Xinja appoints Tesla Senior Engineer Thomas Vikstrom to Board
Xinja, which is building an independent, Australian, 100% digital ‘neobank’, today announced that Tesla senior engineer, Thomas Vikstrom, has been appointed to the Xinja Board. Mr. Vikstrom is an engineer with nearly 20 years of experience leading product development and engineering programs at Tesla, Ford, Noble Metal Processing and SSAB HardTech, Inc. Vikstrom is currently a senior engineer at Tesla where he has worked for nine years, helping to develop and introduce Tesla products. “Banking, like automotive in the past, is an industry ripe for change,” Mr. Vikstrom said. “I’ll be looking beyond what is, and imagining what could be, enabling Xinja to disrupt banking and improve the lives of […]
Australian Fintech company Verrency strengthens its presence in Asia
Global payments innovator Verrency has added heavyweight payments executive Jeff Portelli to its global Advisory Board. Based in Singapore, Portelli is the Global Head of Banking Operations at eNett, a leading provider of global business-to-business payment solutions for the travel industry. Portelli has more than two decades of international experience in the payments industry, working directly with banks, retailers and government partners across Australasia, Asia Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. In his current role, Portelli is responsible for overseeing eNett’s global issuing and banking strategy and infrastructure. This includes maintaining an effective control environment to monitor all of eNett’s issuing and banking activities, and ensuring the company meets […]
From pyramids to diamonds: how technology is transforming finance
Robotics and artificial intelligence are sweeping through workplaces across the globe, and nowhere more than in the accountancy profession and company finance departments. Many of the repetitive and rule-based roles will be replaced by robots, raising questions about the future of the human workforce. “Back-office accounting jobs are increasingly being replaced by technology,” states a recent report by EY and CPA Australia. “Finance functions are outsourced to shared service centres in lower-cost locations.” But the report, Future-proof your finance capability, does not see a complete displacement of accountants. Instead it says the traditional scorekeeper and custodian roles of the accountant are being overtaken by newer responsibilities that are now in […]
CBA, Data61 claim success on NDIS payments blockchain trial
The use of highly targeted and controlled smart payments across Australia’s health and welfare sector has inched a step closer. Data61 and the Commonwealth Bank claim to have successfully trialled an app that could make blockchain-based programmable money a reality for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) payments. The pair partnered last month to bring the prototype app to NDIS participants and service providers as a test case for the potential use of ‘smart money’ using blockchain technology. ‘Smart money’ allows for conditions to be attached to payments, making the NDIS’ use of highly personalised participant payment plans ripe for the first case study of the proof of concept. The prototype app […]
Blockchain is giving away $125 million worth of digital currency
Blockchain, one of the most popular virtual crypto wallet companies in the world, is giving away $125 million worth of Stellar. The giveaway is set to be the largest of its kind. Referred to as an airdrop in crypto parlance, the program will specifically benefit 30 million Blockchain users spanning over 140 countries. They will each receive $25 worth of Stellar Lumens coins. According to the company’s statement, the program will contribute to the adaptation and decentralization of new crypto networks by encouraging users to embrace a wider variety of digital native tokens without having to buy or mine cryptocurrencies. To qualify, candidates must have a Blockchain wallet. The crypto […]
Morrison government fund offers $2b boost for SME loans
The Morrison government will inject $2 billion into the small business loan market in an unprecedented effort to boost lending to cash-starved firms which have complained of a worsening credit squeeze.The creation of a taxpayer-backed securitisation fund to invest in small and medium enterprise (SME) credit will also potentially expand an asset class for institutional investors such as superannuation funds to invest in. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Small Business Minister Michaelia Cash will announce the small business funding policy on Wednesday, promoting the soon-to-be-established Australian Business Securitisation Fund as a way to overcome banks typically only lending to the self-employed when they pledge their personal home as collateral. The government […]
MT4 tech specialist Gold-i opens an office in Australia
MetaTrader technologies and integration specialist Gold-i has announced that it has opened an office in Australia, headed up by FinTech sales and technology specialist, Daniel Picone. The new Sydney-based office is a significant development for Gold-i as it focuses on increased business opportunities amongst brokers in Australia and New Zealand as well as expanding its footprint across the Asia Pacific region. Daniel Picone, who has spent the last seven years at Australian FinTech company, IRESS brings a wealth of experience to the role in terms of business development, account management and client support. He has spent four months on an intensive training programme at Gold-i’s UK headquarters in preparation for […]
OFX Group considers large cash deal of its own
Two years after former GE Capital Australia and NZ boss Steven Sargent took the top seat around OFX Group’s boardroom table, the money transfers company’s executives have an interesting proposition for him and the board. Street Talk understands OFX Group has set its sights on an offshore acquisition, which would help the company meet one of its strategic goals which is to expand into Europe and the United Kingdom. The question is what could be on its radar. OFX Group, which reported $19.6 million profit last financial year and has about a $550 million market capitalisation, would no doubt like something big enough to be meaningful, but not big enough […]
