Data deluge as fintech wave builds
Fintech is here and is going to grow quickly, so businesses need to get up to speed. Those who thought the internet had done all it could to disrupt business need to think again, because a new wave of disruption is about to break as the fintech revolution gathers pace. A new word for some people, fintech (or financial technology) has made it into the Oxford Dictionary. Defined as ‘technologies that support banking’, the word itself may not be in common use, but there’s no doubt everyone is already affected by it in some way. More important than what has happened in the early years of fintech, which has its […]
Banks pay lip service to fintech collaboration
Banks need to become “platforms” that deliver financial services alongside various start-up partners, but many banks are paying lip service to collaboration and remain reluctant to engage with the local fintech ecosystem, according to Alex Scandurra, chief executive of fintech hub Stone & Chalk. The notion that a bank can merely innovate internally “is such outdated thinking,” he told the 1300 delegates to the Reimagination’16 summit in Sydney on Thursday. Banks needed to shift from thinking they sell a mortgage, deposit or loan to being “a platform of services [that] deliver a whole range of things to customers, some of which are built and delivered by [the bank], some of […]
Apple Pay helps banks sell mortgages and deposits, ANZ Bank says
ANZ Bank chief Shayne Elliott insists his move to break ranks with rivals and do a deal with Apple to allow easy payments on the iPhone is helping the lender sell a wide range of financial products, even mortgages. A day after his key rivals suffered a major setback in their brawl with Apple, Mr Elliott on Wednesday stood by ANZ’s move to work with the US technology giant, which is moving into the bank-dominated payments market. Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank want to launch a collective boycott of Apple Pay, which requires banks to surrender revenue in order to access the iPhone’s chip […]
Samsung Pay on Gear S2, S3 sparks smartwatch pay war with Apple
Samsung has joined Apple in offering users the ability to pay by flashing their smartwatch across a retail terminal. Customers who buy Samsung’s new Gear S3 smartwatch or who own last year’s Gear S2 model will be able to pay at shops with the flick of a wrist. Samsung users already can use Samsung Pay with recently released Samsung smartphones, but today’s announcement extends this to smartwatches as well. An ability to make payments from a Gear S2 and S3 watch with Samsung Pay will give Australians yet another layer of convenience when shopping and will let them make payments quickly and easily, says Richard Fink, Head of IT and […]
How UBank’s FinTech culture enables Agile to thrive
Some organisational cultures can find it difficult to adapt to an Agile mindset. Central to adopting an Agile approach is emphasising visibility and transparency. This includes making everything (including bad news) visible across the entire organisation. It also means prioritising face-to-face communication. Finally, open team reflection is critical to identifying where things went wrong and how they should improve. One organisation that has done this successfully is online bank, UBank. Bulletproof was engaged by UBank in July to provide Agile coaching for ten weeks across four product teams in its digital division. The bank – which says it operates more like FinTech with a banking licence – wanted to improve […]
Apple offers banks an olive branch
It’s a rare thing to see three of Australia’s big banks, so dominant in their home market, arguing for special dispensation from commercial laws to boost their bargaining position. But when it comes to dealing with Apple, the world’s largest company, Australia’s banks are mere minnows. But with the combination of smartphone proliferation and tap-and-go technology set to revolutionise payments by allowing customers to use their phones like plastic cards, the banks see this case as a cudgel. They’re desperate to retain customer relationships at the point of sale and as commerce moves to mobiles. This fight is an early battle for control of the digital wallet. Apple, banks, retailers […]
ACCC blocks banks’ bid to collectively bargain over Apple Pay
The competition watchdog has denied a bid by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, National Australia Bank and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank to collectively bargain with tech giant Apple over access to its Apple Pay payments platform. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft determination “proposing, on balance, to deny” an application for authorisation to allow the banks to form a cartel to negotiate with Apple. A final decision will be made in March. The ACCC said the banks’ proposals could distort competition between mobile operating systems, reduce competitive tension between banks individually negotiating with Apple, and reduce competition between the banks in the supply of […]
Hashching creates virtual ID system for first fully-digital loan approvals
Hashching, a website for home buyers to choose mortgage brokers, has built the first fully-digital process for home loan verification in Australia, which would allow banks to comply with strict regulations for identifying clients without having to send them to a branch. This weekend, Hashching, which has processed $2.6 billion of mortgages since launching 15 months ago, will begin the pilot for a biometric identity verification service allowing brokers on its platform to satisfy strict “know your client” (KYC) banking regulations by asking a customer on a video call to hold up a proof of identity to the camera on their computer or mobile phone. Across the banking industry, KYC […]
