Blockchain may transform banking, says CBA CEO Ian Narev
CoinDesk, an online news publication covering bitcoin and its underlying technology, published a feature article last week with the headline: “Have we reached peak blockchain hype?” That’s a fair question, given the extensive global attention the blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, has been receiving of late. Diverse applications are being touted, traversing banking, law, conveyancing and logistics to overturning corrupt governments in developing countries. With banks around the world rushing to join projects to build “permissioned ledgers” (blockchains with a restricted membership), proponents in the financial services sector are growing acutely aware that hype can turn into a noose. And so blockchain expectations management is in full swing: technologists inside […]
Aussie Start-up helps you beat the Mortgage market
An Australian Fintech Startup may be the next Uber in the mortgage industry. The mortgage industry is in for a David and Goliath show down, with LoanDolphin stepping in to create a much more competitive market place. In summary LoanDolphin is a free online auction marketplace where lenders (brokers and banks) fight for customer’s business. Since its launch in December last year the platform has had $20 Million worth of loan auctions posted. The proud co-founder of LoanDolphin shared with us that 100% of the customers who had posted an Auction to refinance have received a quoted rate which was well below their current rate. On average customers had receive […]
A big US fintech startup just launched in Australia that turns pocket change into investments
US fintech startup Acorns Grow, which turns small change into an investment portfolio, launches in Australia today after a successful trial period with 22,000 people. The service’s aim is to be an inexpensive, easy way to get into the sharemarket and is targeted at people younger than 35, of which 75% made up its trail customer base in Australia. It allows users, whether on through the website or mobile app to add their bank account so that it can see their spendings, round up daily purchases, and automatically invest the change into diversified portfolios of index funds. It can be anything from a $3.50 coffee which gets round up to […]
Fintech adoption tipped to double in 2016
The level of fintech adoption among consumers is set to grow significantly in the next 12 months, new research has revealed. EY’s inaugural FinTech Adoption Index – a survey of 10,131 digitally-active consumers in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the US – found that 15.5 per cent had used at least two fintech services (financial services products developed by non-bank, non-insurance, online companies) in the past six months. It also suggested that adoption rates among digitally active consumers could double within the next 12 months. EY Australia’s fintech leader, Anita Kimber, said it is a change that will require traditional financial services companies to revisit their product, […]
KPMG buys fintech company Markets IT
Professional services giant KPMG has acquired fin-tech company Markets IT for an undisclosed sum, in an effort to expand its “big data” capability and help banking clients grapple with a barrage of regulatory change. It comes as global regulators step up their efforts in relation to trader surveillance. KPMG chief executive Gary Wingrove referred to the merger as a “timely and strategic” acquisition. It is the firm’s eleventh bolt-on acquisition in two years, as Big Four accountancy firms attempt to diversify their consulting services to align with the big gnarly problems facing the C-suite. Markets IT bills itself as the dominant supplier of Murex software in Australia- a trading platform […]
Blockchain and how it will change everything
In May, British billionaire Richard Branson invited a select posse of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and technology advisers to his Caribbean residence for an exclusive pow wow on an issue occupying some of the top markets minds in the world. The topic for discussion on the picturesque Necker Island was the “blockchain”. “Every now and then, something comes along that might just change everything. And this is one of those moments,” ASX chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper. In case you’re one of the many yet to wrap your head around the promising technology, blockchain, on a simple level, uses computer code to engender trust in digital-economy transactions. One of the attendees […]
ANZ Bank boss Shayne Elliott tells Melbourne Fintech Meetup he’s ready to invest
New ANZ Bank boss Shayne Elliott is recruiting for a head of digital banking, who will be told to partner with start-up technology companies that can teach the 180 year old bank how to improve its customer service. The bank is set to acquire and invest in emerging companies with technology that is disrupting the financial services sector, but more critically Mr Elliott wants to forge partnerships to improve ANZ’s in-house capabilities. “Investing in start-ups is not hard for banks, we have lots of money to write cheques, the difficult thing is figuring out how we can internalise that intellectual capital,” he said. “We are currently recruiting for a newly […]
MINT PAYMENTS PRESS RELEASE
MINT PAYMENTS SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH AWARD WINNING TRAVEL AGENCY SOFTWARE SOLUTION PROVIDER PROCESSING $4 BILLION IN TRAVEL SPEND Sydney, 1 February 2016: Payments processing technology provider, Mint Payments (ASX: MNW) (Mint or the Company) has partnered with multi award winning travel agency software solution provider Tramada Systems (Tramada), signing a three year licence and distribution agreement to deliver its fully integrated online payments processing service “Minternet”. Through the use of Minternet’s Application Programming Interface (API) software, Tramada has developed an integrated credit card module (tramada® Payment Gateway) that will be offered to all of its customers as a core product offering within Tramada’s suite of travel agency software solutions. Mint […]
