Xinja launches card and app, gets set to challenge Australia’s banking market
Xinja, which is building the first Australian, independent, 100% digital ‘neobank’, has launched its prepaid travel and everyday spending card and its app. The card is a prepaid, tap-and-go card, with no ATM fees here or overseas, and low international transaction/FX fees that make it a very competitive travel card. The app allows users to lock the card instantly, if it is lost, and is being designed to let users track their spending, with more features to be rolled out over the next few months. The card is being sent out to Xinja’s waitlist, made up of consumers who have signed up to be part of the development of a […]
SMEs trading banks for fintechs, poll suggests
Fintech and other non-bank lenders are set to overtake banks as the preferred source of growth funds for Australian SMEs, the latest Scottish Pacific SME Growth Index suggest. The twice-yearly poll was informed by interviews with more than 1250 SMEs with annual revenues of up to $5 million. Scottish Pacific found that between 2014 and 2018, the proportion of SMEs intending to use banks for funding dropped from 38% to 24%. Meanwhile, 22% of SMEs identified non-bank lenders as their preferred source of growth funds, up from 11% in 2014. In addition, it was revealed that amongst SMEs that have not used non-banking lending options in the past 12 months, […]
What is a Neobank and what can it do for me?
Australia’s big bank monopolisation might finally be getting a kick up the butt. This article is supported by Xinja, who are building the first Australian 100 percent digital bank designed for mobile. In this series, we look at our relationship to money. It’s a very familiar story: at various times through the year, the big banks take turns in announcing another round of record-breaking profits. Last year the big four earned a combined $31 billion in profit. That’s $58,980 a minute. Unsurprisingly, the people that run these behemoth moneymakers do quite nicely for themselves as well. Australia’s highest paid banking CEO, Nicholas Moore, made a whopping $18.2 million last year. […]
Fintech vs Banking: Which sector controls the future of money?
There could be trouble ahead at the top of the financial market arena. In the red corner is Banking — one of the world’s most pre-eminent industries represented by a handful of stalwart banks, who’ve been around for centuries and considered the bedrock of a modern financially-savvy society. In the blue corner is Technology — in the form of a cloud of hovering tech firms, buzzing around consumers and serving up the most connectible and value-added premium products ever seen. Most innovations that have improved financial services have been down to “financial technology” or “fintech” for short. Separating the two is a wall of compliance and a patchwork of regulatory […]
Fintech – The evolution of modern financial technology in the 21st Century
Financial procedures have evolved drastically over the last 100 years. We have seen a huge change in how many aspects of finance are processed such as payments, investment, data storage and types of currency. A term that has sprung up in the last couple of decades and gained prominence is ‘Fintech’ – this articles details exactly what Fintech is, and why it is essential for the modern world. What is Fintech ? Fintech = financial technology This is the basic meaning. Fintech is much more than that however – it is any new type of innovative technology that competes with or precedes traditional financial methods; particularly the delivery of financial […]
Chatbots just the beginning for AI in banking
Over the two years since professional Go player Lee Sedol was defeated by AlphaGo, a computer program created by Google’s DeepMind, artificial intelligence (AI) has continued its rapid march. Technology systems using machine learning are controlling distribution centres, monitoring energy systems and diagnosing serious medical conditions. Voice-activated digital assistants being rolled out by tech giants are powered by natural language processing, an area of AI. The banking sector is also accelerating its adoption of AI. Over the past year, many experiments have moved into production. The technology is being used to deliver personalised banking experiences to customers and helping bank staff make better decisions. An initial AI deployment in banking […]
Micro-investing apps creating electronic piggybanks for the tap-and-go age
Small change used to go into people’s piggybanks, building cents into dollars. But in the tap-and-go age, micro-investing may be the answer. “They’ve been able to match smart technology within regulatory innovation to allow people to invest literally small change,” financial planner Catherine Robson said. With no paper bankbook and no plastic card, apps controlled entirely on smartphones like Acorns and First Step are lowering the bar for investing in the stock market. While First Step has recently launched, Acorns has $160 million under investment for 140,000 clients. With an average holding of just over $1,100, its client base is much younger than the major banks. “Millennials are definitely more […]
NAB warns on Facebook, Apple banking threat
Technology giants with investment budgets that dwarf those of Australia’s banks are expanding into financial services, and likely to represent a growing competitive threat to the industry, National Australia Bank warns. NAB’s chief operating officer, Antony Cahill, on Thursday highlighted the future wave of competition banks may face from the technology sector, as he appeared before the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into competition in finance. Mr Cahill said that on top of the “truly intense” competition banks currently faced, lenders were “acutely aware” of the growth and emergence of new rivals. These potential rivals included financial technology or “fintech” firms, and the likes of Apple and Facebook. He cited KPMG figures […]
