Real-time payments to be launched after Australia Day
A new payments systems is “on track” to be able to deliver real time bank transfers and the ability to ditch BSB numbers from Australia Day. While most people take a break over summer, banks will be putting the finishing touches on the biggest overhaul in the payments system in years. The new payments platform or NPP is a $1 billion project to deliver real-time payments between customers of different banks, and the company to run the system says it will be rolled out to the public after Australia Day next year. The long-running project has been scheduled to be launched this quarter, and despite industry chatter about some banks […]
Credit card debt targeted by Douugh, financial ‘personal assistant’
Bank customers will soon be able to sign up for computer-generated tips on how to get on top of their credit card debt, manage their budget, and eventually, save money on their electricity bill. That is the ambition of start-up Douugh, a financial technology firm this month launching a pilot in Australia of a financial “personal assistant,” based on artificial intelligence. It is the latest example of a fintech start-up seeking a piece of the banks’ lucrative financial relationships with consumers, as the public’s trust in traditional banks wanes. The platform, which has already launched in the United States, will work by allowing customers to essentially download their financial history, […]
Goldman Sachs could set up online retail bank in Australia
Australian banks have been put on notice after global investment bank Goldman Sachs announced that it is intending to enter the UK market with a high-interest online savings account in 2018. In an interview with the Financial Times, Stephen Scherr of Goldman Sachs said the investment bank plans to increase its retail profile by offering online personal banking in the UK in the same way it has already done in the US. The bank intends to provide consumers with easy-to-use savings accounts that offer high rates of interest. Not just for the super-rich Goldman Sachs is usually associated with the super-rich, however the investment bank began offering savings accounts with […]
Change Financial anticipates to dual trade in USA
ASX-listed Change Financial Limited, Australia’s only listed digital banking platform, is pleased to announce the upcoming anticipated dual trading of the Company’s shares on the OTCQX Best Market in the U.S. On 2nd October 2017 (US EDT), the Company’s shares are expected to commence trading on the OTCQX Best Market under the stock code “CNGFF”. Trading on OTCQX and ASX supports Change Financial’s strategy to broaden its global investor base, particularly in the U.S. where there is growing interest in the Company’s digital banking platform. Change Financial’s digital banking value proposition (via its ChimpChange Mobile Banking brand) is well understood by US investors, and the Company has […]
Fitbit Pay launches with ANZ, CBA and NAB
Forget having to carry your card in your sports bra whenever you go for a run or figuring out where to stash your wallet the next time you go for a swim. Fitbit is the latest company to jump on the contactless payments bandwagon with the recent launch of Fitbit Pay. And today, it has announced a massive partnership with Aussie banking giants ANZ, CBA and NAB that will kick off next Monday. Fitbit has also confirmed that it’s in talks with Westpac, Bendigo Bank, St.George and some other regional banks for future partnerships. Available with the new Fitbit Ionic smartwatch, customers of the three big banks can link their […]
A Central Bank blockchain could make other banks obsolete
Will banks like ANZ and Westpac go the way of the record store? Professor David Yermack from NYU Stern School of Business thinks so. He argues it’s only a matter of time before Central Banks withdraw banknotes from circulation and put the national currency into an electronic blockchain rending other banks “unnecessary”. The distributed ledger technology promises to give Central Banks much greater control over national currencies and could put an end to money laundering and tax evasion, argues Yermack, who counts bitcoin and cryptocurrencies among his areas of expertise. “It’s not a question of if but when a country will do this. And my expectation is that the benefits […]
Regulated Bitcoin banking will disrupt Aussie finance sector says DigitalX
The launch of regulated, global bank trading in digital currencies such as Bitcoin will be a disruptive game-changer, says Australian digital currency consultancy, DigitalX. DigitalX (ASX:DCC) was the corporate advisor to Europe-based Bankera, which recently closed an “initial coin offering” after raising €25 million ($37 million). An initial coin offering is an unregulated means of crowdfunding using digital currency. Bankera expects to have a banking licence within the next two years and will operate as a global, regulated bank offering traditional banking and investment services to the blockchain marketplace, including payments, loans, deposits and investments. Blockchain is a technology that provides a public ledger of digital currency transactions. Each “block” […]
RBA, ACCC want more competition in banking
The Reserve Bank of Australia and the competition regulator have endorsed the government’s budget policies to boost banking competition including the regime that will force incumbent banks to provide data to customers to allow them to shop around for better deals. In a submission to the Productivity Commission, the Reserve Bank said competition in banking is being restricted by bundling of products, particularly with cross-subsidisation “obscuring the pricing of individual products”, which makes customers less willing to switch banks. The central bank said it backed the push towards “open banking”, “comprehensive credit reporting” and recent moves to increase transparency around banks setting interest rates via oversight by the ACCC. The […]
