Australia leads the way when it comes to Digital Banking
When it comes to cashless banking in Australia, Sydney and Canberra lead the way according to a report by card company Visa. The report recognises both cities as being digital leaders in large part as a result of Australia’s advanced digital banking payments system. Aussies are already very accustomed to online banking and there are a large number that make use of the system. 100 cities were looked at The report looked at more than 100 cities around the world and analysed their development in terms of cashless payments and banking. The report showed that 18 cities spread across Asia, Europe and the United States were deemed to be “digitally […]
Macquarie adopts open banking solution
Macquarie customers will be one of the first to test the new open banking regime with the help of a fintech. Retail finance solutions provider Zip Co, which operates under its zipPay and zipMoney brands, will allow Macquarie customers to add banking and credit card accounts via personal financial management app Pocketbook. Zip Co acquired Pocketbook in 2016 and currently has more than 400,000 users. The app integrates with Macquarie’s open banking platform, giving customers the option to connect and manage personal finances. Zip co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond said as momentum for this type of innovation is quickly growing, the integration with Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group […]
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he regrets calling bitcoin a ‘fraud’
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regrets having called bitcoin a “fraud” but would still not be interested in the cryptocurrency, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon, known for his candid comments, slammed the viability of bitcoin in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said at a conference. The buzz generated by Dimon’s comments spurred more interest in the alt-currency. Bitcoin rose around 30 per cent in one month following Dimon’s speech, where he also compared the […]
Are central bankers about to burst the bitcoin bubble?
Foreign exchange traders have long been used to “jawboning” from central bankers – that is, using carefully selected words to suggest that they are unhappy with the level their currency is trading at, usually because they consider it over-valued. But the world’s top central bankers have a new target: bitcoin and its fellow digital currencies. And some strongly-worded statements show the depth of their feeling on the subject. A month ago, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe described the fascination with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a “speculative mania”. Later that day, Janet Yellen, the head of the powerful US Federal Reserve described bitcoin as a “highly speculative asset”, noting that […]
Central banks investigate digital currencies following bitcoin boom
No statements, no accounts, no fees, and definitely no waiting for your money to arrive. That could be your financial future in a world where banks have been replaced by a single, unique “key” which would let you directly transfer and receive money instantly from anywhere in the world. It’s something central banks from the UK to Israel and Australia are actively assessing as they consider whether to develop their own cryptocurrencies to mirror the benefits of bitcoin, while minimising the ability to launder money or evade taxes. Head of the Cyber Academy at Edinburgh Napier University, Bill Buchanan said many are now putting their “toe in the water” to […]
Coinspot rubbishes liquidity claims, says it is ‘getting closer’ to turning on Australian dollar deposits
Aussie cryptocurrency exchange Coinspot has described warnings of liquidity issues due to too many customers cashing out as “absolute rubbish and untrue”.
Fintech firms welcome regulatory pathway for new bank entrants
A group of over 180 fintech firms strongly believes the country’s financial regulator should pursue steps to ease licensing for new entrants to the banking industry. In a submission paper to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), FinTech Australia agreed that APRA should utilise a “phased approach” to help potential applicants navigate the licensing process, while at the same preserving entry standards. A discussion paper by APRA released last year initially suggested the phased approach idea to stoke further competition. “The phased approach is intended to support increased competition in the banking sector by reducing barriers for new entrants being authorised to conduct banking business, including those with innovative or […]
Australian FinTech Tyro launches SMB services
Australian bank Tyro is introducing new services for its small- and medium-sized business (SMB) customers. The new services include lending products, reports in The Adviser said, that provide SMB borrowers flat-fee business loans that can be provided in minutes. The FinTech is also providing banking services via SMB deposit accounts that integrate with cloud accounting solution Xero. The solution supports batch payment scheduling and payroll and earns daily interest. Tyro added that the account is also compatible with iPhones, which can be used by SMBs to pay bills. The firm is also launching an EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale) technology that integrates with point-of-sale solutions for SMBs. […]
