Blockchain adoption in banks coming, but slower than expected
Recent headlines suggest that blockchain technology is revolutionizing financial services. JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Commonwealth Bank, Wells Fargo and several other leading banks are using the digital ledger technology to conduct equity swaps, cross-border trades, and other transactions. You might think that blockchain has gone mainstream. Not so fast, says former UBS CIO Oliver Bussmann, who claims it may take banks two years to run blockchain in production due to regulatory hurdles, a lack of standards and other stumbling blocks. “This is real, this will come but in a very regulated environment. We will go through a lot of validation,” says Bussmann, who jumpstarted blockchain efforts when he was leading […]
DigitalX Ltd files unique blockchain patent for its money transfer app
DigitalX Ltd (ASX:DCC) has filed its second global provisional patent application, further strengthening the company’s ‘AirPocket’ blockchain-based money transfer app. AirPocket can also be used to pay bills and top-up phones. The new patent describes a method for creating and storing a digital ID on a blockchain, and providing the owner of the ID a way to grant access to historical data from a point in time. In AirPocket, this method is known as an “AirID”. An AirID is created for each user that is digitally on-boarded via AirPocket once successfully passing Know Your Customer, Sanctions and Politically Exposed Person checks. These three processes are necessary to make international payments […]
Blockchain needs explanation before application
The future of blockchain lies beyond the financial sector but the full potential of distributed-ledger technology is unlikely to be unleashed until organisations understand that it’s not a silver bullet to every problem, experts have warned. Data 61 senior research consultant Rob Hanson says that amid the “Cambrian explosion of innovation” in distributed technology there’s a need to avoid mythmaking around blockchain. “The complexity of blockchain technology needs to be translated effectively,” Mr Hanson told The Australian. “It’s no silver bullet and we don’t have great definitions in place just yet.” The sentiment is shared by Nick Giurietto, CEO and managing director of the Australian Digital Currency & Commerce Association, […]
Bitcoin technology could ensure grain growers get paid
A NEW company is seeking a technological answer to one of the biggest problems facing grain farmers — delays in being paid. Full Profile, established last year by Emma Weston, Bob McKay and Ben Reid, is looking at technology used in bitcoin trading to make prompt payments to farmers when they deliver grain. Ms Weston said Full Profile started building a program around the technology, known as blockchain, in April and will test it in Dubbo with a grain delivery to Fletcher International in the next four or five weeks. Ms Weston said the aim was for grain growers to know if the trader had the funds to pay them […]
Australia Post’s digital future rises from disruption as it embraces blockchain
Australia Post has been talking up its identity expertise for months and will soon launch a new mobile digital identity platform that could be a vital element of secure digital commerce. The digital service will allow people to verify their identity in just a few minutes via smartphone using biometric data. The technology will be robust enough to allow individuals to apply for a passport or mortgage by mobile and could become a new growth business for the national utility. “How do I know you’re who you say you are if I’m dealing with you on the computer?” Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour asks BOSS. “Solving this is one […]
DASH integrates with Living Room of Satoshi bill pay service
Dash, the “better bitcoin,” has been integrated into one of Australia’s most promising cryptocurrency companies, Living Room of Satoshi, a business that has already revolutionized the way people pay their bills online. Founded only two years ago, Living Room of Satoshi was named 2015 Australian Startup of the Year award by StartupSmart for the innovative way the company allows Australians to pay their everyday bills with cryptocurrency, including rent, utilities, insurance bills, phone bills, speeding fines, credit card debt, and government tax bills. The service is linked to BPAY, an online bill payment mechanism accepted by over 45,000 companies across Australia. Today, Dash joined Bitcoin as the only alternative currency […]
Fintech start-ups must ‘unblock the chains that bind them’
Australia’s fintech start-ups will need to weather the blockchain “hype cycle” if they’re to survive, a panel at Melbourne’s Collab/Collide fintech summit determined. Emma Weston, chief executive of disruptive agriculture start-up Full Profile, which uses blockchain technology to eliminate risk and inefficiencies in the agricultural supply chain, said commercial use of the technology was still at a nascent level. “We’re finding lots of potential for blockchain, but what’s going to get us into the world, it’s got to be companies that are prepared to put resources behind something that is fairly uncertain, in a market that is fairly uncertain, in a world where a lot of the incumbents don’t want […]
EY FinTech Australia Census 2016
FinTech Australia and EY Sweeney release the most comprehensive analysis of Australia’s fintech ecosystem to date, the EY FinTech Australia Census 2016 FinTech Australia and EY Sweeney are today releasing the inaugural EY FinTech Australia Census 2016, the most comprehensive and detailed report on the Australian fintech industry to date. The research was formally launched in Melbourne today by EY’s Anita Kimber at FinTech Australia’s national summit, Collab/Collide 2016 in partnership with LaunchVic. This significant piece of research was commissioned by FinTech Australia as part of their efforts to foster a thriving fintech ecosystem in Australia. The report identifies important characteristics of the Australian fintech industry, and establishes a set […]
