Bitcoin crash gives way to steady growth
The price of bitcoin has crashed in early 2019 but some experts in the field argue that the news is not all bad, with the future for cryptocurrencies looking fairly strong. At the end of January 2019, the price of bitcoin was US$3525, having slumped from a peak of over US$19,000 in late 2017. This is not the first crash in a market known for its volatility, and in previous downswings the price has eventually settled at a point that shows a long-term upwards trend. For example, at the start of 2017 the price was about US$975. The general feeling in the market is that much of the massive movement […]
Australia’s digital disruptors are invited to enter the Finder Awards 2019
Entries have now opened for the 2019 Finder Awards which celebrate the cutting-edge innovations of Australian businesses. Now in their fourth year, the Finder Awards shine the spotlight on Australia’s disruptors across a range of industries including banking, insurance, property, technology, retail, travel and, for the first time, sustainability. There are 12 categories open for entry which are judged on criteria including innovation, range of features and impact. Fred Schebesta, Co-CEO and Co-founder of Finder, said the awards recognise the businesses and leaders defining Australia’s future. “We’ve expanded the innovation categories from 7 to 12 this year to reflect the fierce appetite for change and continuous improvement in this country,” […]
Home loan wrecker Athena proves demand for a new lending alternative
Homeowners don’t realise how much they’re being ripped off with rates. A new alternative has launched today on a mission to save Australians a lot of money by helping them pay off their home loan faster. A game-changing shake-up of the mortgage market has arrived with the launch of Athena – a home loan company on a mission to help Australians pay off their home loan faster. Launching with a highly competitive variable rate from 3.49% p.a for owner occupier principal and interest loans, and one of the best in market rates for investors starting at 3.89% p.a, Athena offers a genuine alternative to homeowners looking for change with their […]
St.George customers can now use Google Pay to withdraw cash
St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne customers can select cheque or savings when using Google Pay to withdraw cash at the checkout. EFTPOS has today announced it’s expanding its service to Google Pay with St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne. The partnership means that customers of these participating banks can use Google Pay on their Android smartphone to withdraw cash at the checkout of participating stores, all without their physical debit card. The partnership enables customers to select savings or cheque when making contactless purchases with Google pay, meaning the transaction will be processed as an EFTPOS transaction rather than going through as credit. Just like when you use your […]
Identitii joins BIAN to help banks digitise information exchange using Blockchain
Australian Fintech enabling the secure overlay of transaction-level detail on top of financial messages using a private blockchain, has joined BIAN.
Australian regulator trials Blockchain to Automate Transaction Reporting
An Australian financial regulator is trialing blockchain technology to automate reporting of cross-border transactions by institutions. ZDNet reported Sunday that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has partnered with the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne to build a prototype for the trial. The two partners will specifically examine how blockchain and smart contracts, as well as other technologies, can help entities such as banks to automate reporting of international funds transfer instructions (IFTIs) to the regulator. Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act mandates that institutions or specific categories of individuals involved in a cross-border transfer of funds – including payer, sender and beneficiary institution – must report […]
The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a cryptocurrency wallet built in
Samsung is one of the first major smartphone makers to include a cryptocurrency wallet in its latest flagship Galaxy S10 phones. The wallet lets users store bitcoin, Ethereum, and a beauty-related cryptocurrency called Cosmo Coin. It’s a cold storage wallet, meaning it’s not connected to the internet. The Galaxy S10 phones also support select decentralized apps (“Dapps”). Currently, Samsung’s main Dapp that’s available is called Cosmee, and it lets users earn Cosmo tokens in exchange for leaving beauty reviews in the app. Cosmochain, the South Korean blockchain startup behind Cosmee, describes its app to The Verge as a blockchain-powered beauty review app — the blockchain is supposed to be a […]
How to invest on a shoestring
Investing was once thought to be solely a pursuit of the wealthy, but new money tools have made it possible to invest with as little as a few dollars at a time. Despite this, many Australians are still under the misconception that to invest you need to have plenty of money, according to Christian Obrist, who is head of the Australian exchange-traded fund (ETF) business of global fund manager BlackRock. Obrist told Trading Day this means more people are stashing their money in long-term, low-performance saving accounts. “A lot of cash sits idle in bank accounts. And in the last 10 years in Australia specifically, interest rates have come down [and] you […]
