Scott Morrison hints at open data green light to boost banking competition
Treasurer Scott Morrison has hinted strongly that the government will give banking customers power over their own data so they can shop around for a better deal from other financial institutions. The change could be announced as early as budget night on Tuesday, at the same time the Treasurer launches a Productivity Commission inquiry into the State of Competition in the Australian Financial System, a process which could lead to sweeping change. There has already been a Productivity Commission inquiry into so-called open data and the government has the final report. The interim report on “data use and availability” sent to the government on March 31 called for customers to […]
UK’s open banking revolution has lessons for Australia
There’s a revolution going on in British banking. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final order on “open banking” in February. The new regime – on track to come into force next year– is set to have a profound impact on the sector in the coming decades and beyond. Banks have been told that information such as transaction and loan repayment data does not belong to them, but their customers. Those who want to use that data to access better financial products or services will be able to do so in a safe and secure manner. Delivery will be via application programming interfaces (APIs), software that allows […]
Digital wallet progress in Australia is slow but on the rise
The technology is ready. Banks know how to use it. Consumers want it now. So just when will we get the digital wallets we’ve been promised? What seems like a straightforward question with an equally straightforward solution has become mired in politics, as tech companies and banks disagree on the right way to deliver convenient mobile payment experiences and Australia’s competition watchdog and courts are forced to step in to mediate. But there have been small breakthroughs lately in what experts say is a sign that digital services will replace dog-eared wallets and overstuffed purses within years rather than decades. While Google Android phones were first to add secure Near […]
Banks may have to sell rivals’ products
Banks could be forced to sell financial products manufactured by competitors under new powers to be given to the corporate regulator. Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft said the move could break down the economics of cross-selling and force banks to sell their wealth operations. Foreshadowing the end of the vertically-integrated banking model, Mr Medcraft said new laws will give ASIC a mandate to police competition while “product intervention” powers could be used to ensure banks only sell products that are in the best interests of their customers – which might not necessarily be their own. Mr Medcraft said the regulator could use its new powers to limit […]
Macquarie’s plan to beat the investment robots
Investing robots and index funds are poaching billions of dollars from human fund managers, but Macquarie Investment Management head of the Americas Shawn Lytle says the firm is repositioning to cope with the seismic shift into passive investing. Globally, droves of investors are yanking money from high-fee active managers and parking their funds in passive strategies such as exchange-traded funds that ride the ups and downs of select markets. Macquarie Investment Management, a global division which manages about $US257 billion of Macquarie Group’s $US362 billion in assets under management, is aiming to differentiate by offering more unique actively managed equities, bonds and alternative assets such as infrastructure. “We are at […]
Personal loan applications surge as credit cards wane
Australians are shunning high interest credit cards and turning to personal loans for large purchases. Driving the switch are tech-savvy consumers taking up loans from peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, a new breed of online competitors to banks. Credit card applications fell by almost 4 per cent in the March 2017 quarter compared with the same quarter last year, the latest report on consumer credit by credit bureau Equifax shows. That’s the biggest fall since September 2012 quarter. Personal loan applications rose by 13.5 per cent over the same period, the biggest increase since the March 2005 quarter. The latest period of sustained growth in personal loan applications started in the second […]
Apple Pay leads Digital Wallet usage
Usage of Apple Pay for contactless payments is set to nearly double in 2017, with significantly more users than both Google and Samsung’s digital wallets. Data from Juniper Research indicates Apple Pay will have 86 million contactless users by the end of this year, ahead of the 34 million users of Samsung Pay and 24 million users of Android Pay. Combined, the three digital wallets will surpass 100 million contactless users in the first half of 2017, before surging to over 150 million by the end of the year. Juniper noted that, while Apple will continue to dominate, growth is expected to continue for all three digital wallets, which increased […]
Westpac customers can now use Samsung Pay
Westpac has today announced their debit and credit card holders can now use Samsung Pay – a first move from the big bank outside their own app and payment technology. While they may have been fighting to collectively bargain with Apple for access to Apple Pay it seems Westpac were happy to jump on board Samsung’s digital wallet offering access to their customers and becoming the first major bank to support Samsung Pay. Alongside Citibank and AMEX, Westpac customers can add their debit and credit cards to access tap and go payments from their phone or Samsung smart watch. Richard Fink, Vice President, Mobile Division at Samsung Australia said: “We […]
