How Westpac is investing in fintechs and spending $1 billion on digital transformation
Westpac’s annual results show how far the bank has gone to transform itself into a digital showcase and how it has been heavily investing in the rise of disrupting fintechs. Out of a total investment of $1.4 billion, the bank spent more than $800 million in system upgrades, digital transformation, and innovation. CEO Brian Hartzer says the focus has been on delivering technology platforms, while simplifying and automating processes to make banking easier. “We have already migrated 100 applications onto our cloud infrastructure platforms which are now largely complete,” he says. “Additionally we have over 120 APIs in production and another 180 in development.” Among digital initiatives are Siri for […]
Fintechs ‘hit wall’ in industry engagement
Fintechs still struggle to reach out to insurers and the wider financial services sector, according to the third annual EY FinTech Australia Census. The proportion of fintechs that consider building partnerships with incumbents a key external challenge has increased to 46% from 40% last year. “Many fintechs report that the major financial services organisations remain difficult to engage with and slow to act,” the census report says. “Some talk of having ‘hit a wall’.” Legacy structures and mindsets are among the barriers fintechs face. The industry’s frosty reception may force fintechs to seek alternative partners in the UK and other countries. “Since the first edition of the census, major institutions […]
Roadmap created to increase access to basic financial services for millions
UNSW Sydney Scientia Professor Ross Buckley has co-authored an international report that highlights the difficulty in accessing basic financial services for billions of people around the world. The ‘FinTech for Financial Inclusion‘ report will be presented at the 3rd annual Inclusive and Sustainable Finance Research Conference on 13 November in Luxembourg. Professor Buckley is a Scientia Professor and King & Wood Mallesons Chair of International Financial Law at UNSW and together with his co-authors – Professor Douglas Arner of the University of Hong Kong and Professor Dirk Zetzsche of the University of Luxembourg – has developed a road map to harness the full potential of fintech for financial inclusion. Their approach […]
Tech tool to support Chinese investment in Australia
A fintech has announced that its verification tool will be offered in China to support the purchasing of Australian property. Through IDSecure, legal technology provider GlobalX has expanded its Verification of Identity (VOI) technology into China to help facilitate the purchasing process for Chinese investors looking to purchase property in Australia. GlobalX has said that IDSecure’s bilingual verification agents, based in Beijing’s China World Trade Centre, will provide a complete VOI service to “increase the efficiency of land and property transactions in Australia”. GlobalX CEO Peter Maloney said that the announcement enables Australian legal practitioners to “quickly and easily” verify their China-based clients. “This service means IDSecure’s VOI professionals will […]
Wisr tech upgrades lower average interest rate, drive growth and creditworthiness
Wisr, Australia’s first neo-lender (ASX: WZR), saw continued strong loan growth and customer acquisition in the first quarter of the 2019 financial year. Between July and September 2019 the company saw loan origination value grow by 49% when compared to the previous quarter, as well as 22% increase in overall loan volume. The result is the third consecutive quarter that Wisr has recorded quarterly loan growth in excess of 45%. The company also announced it had surpassed $50 million in loan originations since beginning operations, almost half of which were written from the beginning of 2018. Anthony Nantes, Chief Executive Officer, Wisr said borrower shift away from traditional lenders, brand […]
GBST launches industry-first SaaS middle office on Amazon Web Services with voice control
Global fintech GBST (GBT.ASX) launched their Syn~TAC SaaS at Sibos 2018 in Sydney. The industry-first SaaS middle office has been developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services, Inc (AWS) and is supported by leading Electronic Trade Confirmations (ETC) providers SWIFT and DTCC. The cloud-based offering reduces deployment and running costs, and features advanced voice control, another industry-first which improves middle office efficiency with authenticated, secure and auditable Push-to-Talk (PTT) technology. By partnering with AWS, GBST has been able to integrate with Amazon LEX™, allowing operators to augment their use of the system through voice queries and commands. With the help of a virtual assistant called ‘Syndy’, system operators can analyse, […]
Bitcoin: Ten Years On
A mysterious, anonymous entity known as “Satoshi Nakamoto” posted a white paper on October 31 2008 entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. It was the first time that the concept of Bitcoin entered the world. But outside of the cypherpunk mailing lists – those promoting the use of privacy-enhancing technology – this event was hardly noticed. Ten years on, who hasn’t at least heard of the cryptocurrency? On just nine pages, the white paper explained how the Bitcoin system would work. Many attempts at electronic cash had already been made going right back to computer scientist David Chaum’s “Digicash” developed in the 1980s. Using an intricate dance of cryptography, […]
Fintechs: a partner, not a predator
The rise of financial technology – or “fintech” – firms is often characterised in terms of “disruption” and “displacement,” as though the fintechs are destroying incumbent business models and putting traditional businesses to the sword. Technology is one of the key drivers impacting large financial institutions today. The reality is that instead of being threatened by emerging fintechs, firms have an opportunity to leverage fintechs to increase their existing technology capabilities to ensure the service provided to their clients remains relevant. By partnering with the right technology service providers, opportunities for both new business and expanded client offerings, will prepare companies for the future of investing. Developing technology in-house has […]
