40-50 banks expected to use Stellar (XLM) use in coming months
Put Tuesday 1.40am (UTC) on 19 March in your calendar of major Stellar Lumens events. Speaking to Finder at IBM Think 2019, IBM head of blockchain Jesse Lund revealed that 40-50 banks are expected to join the Stellar-based IBM World Wire service in the near future. “We’ve got a launch announcement coming out soon… we’re going to be supporting more than 50 countries out of the gate, 30-40 currencies, and enough market makers to drag along 30 or 40 banks, so we’ll have a significant portion of the world covered,” he explained. Several banks have already confirmed that they plan to issue digital assets, including stablecoins of their own, through […]
FinTech opportunities to come from Australia’s Royal Commission
Australia is currently holding a Royal Commission into the banking sector and it’s fair to say that what has been uncovered so far has rocked both the public, the industry and policy makers alike. The Royal Commission has uncovered a culture of big business not acting in the best interests of their customers, which appears to especially be the case for large institutions. For example, AMP one of Australia’s largest financial institutions, deliberately mislead the regulator on several occasions and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has had several issues including criminal offences and has paid more than 700 million dollars fine to the regulator over a number of breaches over […]
Trust deficit means fintechs will fly
Leading fintech founders believe the fallout from The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry is a great opportunity for them to wrest market share from the major banks. They believe their existing focus on customers is a serious competitive advantage they can exploit as mainstream financial services businesses reposition their operations subsequent to the release of the final report last week. Jason Wilby, director of insurtech Huddle Insurance, says for too long, there has been an imbalance of power in the financial services sector. “Now is the time for new and emerging fintechs to flip the financial services industry on its head, for the […]
Peppermint collaborates with BancNet on Mobile Banking
Peppermint Innovation Ltd (ASX:PIL) advises it has teamed up with BancNet to provide their mobile banking technology and services that facilitate electronic fund transfers (EFT’s) in real time to BancNet member outsourcing banks. BancNet is the Philippines single Automated Teller Machines (ATM) switch operator connecting the networks of local and offshore banks. It is a multi-bank, multi-channel electronic payments network that enables its members’ customers to transact not only at ATM but also at point- of- sale (POS) terminals, the Internet and mobile phones. BancNet is the largest interbank network in the Philippines serving ATM cardholders of its 114 members and affiliates with circa 20,000 ATMs and more than 5,000 […]
JPMorgan Chase to create digital coin using blockchain
JPMorgan Chase plans to launch its own digital coin, called “JPM Coin”, that customers will be able to use for instant transfer of payments over a blockchain network. The largest US bank by assets said customers, on depositing money at the bank, will be issued the cryptocurrency that can be used for transactions over the network with other JPMorgan clients. The coin can be redeemed for a US dollar, so its value will largely remain stable, the bank said. When one client sends money to another over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and instantaneously redeemed for the equivalent amount of US dollars, reducing the typical settlement time, the bank […]
Shadow banks swoop as five lenders quit sub-prime home loans
Digital home-loan lender Tic:Toc is launching into the sub-prime mortgage market targeting small business owners as five other lenders quit the sector claiming “industry changes”. Tic:Toc’s move follows stakes being taken in the online lender by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia and La Trobe Financial, which is part of the US investment giant Blackstone Group. Other major lenders, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Bank of Queensland, pulled out of the sector to be replaced by regulation-lite shadow banks, including Pepper Money and Resimac. Adelaide Bank, Perth-based Bluebay Home Loans and Resolve Finance’s mortgage division are also quitting the sub-prime sector blaming changing marketing and funding conditions. The move comes amid […]
How the Banking Royal Commission will affect the auto-financing industry
The recent release of the banking royal commission’s interim report has highlighted that responsible lending practices need to be extended to the auto-finance industry. The implications of this for entities making car loans is significant as 90% of all car sales are currently arranged through finance, many of which have fallen short of responsible lending provisions. According to the report it is not enough just use ‘likelihood of default’ as a measure of loan suitability. Prior to making an assessment on whether a loan is suitable, the licensee must now take a number of steps to ensure responsible lending provisions are met. These necessary steps include: “making reasonable inquiries about […]
UBank launches AI mortgage application assistant
A new artificial intelligence-powered mortgage application assistant will soon be able to answer customer questions in natural language, UBank has announced. UBank has revealed that its new AI-powered digital home loan application assistant, called Mia (short for My Interactive Agent), will start answering more than 300 common customer questions in real time from late February. The NAB subsidiary, which worked with FaceMe to develop Mia, said customers will be able to converse in natural language with the AI assistant via their desktop or mobile devices at any time about their mortgage applications. For example, customers could ask about what the variable rate of a loan is or what classifies as […]
