Stone & Chalk hopes interstate foray can spread innovation
In the intensely competitive world of fintech, it’s hard to overstate the benefit for Brand NSW from the ultra-low-cost Stone & Chalk hub, which aims to spread its tentacles to Melbourne before the end of the year. Sydney is already jostling for attention with global fintech destinations such as Silicon Valley, London, Tel Aviv, Singapore and Hong Kong — a status it’s achieved with the paltry investment of $2 million raised from the state government and industry. This column, however, has always advocated a national approach, which is why it’s so important that the rubber is starting to hit the road in Victoria. By the end of September, funding will […]
Banking faces massive disruption by fintech says IBM
A new study argues that as the traditional functions of banks become commoditised, value is moving from transactions to relationships. Unfortunately for banks, they face competition from small start-ups and enormous, cashed-up tech giants inserting themselves directly into the relationship with their customers. IBM’s Institute for Business Value has released a fintech report called “Banking at the Brink”, which identifies the finance industry as sitting square in the centre of a perfect disruptive storm. The Institute calls out three challenges. Banks are still struggling with sluggish profits in the aftermath of the Great Recession. A new type of customer, easily dissatisfied and disillusioned, has ever-growing expectations of engagement and improved […]
Big banks face big risk of losing customers
Australia’s big banks face a huge risk of losing their most valuable customers to their fintech rivals, new research has shown. According to an analysis conducted by Centre for Social Economics and Roy Morgan Research, the big bank customers most likely to churn, instead turning to tech-savvy fintech providers, are their “most valuable customers”. The fintech phenomenon, according to Roy Morgan, taps into a new consumer mindset – called the Desire Economy – where 64% would prefer never to go into a traditional bank branch. Ever again. Consumers in the Desire Economy are younger, well educated, tech-adopting, urban dwellers. Forty percent are early adopters of technology compared to only 5% […]
Craig Steven Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto – Maybe, the Leader of the Team
Have you already bought into the idea of Craig Steven Wright being Satoshi Nakamoto? There is a growing voice saying not so fast! Indeed, the shadow of doubt is growing every passing moment as members of the Bitcoin community pour over the evidence that he has put on the table. This can be witnessed on various Bitcoin forums, such as the Bitcoin subReddit, where some enthusiasts are expressing their disbelief. They could be wrong. They could right. Who knows at this point? Andreas M. Antonopoulos is one of those who have come out to question the validity of Craig Steven Wright’s claims. The author of Mastering Bitcoin, a Bitcoin security […]
Australian FinTech Opens up Vast Opportunities for ICT Companies
Sydney, Australia, 23 May 2016 – Australia’s development as a leader in Fintech innovation will require concerted effort from government agencies and established financial institutions and will involve partnerships and research collaboration between banks and startups. It will also present many diverse and lucrative growth and development opportunities for ICT companies that will help form the necessary ecosystem for a leading Fintech market. Data and connection security will be the most significant challenge for Fintech companies in Australia; largely because mobile payments make up the majority of the revenues of all the Fintech segments. Reliable security will be a key issue and an important selling point to ensure success as […]
DigitalX announces deal with global telco Telefónica
ASX ANNOUNCEMENT: DigitalX Limited (ASX:DCC and “the Company”) is pleased to announce that Telefónica Internacional S.A.U. (“Telefónica”) is the Company’s first strategic partner in Latin America following the successful integration of the DigitalX AirPocket App into Telefónica’s network. The mobile phone giant signed a marketing, distribution and sales agreement with DigitalX, which was announced to the market via the ASX on 17 February 2016, that will give Telefónica’s Latin American customers access to DigitalX’s unique value transfer and remittance application, AirPocket. Telefónica, which has nearly 232 million telecommunication access points in Latin America, is one of the largest telcos in the region and is among the top five biggest telecommunications […]
Fintech upping the online broking ante
Online trading platforms are offering a slew of new features at lower prices to keep up with financial technology apps that give investors much wider choice – from upcoming IPOs to investing spare change. Investors are demanding education-rich tools and powerful data capabilities to enhance their trading experience and broking platforms have responded with real-time stock widgets, bustling online forums and the emergence of robo-advice services, allowing investors access to different markets and more managed funds. “The rise of fintech has put more powerful tools into the hands of investors in the form of research, reporting and investment ideas,” says Josh Callaghan, wealth general manager at research firm Canstar. “As […]
OpenMarkets adds XPLAN integration in major expansion of its third-party network
OpenMarkets clients can now enjoy full integration with financial planning software XPLAN, as Australia’s independent technology stockbroker takes another step towards becoming the sector’s most connected broker. The integration allows advisers trading through OpenMarkets the ability to access client transactions and holding information directly from XPLAN, removing the hassle of keying in the data themselves. OpenMarkets sees the integration as a natural step in broadening the company’s offering to independent advisers, and is part of its overall drive to expand its third-party network and bring greater efficiency to users. OpenMarkets CEO Rick Klink said, “The development with XPLAN is a natural evolution for OpenMarkets, as we continue to gain market […]
