Treasurer Scott Morrison tells big regulators to prepare for new fintech rules
Australia’s top financial regulators have been told by Treasurer Scott Morrison to prepare for a new system to regulate financial technology start-ups that will allow entrepreneurs to spend more time building business ideas and less time navigating complex financial services regulations. The federal government is expected to release next week policy changes to support the growth of fintech companies threatening to disrupt banking incumbents. This will include a “regulatory sandbox” scheme, which will allow fintech startups to test their products and systems in a controlled environment. Under the proposal, early stage start-ups would be able to avoid extensive regulatory licence applications, which can eat up seed capital before they determine […]
A quarter of bank revenue may be lost to disrupters: PwC
Incumbent banks throughout the world are bracing for the loss of almost a quarter of their revenue to financial technology disrupters during the next five years, a global survey by PwC has found. PwC’s global fintech report, published on Tuesday, finds 95 per cent of bankers believe at least some of their business will be given up to fintech players in the coming years. PwC’s Asia Fintech leader, John Shipman, said he was surprised the number wasn’t 100 per cent. “Almost all of the financial services clients I’ve spoken to acknowledge that fintechs either now or very shortly will have the ability to disrupt the majority of their business,” Mr […]
Fintechs push Morrison to enhance quality of credit data
Treasurer Scott Morrison has been urged to turn his encouraging words about fintech into action by pushing the big banks to share more information about customers to boost competition. In an article published in Thursday’s The Australian Financial Review, Mr Morrison said fintech could become a driver of economic growth and said the quality of data was important to those companies seeking to disrupt incumbents. Exactly two years since the comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) regime came into force, the fintech industry wants the government to mandate the regime and to extend the categories of data it captures. Data reported under the CCR allows competitors to the big banks to price […]
2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit
2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit Taking place 19-21 June 2016 in Washington DC, The SelectUSA Summit is for investors of all sizes – including established multinationals, small or medium-sized enterprises, and high-growth start-ups. The United States is incredibly diverse, and the Summit brings that diversity together into one building: any company can find the people, the resources, and the market it needs to be successful. The Summit will showcase investment opportunities from every corner of the United States, while high-profile business and government leaders share insight on the latest business trends. Participants will find the practical tools, information and connections they need to move investments forward. This link provides more information on the […]
Fintech the next wave of growth
This is an interesting opinion piece by Australia’s Treasurer, Mr Scott Morrison who says that Australia’s fintech sector can play a vital role in aiding the positive transition that is occurring in the national economy. “At the recent World Economic Forum it was noted that 90 per cent of the data we use today has been created in the past two years. The ability of new technology to capture and process data, in real time, is changing how business is done, how products and services are conceived in the new economy and the way consumers participate in this process. Financial technology, or fintech, is lubricating this transformation. The catalytic impacts […]
Malaysia: The Rise of FinTech – Innovation and Disruption
MALAYSIA: THE RISE OF FinTech Innovation and Disruption Date: 15-16 March 2016 Location: Auditorium Connexion@ Nexus Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), in partnership with the New South Wales Trade and Investment, invites you to join our exclusive dialogue revealing Malaysia’s burgeoning financial technologies (FinTech) ecosystem and innovation agenda. Why Malaysia In 2015, Malaysia became the first Asia Pacific nation to regulate for equity crowdfunding in its drive to develop the FinTech agenda. Moreover, Malaysia recorded the highest innovation performance amongst middle income countries. With FinTech no longer limited to traditional centres like Silicon Valley and London, and global oil prices at an all-time low, Malaysia’s […]
Infocus to launch robo-advice solution
Non-institutionally-aligned firm Infocus Wealth Management has announced it will launch a new direct-to-consumer robo-advice solution, which will give clients the option to manage their own investments online. The new solution, to be launched in May, will incorporate the Morningstar Wealth Forecasting Engine as well as investment management services from Morningstar’s Ibbotson Associates Australia. Speaking to ifa, Infocus managing director Rod Bristow said the robo-advice service will not compete with the firm’s existing advisers. “We’ve been talking to our advisers for some months about this. What we’ve been saying is robo-advice is something that will come into the Australian market and will make a difference in terms of helping consumers understand […]
Greg Medcraft urges innovation on blockchain technology
Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has called on market regulators around the world to “start thinking about” the challenges of blockchain, the technology behind cyber-currency bitcoin. Mr Medcraft, who is also chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissioners, urged regulators to consider the potential challenges of blockchain at a recent meeting in Madrid. In an interview with The Australian, Mr Medcraft said the broader commercial use of the blockchain technology was “on the horizon” with industry claims that it could “save billions of dollars if they can make it work”. He said it also had the potential to “improve liquidity” in some financial instruments, “which is […]
