Bitcoin – The Future of Money
Technology has changed the world around us, penetrating into our daily lives to such an extent that it’s now difficult to imagine the world without it. The financial industry has been particularly impacted by digital advances, going from banknotes to credit cards to Bitcoin in just a few decades. But is Bitcoin really the future of money? Or is it just a fad destined to go away when some other form of electronic cash appears? To answer these questions, we must first take a closer look at the evolution of money to see its possible future. The Evolution of Money The evolution of money is long and winding, but most […]
Make money while you sleep with technology and automation
Technology and automation are delivering Australians new ways to earn money while they’re sleeping.There has been rapid growth in new savings and investment products that allow people to start building wealth with a few taps of their smartphone or computer keyboard, then let the power of compound interest do its work.Here are four ways to get rich automatically. ROUNDING UP Fast-growing financial technology company Raiz automatically moves its clients’ spare change to an investment portfolio or superannuation. It rounds up every transaction to the nearest dollar, and now manages more than $270 million of people’s funds, up 60 per cent in the past nine months. Raiz managing director George Lucas […]
Fintech gold rush tipped as KPMG finds Australian investment hit $842m in 2018
Big four professional services firm KPMG has tipped even more funding will come for Australian fintech players in the wake of new open banking rules and the banking royal commission, despite a huge rise in deals taking spending to $US600 million ($842 million) in 2018. In new local figures derived from its biannual global Pulse of Fintech study, KPMG said deals in the local sector picked up last year, following a drop-off in 2017, when capital raisings, acquisitions and IPOs had fallen to $US200 million. The report found that globally a record $US111.8 billion was invested in fintech firms in 2018, with Asian funding reached a new high of $US22.7 […]
The royal commission sparked anger at the big banks. Bitcoin’s not the only alternative.
In the wake of the banking royal commission, many people are fed up with the big institutions, and are hunting for alternatives. But the growing number of options — everything from stashing your money under the mattress to investing in cryptocurrency or switching to a credit union — can be pretty overwhelming. And if you’re thinking of completely ghosting your bank, it might not really be feasible — yet. “In Australia our entire payment system is mediated through the major banks … essentially you have to go through a bank to pay for anything,” says Brendan Markey-Towler, an economist and researcher with RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub. But, he adds: “Watch […]
IRESS CEO Andrew Walsh tips widespread automation of financial advice
Financial services software company IRESS is tipping a burgeoning role for the automation of financial advice in the aftermath of the Hayne royal commission as the sector looks to rebuild trust. The business, which is valued at $2.2 billion, provides a full suite of software services ranging from client relationship management to portfolio tracking for financial advisory and superannuation firms and dominates about 60 per cent of the market in Australia. IRESS chief executive Andrew Walsh said the business was investing in AI and the company had already launched its first automated advice solution with WA Super last October. It lets members set their retirement goals and provides them with […]
Telstra and CBA partner on 5G banking trials
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is kicking off trials of 5G banking and edge computing thanks to a partnership with Telstra and Ericsson announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. Under the collaboration, Telstra, CBA, and Ericsson will test “end-to-end banking solutions over 5G” during the next few months, the companies told media on Sunday in Barcelona. Speaking with ZDNet, Ericsson ANZ head Emilio Romeo said some of the 5G use cases that the trial will look at include exploring different network architectures such as network slicing, dynamic orchestration, and control use plane separation. Network slices on demand would be particularly useful for enabling enterprise customers such as banks to […]
SocietyOne: Peer-to-peer lending offers a “better deal than the banks”
CEO Mark Jones reflects on six months in charge of Australia’s biggest peer-to-peer lender. SocietyOne became the first Australian peer-to-peer lender to cross $500 million in total lending in August last year. Since then, the company has enjoyed 6 months of consecutive record months for lending and is now about to pass the $600 million lending mark. After taking over as CEO in June 2018, Mark Jones has seen Australia’s first peer-to-peer lender go from strength to strength, and it remains on track to reach break-even point in March. “Over the last six months, we’ve really taken the business forward. We’re probably writing triple the business today that we were […]
Quantifeed opens office in Australia to meet growing demand for digital wealth advice; taps local tech talent
Quantifeed, Asia Pacific’s leading provider of digital wealth management solutions, has opened an office in Australia to strengthen its strategic relationships as demand for B2B digital advice solutions grows. Quantifeed’s new Sydney office – staffed with eight employees- will also enable the company to grow its technology offering by leveraging local software engineering talent. Lars Bischoff will head the technology development team in Australia. He has led software development teams at major Australian financial institutions for over three decades and has been a senior member of the Quantifeed engineering team for the past four years. Graeme Brant heads Quantifeed’s development of strategic partnerships in Australia. He has a background in […]
