OFX’s UK e-money licence shows up relatively sluggish Aussie fintech laws
ASX-listed online foreign exchange provider OFX will issue a trading update alongside its annual general meeting on Tuesday, and it is part of its aspirations to be a fintech player of global scale. A central element to this vision is the ability to expand its range of payment services. And so its announcement last week that it has acquired an “e-money licence” from the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK regulator, was significant for OFX (formerly known as OzForex). It also reveals how progressive UK regulators are about encouraging fintech innovation in the payments system. Ride sharing company Uber applied for an e-payments licence in the Netherlands in March. The regime […]
Fintech Skippr scores $16m funding from fintech heavy hitters
Small business financing start-up Skippr has shrugged off concerns that the indefinitely delayed IPO of its venture-backed peer Prospa could put off investors in the sector, by attracting some of the local fintech scene’s biggest hitters to a $16 million debt and equity financing round. Pepper group co-founder and former chief executive Patrick Tuttle and SocietyOne and Douugh co-founder Andy Taylor have both invested in the round, which is comprised of $1 million in equity from high net worth investors, and $15 million in debt. Skippr was founded two-and-a-half years ago by former NAB senior corporate agribusiness senior associate and MarketInvoice team lead Alistair Lamond alongside former fund manager Patrick […]
Prospa named Best Employer by AON Hewitt for second year running
Prospa, Australia’s leading online lender to small businesses, has been named a Best Employer in the AON Hewitt Best Employers program for the second year in a row. Prospa, headquartered in Sydney, underwent an employee engagement survey and an inventory of their people practices and internal interviews, in order to be eligible for one of the most sort after, and credible, employer awards across Australia and New Zealand. The accreditation looks at a number of factors, such as agility within the business, staff benefits and new hire turnover, in order to determine whether a business is of Best Employer status. Prospa was awarded the status this year due to its […]
Grounds, Paradice dive into blockchain software float Identitii
The big end of town is piling into a small payments security firm’s initial public offering in the expectation they may have unearthed the next big thing. Street Talk understands UBS Australia chief executive Matthew Grounds, veteran fund manager David Paradice and Sydney-based institutional investors KIS Capital, Terra Capital and KTM Ventures are among the names lining up for a piece of ASX-hopeful Identitii. Identitii is a blockchain software company founded by Australians Nick Armstrong and Eric Knight. Its software is aimed at helping banks and other international payments providers comply with anti money laundering policies by attaching messages to each transfer saying exactly who is making the payment and why. Identitii is an add-on to the SWIFT payments […]
Strip banks, credit cards of digital payment powers: Productivity Commission report
Australia’s biggest banks and global payments schemes must have self-regulatory powers covering digital payments and infrastructure access forcibly removed to dismantle a harmful oligopoly. That’s the radical call from the Productivity Commission’s inquiry report into Competition in the Australian Financial System. Released Friday, the in-your-face tome has left institutions and regulators reeling from the depth of criticism levelled at them. Describing Australia as having “an oligopolistic banking system” it’s a blueprint for an earthquake rather than a shake-up. $1.0 trillion restructure If implemented, the reforms would drastically restructure how payment flows of $1.0 trillion – yes trillion – would be regulated. It would also redefine the landscape for how tens […]
Buy Bundy by bitcoin: Cryptocurrency coming to QLD attractions
Queensland’s gearing up to become Australia’s most crypto-friendly state. It’s a match made in heaven. Australian state governments are looking for ways to bolster tourism, and these bitcoin and cryptocurrency things have recently gotten quite popular. TravelbyBit is an Australian company, based in Queensland, that emerged to take advantage of both, with cryptocurrency point of sale systems that accept bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash, Ether and XEM. From there, it’s inked deals around Australia. For tourists, cryptocurrencies have especially clear utility. There’s no chance of it falling through a hole in your pocket; there’s no need to mess around with expensive exchange rates or travel cards; there’s no need to fret overseas […]
Laggard bank tech blasted by Treasurer, Productivity Commission
Treasurer Scott Morrison has taken a blowtorch to the slow pace of technology-driven reform in Australian banks, using the release of a blistering Productivity Commission report on financial system competition to vow the new Open Banking regime will be used to smash entrenched interests. In a speech delivered on Friday, the Treasurer doubled down on the need to catapult Australia’s nascent Fintech sector from a niche IT play to a feared competitor of existing banks, insurers and payment schemes by using the new Consumer Data Right contained in the last federal Budget. The Treasurer’s speech is the most explicit push yet to use consumers’ access to new technology and ownership […]
Crowd2Fund reduces default rate using AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has helped peer-to-peer platform Crowd2Fund improve its loan recovery rate, according to newly-released figures. Crowd2Fund has seen its default rate drop from 1.42 per cent in June to just 1.04 per cent in July after implementing the AI software from Australian fintech firm InDebted. “It is an amazing piece of technology and completely revolutionises debt recovery,” said Chris Hancock, chief executive of Crowd2Fund. “There is always a great need to competently manage all loans on our platform to ensure that businesses are upholding their obligations to the investors. “This software has allowed us to improve our already stringent recoveries process, and we have seen more timely repayments […]
