Bitcoin and Ethereum are hitting record highs
Bitcoin just surged to a new record above $US2,800. It tops the previous high of $US2,799, with the cryptocurrency reaching a peak earlier today of $US2,854.40. A short time ago, Bitcoin was trading at $US2,800.20, a gain of just over 4%. The latest surge shows that speculation in the market shows no signs of abating, after prices for Bitcoin dipped back below $US2,000 at the end of May. Prices for the world’s second largest cryptocurrency ethereum have also ripped higher, a short time ago up more than 5% to $US256.16. To read more, please click on the link below… Source: Bitcoin and Ethereum are hitting record highs | Business […]
Data61 reports blockchain will have a profound impact on the economy
A scientific study of blockchain by the CSIRO’s specialist Data61 unit has found the management of supply chains, including trade finance and insurance, as a “highly promising” use case for the emerging technology, which will enhance productivity across the agriculture, banking, healthcare, logistics and public sectors and help business and government manage the deluge of data about to be unleashed by the internet of things. But two reports to be released on Wednesday also point to various limitations of the much-hyped technology, warning it could compromise privacy, breach confidentiality, and create security concerns should encryption ever be broken by faster computing power. Data61’s reports are the product of almost a […]
SBS Bank has partnered with Sandstone Technology to deploy a new digital banking platform
SBS Bank has partnered with Sandstone Technology to deploy a new digital banking platform to facilitate an anywhere, anytime banking experience for the bank’s Members. The recent project is the first step in what promises to be a long and exciting relationship between the rapidly growing New Zealand Member bank and the FinTech, which was co-founded by New Zealander Bob Hall. The banking platform, developed in collaboration with Sandstone partner Liferay, will soon be extended to create an online sales channel supporting the origination and fulfilment of Member applications for accounts and investments. Approved deposit product applicants will have immediate access to their online banking facilities. Shaun […]
Fintech startup MoneyMe hits $100 million loans; sets eyes on niche loans market
Fintech startup, MoneyMe Financial Group, has this week broken through the $100 million loan mark, after record daily compounded growth of 2,747 per cent in its medium amount and personal loans offerings drove its lending volume exponentially in the past few months. This rapid acceleration, combined with record low default and customer complaint rates, now sees MoneyMe set to launch a series of niche loan products over 2017, all designed to provide greater financial inclusion for the growing Australian millennial market. “To have reached this exciting milestone so quickly really is validation that the millennial market is actively looking for financial alternatives to the big banks and their […]
NAB private banking in alliance with Israel’s OurCrowd
Clients of National Australia Bank’s private bank will get special access to venture capital raisings by global technology companies, with NAB and the Israeli equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd announcing a collaboration deal on Sunday. NAB joins United Overseas Bank of Singapore and Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank of Taiwan in assisting OurCrowd to distribute deals while also getting access to start-ups funded through the platform, one of the world’s largest crowdfunding groups that has raised over $600 million for more than 120 early-stage companies. The deal was announced during an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce’s women leaders delegation in Israel, that was attended by NAB Private executive general manager Christine Yates. […]
Even banks are touched by the Amazon effect
Such is the impact of Amazon that it is even affecting what people expect from their bank. That’s the view of the chief executive of fintech firm Avoka, Phil Copeland, who said the user experience provided by the shopping giant has fed into an expectation among consumers that you should be able to sign up for products easily and simply online. With banks also nervously eyeing fintech competitors, the dynamic is forcing banks to sharpen their focus on “digital customer acquisition”, or online sales. “Amazon has really changed the landscape a lot, for a lot of people. There’s an expectation that if it’s not as easy as doing business with […]
Why Australia needs to champion an open system for blockchain
American astronomer and educator Clifford Stoll wrote an article in 1995 called ‘Why the Web won’t be Nirvana’. It still gets passed around as an amusing discussion piece highlighting the doubts people had about the internet. Stoll was sceptical about the web, especially “cyber business”: “So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month?” The Clifford Stolls are still out there. You’ll find some of them these days expressing doubts about blockchain technology. But plenty of very reputable and smart people have recognised blockchain could be the building block for something truly transformative, as revolutionary as the internet. This […]
Australian robo-advisors dismiss ING report
The new survey by finance giant ING has been dismissed by Australian robo-advisors as failing the history test and being contradicted by other studies. ING’s survey, which captured headlines, found that 90 percent of global respondents would never use robo-advice. Robo-advisors ranked below friends, family and even the internet as a source of investment advice. “Years ago our parents generation paid for everything in cash and cheque books, people were initially fearful of ATM card technology and online shopping . We now live in virtually a cashless society and online retail is the norm,” Chris Brycki, the CEO of Stockspot, told AltFi. “The idea that robo-advice can’t replace a human […]
