Insurance solutions lead Australia’s adoption of fintech
Current global adoption levels for insurance fintech solutions are standing at an all-time 24 per cent with Australia recording a higher than average interest due to the upswing in telematics and wearable technologies, according to the EY Fintech Adoption Index. While money transfers and payments services still lead the fintech charge with an adoption rate of 50 per cent in 2017, insurance has come in a surprise second with a 24 per cent global adoption rate. The adoption level for insurance fintech services in Australia stands at four per cent higher than the global average (29 per cent), linked to the upswing of personalised wearables with in-built abilities which allow […]
Australians embrace FinTech as adoption rates double in just 18 months
Digitally active Australian consumers are embracing FinTech at a rapid pace, with Australia now ranked fifth highest in FinTech adoption among 20 markets surveyed globally, according to the latest EY FinTech Adoption Index. China has the highest level of FinTech adoption globally at 69%, followed by India (52%), the UK (42%) and Brazil (40%), with Australia (37%) rounding out the top five. The study, based on 22,000 online interviews with digitally active consumers across 20 markets, including Australia, shows that FinTech services are poised for mainstream adoption on a global scale with an average of one in every three (33%) digitally active consumers now using FinTech. EY FinTech spokesperson, Rowan […]
Winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017
Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017. The 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards celebrate the achievements of the dynamic people and businesses comprising the FinTech sector. These Awards seek to recognise success in the FinTech sector in its many forms. The event was a fantastic evening of celebrating the best innovation, created by the best innovators and entrepreneurs that live and work in Australia. Here are the winners for the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017: FinTech Innovation in payments ZipMoney FinTech Innovation in Wealth Management (Robo-Advice) Pocketbook FinTech Innovation in Lending Tyro Payments Best FinTech Communications Campaign BRICKX Best Research […]
FinTech Interviews: GROW Super
by Matthew Parker, The Mitchellake Group Over the coming weeks, I will have the pleasure of sitting down with many of Australia’s leading FinTech CEOs. Each will be discussing the specific vertical of Financial Services they are looking at and share their insights. For the first interview in this series, I sat down with the CEO of GROW Super, Josh Wilson, to discuss the stream of innovation that is occurring in the Superannuation vertical. Matthew Parker (MP): There have been a few new “disruptive” superannuation businesses launch over the past 2 years. Why is this happening now? What has created the right circumstance for this to occur? Josh Wilson […]
Bitcoin looks a lot like an early Amazon
by Gordon Scott. You might as well get used to the Bitcoin headlines. They aren’t going away. And that’s because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin aren’t going away. If history is any guide, this may only be the beginning. Bitcoin may be the most lucrative trading opportunity since internet stocks such as Amazon.com Inc. in the dot-com era. If that notion sounds as scary as it does exciting, it should. While it is true that trading digital currencies holds real risk, there is also a real opportunity for traders right now. Please note that I said traders here, not investors. Even if it were true that investors could multiply their money, they […]
Notes and coins seem anachronistic
Apart from the introduction of polymer banknotes back in the 1980s, Australian cash has remained largely the same since its creation. Now, rapid advances in technology are making the concept of crinkled pieces of plastic and metal coins seem anachronistic. The latest payment method to garner widespread public attention has been contactless payments. Customers can pay for purchases at the point of sale by simply tapping their credit or debit card on a compatible terminal. For lower-value transactions, even a PIN is not required. Contactless payment systems typically make use of near-field communication (NFC) technology that allows transactions to take place when the card or phone is within a few […]
Security important but most consumers prefer convenience
The fact convenience trumps security for most consumers when it comes to online shopping was one of the more alarming revelations to come out of the recent Future of Payments roundtable co-hosted by The Australian Financial Review and Braintree. For founder and CEO of online beauty store Adore Beauty, Kate Morris, the level of concern people have about security at present is nothing compared to what it was when she began in 2000. “People just assume that so long as your website looks legit, that you are all right.” CEO and founder of online personal brand consultants Social Check, David Griffiths, believes consumers are in for a huge wake-up call […]
Finding the right partners key to success
In a recent white paper on the future of payments involving The Australian Financial Review and Braintree, one of the key findings was more than a quarter of businesses work with three or more payment partners. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it ensures an organisation can reach a wider range of consumers but on the other, it injects more complexity into the mix such as more security issues. For business, getting the payments element of online commerce right is critical as is getting the right payments partner. Growing companies need a payments partner that can scale quickly and deal with a range […]
