Are fintech companies changing the industry for the better?
FinTech is most commonly known as the abbreviation for the term “financial technology” and the name given to an emerging and rapidly growing financial services sector. Financial technology is often used to describe any technological innovations within the financial industry, ranging from banking and investments, all the way through to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With new technologies come new businesses, and so financial technology companies were born. The question is, however, whether these businesses and the technologies on offer through them are changing the industry for the better, or are they simply a disruption to an already functioning economy? How are fintech companies changing the financial industry? One of the […]
Tic:Toc selects MuleSoft to power instant online home loan service
MuleSoft, the leading platform for building application networks, today announced that financial services startup Tic:Toc has selected MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform™ to power it’s real-time home loan approval system. Since conception in 2015, Tic:Toc has been working to create a fully automated online home loan application system. In July of this year, the Adelaide-based Fintech launched Tic:Toc and unveiled their new platform which they believe offers loan approval in just 22 minutes, compared with the industry average, which they claim takes 22 days. The service digitally evaluates a borrower’s suitability in real-time by calculating variables, such as property valuation, borrowing ability, credit checks and the validation of financial records. MuleSoft was […]
Myer launches credit card featuring Android Pay and Apple Pay
Myer’s new rewards-based Myer Credit Card is the first Australian retailer-provided Visa card with Android Pay and Apple Pay. The Visa credit card, issued by Macquarie Bank, will allow people to use their smart phone’s digital wallet to pay with either Android or Apple Pay. Consumers also have access to a range of security features and budgeting tools through the Myer Credit Card app, designed to make it easier to track and manage spending. The Myer Credit Card works off a rewards-based system, whereby customers can earn uncapped Shopping Credits on eligible purchases at Myer and MYER one affiliates by presenting their MYER one card number at point-of-purchase. Canstar Research […]
NAB’s Apple Pay gap
There have been curious developments over the Tasman in relation to Apple Pay, with National Australia Bank’s BNZ unit announcing today it will offer the service to customers by the end of this month. Yes, that’s the same NAB that tried to enlist the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in a nasty spat with Apple over access to the iPhone’s near-field communication antenna. Success would have enabled the bank to offer its own digital wallet to iPhone users in competition with the Apple’s wallet, but without using Apple Pay. The competition watchdog knocked back the application by NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, ruling that competition could be distorted if the […]
Westpac increases investment in mortgage broker start-up uno Home Loans with $5m
Westpac Banking Corporation has increased its majority stake in digital mortgage broking platform Uno, ploughing another $5 million into the company. The big four bank has now invested about $26.5 million into the venture and owns 92 per cent of ordinary shares, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents. Factoring in shares that are subject to vesting, on a fully diluted basis Westpac still owns more than three quarters of the company. Founder and chief executive Vincent Turner told The Australian Financial Review the funding provided by Westpac had given the fintech start-up a leg up it couldn’t have had otherwise. “If we wanted to move fast, learn fast […]
Banks want to charge for handing over customer data
Major banks want to charge fintech businesses in exchange for handing over data on the banks’ customers, a sign of the likely tensions to emerge as the government looks to break open the banks’ information vaults. In a move that could have far-reaching implications for banks and their customers alike, Treasurer Scott Morrison earlier this year ordered an investigation into “open banking”, a system that would allow customers to securely share their financial data with rivals. While the banks are supportive of the general move, submissions to a Treasury have highlighted the cost of making more transaction data available, with suggestions banks could face costs in the hundreds of millions […]
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, […]
