Identifying customers in the digital era
Digital identity poses an array of challenges for the consumer and the merchant. The push to perform Know Your Customer (KYC) checks online (or 100 point check as it’s known in Australia) has dramatically increased, with AML/CTF obligated merchants seeking to acquire customers remotely, and in most cases seeking to release the tether to bricks and mortar entirely. Austrac defines KYC under the AML/CTF legislation as “documentation which sets out a business’s approach to ensure that it can effectively identify, verify and monitor its customers and the financial transactions in which they engage, relative to the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing”1. Austrac also allows electronic verification, where […]
Blockchain technology to impact financial services sector
Blockchain technology has the potential to improve client’s end-to-end experience but the legal profession must consider its regulation, according to Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers. Nick Abrahams, APAC head of technology and innovation, told those gathered at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Unlocking the Blockchain event last week that “Blockchain will radically impact the financial services sector”. Mr Abrahams – along with Norton Rose Fulbright consultant Tessa Hoser and senior representatives from ASIC, CBA and the ASX – were part of a panel discussion about blockchain technology and regulation at the event. The session focused on the potential applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, and the key legal and regulatory considerations for […]
Apple, ANZ Bank strike deal for Apple Pay in Australia
Apple is expanding its Apple Pay digital wallet in Australia after ANZ became the country’s first bank to support the mobile payment service, executives at the pair told Reuters. Apple Pay allows users to register credit cards on devices such as iPhones, and pay for goods and services by swiping the devices over contactless payment terminals. Apple charges card providers for transactions via the service, which it introduced to Australia last year with American Express. The latest partnership extends the service to ANZ customers and represents the culmination of months of talks with the bank and three bigger peers, all of which had already agreed to support Google’s rival Android […]
Goldfields Money Ltd enters fintech JV to progress digital banking initiative
Goldfields Money Ltd (ASX:GMY), an Authorised Deposit‐taking Institution (ADI), has entered into a JV with a financial technology (fintech) company Mooola Pty Ltd, as part of its transformation into a digital bank. As part of the JV, Sydney-based Mooola will provide technical services and advice to Goldfields to develop a digital software platform for its financial products. In return, Goldfields Money will provide core banking and financial products to the customers of Mooola under Mooola’s own retail brand. This will enable Mooola to launch a new retail banking application later this year targeting customers in the 18-35 age bracket using its fintech expertise. New customers who come to Goldfields Money […]
The fintech phenomenon: Do Aussies only want to borrow from banks?
Marketplace lending, online business loans, robo-advice, blockchain – none of it means anything without consumers. So what do Aussies think of fintech? The threatening, disrupting nature of fintech is a widely discussed topic, with consumer benefits often being the focus. However, what’s interesting is that in the push to get companies, ideas and funding across the line, the actual customer — whether they’re a borrower, investor or seeker of advice — often gets left behind. Robert Allen, director of payments technology and consulting at PwCm spoke about what’s driving fintech at a Fintech Sydney event this week. “Fintech is being pushed forward by a new way of thinking, by millennials, […]
Fintech targets trillion dollar profits
Analysis by McKinsey and Co suggests the trillion dollar profits of traditional banks are vulnerable to being leeched by more than 12,000 fintech start ups. The digital innovators, often targeting a single link of the value chain, pose a grave threat to the business model of the old banking houses. Banks have long made their money by bundling a number of businesses together and relying on the stickiness of life-long customer relationships to rake in super profits on high margin products and services such as investment management, foreign exchange and credit cards. Challengers like Paypal, Nerdwallet and Wealthfront have targeted the profit centres while ignoring the low returns on basic […]
Blockchain technology – why all the hype?
As one of the most talked about emerging technologies, some say blockchain technology could revolutionize everything from stock exchange settlements and transport logistics to voting or welfare payments. So what is it and why is it relevant to financial advisers? Internationally, the benefits and wide range of possible uses for blockchain technology have been touted for a couple of years now. Within Australia, it’s gained some ground after a recent Australian Securities Exchange decision to examine its use for a new clearing and settlement system that’s faster and cheaper than the existing CHESS system. To enable this effort, the ASX bought a five per cent stake ($14.9 million) in Blythe […]
Global FinTechs take on Big Four in new Australian frontier
When U.S.-based financial technology company Acorns launched in Australia in February, its mobile app that helps people invest loose pennies in stock markets received nearly 70,000 downloads in just over two months, beating its own expectations. The ‘virtual piggy bank’ chose Australia as its first foreign market thanks to the country’s deep Internet and mobile penetration and tech-savvy population, Managing Director George Lucas told Reuters. Acorns’ entry is a reflection of rising interest in Australia from overseas financial technology – or FinTech – companies, drawn by its heavy banking concentration and limited competition, consultants and financial advisors said. The country’s $348 million alternate finance lending market, which includes peer-to-peer lending […]
