Regulation alone won’t solve financial advice woes
By George Lucas, chief executive of Raiz More regulation will be the most likely result after the Hayne royal commission hands down its final report. But is this really the answer? When then financial services royal commission hands down its final report by 1 February 2019, it’s odds-on it will call for more regulation. And the government of the day will duly oblige, rightly fearing the political fallout if it fails to implement the report’s recommendations in the wake of the malevolent behaviour being unveiled. The legislation will pass the Parliament, giving the regulators more power to keep the top end of town in line. And the regulators, whose reputations […]
The opportunity of open banking
Open banking is set to reshape the way customers access their data and banks and other financial institutions are now getting ready to start implementing the system from next year. Australia’s four major banks must have implemented an open banking standard by 1 July 2019 and other banks will need to follow by the same time in 2020. One company, which has been working with open banking before it even began, said the regime will make things much easier. MoneyTree launched in Tokyo, Japan, six years ago based on the idea customers should have better access to their data. It started with a personal finance app which categorised users’ spending […]
Ord Minnett readies online consumer lender MoneyMe for fund raising
Fast-growing consumer lending company MoneyMe knows plenty about writing cheques, and now it is asking potential investors to do the same. Street Talk understands MoneyMe will front institutional investors and family offices in coming days, seeking support for a pre-initial public offering funding round. The raising is expected to be worth as much as $15 million and structured as a convertible note issue. Stockbroker Ord Minnett has been lining up investor meetings in Sydney and Melbourne, fund manager sources said. If successful, it would be the first (quasi) equity raising by the personal lender. The company made headlines when it secured $100 million from global credit investor Fortress Investment Group […]
The lucky country for fintechs
A new report points to Australia as a leader in supporting the development of fintech solutions and exploring their potential. In a new research paper, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion has reviewed the varying approaches of some of the world’s developing, emerging and developed nations to cultivating fintech offerings. On regulatory attitudes, the report highlights the proactive approach of ASIC in establishing an innovation hub to run alongside its regulatory sandbox and the Digital Finance Advisory Committee. “First, establishing a sandbox sends a strong message to fintechs that the regulator is open to innovation. Second, it provides an important learning opportunity for regulators, especially when coupled with an ‘innovation hub’, […]
Wirecard brings its platform services around digital financial technology to Australia and New Zealand
Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, today announced its platform expansion in Australia and New Zealand. The Wirecard platform is now available in New Zealand for e-commerce services and Australia for omnichannel solutions. With this expansion, Wirecard is extending its ecosystem of real-time value added services around innovative digital payments in Oceania. This leverages on the global Wirecard strategy of digitizing payments worldwide as Australia is leading innovation in areas such as contactless payments, bill payments, digital commerce, and point-of-sale applications, and the market is ready to make the next transformation. Research and Markets found out that the Australian payment mix is shifting heavily toward electronic payments. […]
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 […]
