Australian small businesses get started
Global payments company Square, founded and run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has announced it is teaming up with Bank of Queensland (BOQ) for a first-of-a-kind partnership that will give more Australian small businesses a simple way to access great banking services and more flexible payment options. From today, new BOQ small business customers signing up for business banking services will also receive a free Square Reader for contactless and chip, and fee-free processing for their first $1,000 of sales. The partnership is designed as a ‘one-stop-shop’ solution enabling time-poor business owners to walk into any of BOQ’s 180 national branches, and walk out ready to start working instantly. “We’re […]
$2bn of broker commissions in fintech’s crosshairs
An Australian fintech has set its sights on disrupting the dominance of the mortgage broking industry by appealing to the banks who it claims are keen to reduce the $2 billion they spend on broker commissions. Adelaide-based online home loan platform Joust has distanced itself from its competitors in the fintech space, which has seen a flurry of mortgage disruptors in recent years. “Joust is not a comparison site with a myriad of static rates. It is also not an online broker or aggregator. We are a revolutionary marketplace model for home loan customers and lenders,” Joust co-founder and CEO Mark Bevan said. Joust is leveraging the negative press that […]
Bank of Queensland bans using home equity loans for crypto
Lenders are banning property buyers from using home equity to buy cryptocurrencies because of regulatory fears and increased risk from volatile trading conditions. Bank of Queensland is the latest to ban any drawdown or lines of credit from loans to be used for leveraged purchases, trading or other use of the largely unregulated global digital currency. Other lenders are discouraging borrowers and mortgage brokers, who act as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers, from using real estate to fund high-risk investments. Leveraged currency plays can magnify gains from a successful investment decision but worsen losses. Lenders are asking questions and monitoring borrowers’ accounts to alert them to crypto-trades, purchases, or offshore […]
Forget Hayne, here’s four ways technology will remake financial advice
Technology’s waves have swamped plenty of other industries, so it’s hardly a surprise they are washing over the provision of financial advice. So much so, there’s talk of yet another “-tech”: as in, AdviceTech. So what’s accelerating the pace of digitisation of financial advice? Four key themes come to mind: First, providers realise the current advice offering does not resonate with customers. It’s a poor “experience”. Stats suggest only one in five Australians gets financial advice. Second, the royal commission into financial services has made it abundantly clear the dominant advice model has too many conflicts of interest. Regardless of whether the inquiry separates product manufacture from providing advice, it […]
Credit cards on the decline as Visa says we have passed ‘peak plastic’
Australia has reached “peak plastic” and credit card transactions will now start to decline, as people increasingly adopt mobile and wearable payment technologies, according to the new country manager of Visa. In his first interview since becoming the head of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific at Visa in January, former local head of Citibank’s consumer banking operations Julian Potter told The Australian Financial Review the tipping point for change in consumer payments preferences would come when things like Myki or Opal cards could be stored on your phone in a digital wallet. “I use my phone and it just took a few goes and then the habit set […]
Should The Reserve Bank of Australia Issue a Digital Currency?
During a recent Australian Business Economists forum, the Head of Payments Policy Department for the Reserve Bank of Australia, Tony Richards, had a lot to share on cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology in the Reserve Bank’s perspective. Of particular interest was whether the bank might consider issuing a digital version of the Australian Dollar. According to Richards, Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies were largely impressive and admirable, but flaws in their design coupled with limited usage within Australia made them unnecessary and hence there was no need for the bank to issue a new digital version of the Australian Dollar. The Bank’s Approach To Cryptocurrencies Australia can boast of having […]
Open banking rules fuel financial planning shake-up
The financial planning industry is poised for a shake-up as the government’s plan to make it easier for customers to access banking data drives new technology that will allow advisers to respond in real-time to the changing financial circumstances of their clients. Open banking will also change the financial advice industry by allowing advisers to tailor their offering to individuals. Grow Super, part owned by IOOF, and Basiq, part owned by Westpac Banking Corp and National Australia Bank, have worked together to build the software that provides alerts to advisers about when to call their clients. The product will be white-labelled for advisory groups to enhance the quality of customer […]
Non-banks are the future of banking
The future of banking is in the hands of non-banks, says specialist lender Liberty. Non-banks, by nature, are “active, nimble, innovative and relevant”, allowing them to lead the competition, rather than be threatened by big banks. Non-banks provide a variety of solutions such as home loans, car loans, personal loans and business loans, as well as custom lending for those that need it. But as the financial world welcomes more and more technology, and increased regulation drives up costs, it leaves many to wonder how non-banks will respond to these changes. Asked about how non-banks will adapt to the future, group sales manager at Liberty, John Mohnacheff, laughed: “How are […]
