CBA ramps up blockchain
Commonwealth Bank is close to completing more blockchain projects, after it delivered the world’s first blockchain bond with World Bank in August. Speaking at SIBOS, Sophie Gilder who is CBA’s head of experimentation and commercialisation for blockchain, embodied AI and emerging technology said CBA has a portfolio of blockchain projects. Some of these are at very early stages where the bank is trying to determine if they are worthwhile to take forward or not. Others are at a pilot stage where the bank has been through successful proof of concept, has demonstrated the feasibility of the technology being applied to a particular problem and is taking the project to the […]
uno Home Loans appoints Anthony Justice as CEO
Online mortgage broker uno Home Loans has appointed Anthony Justice to the role of Chief Executive Officer. Anthony joins uno having spent the last decade in senior management roles in the financial services industry, including CEO of IAG’s Australian Consumer Division. uno Home Loans Chairman Abi Cleland said: “Anthony has extensive financial services experience; an impressive track record of leading and transforming customer-focused businesses; and strong alignment with uno’s values.” “We are delighted Anthony has come onboard to lead the charge as uno ramps up its growth trajectory and continues to shake up the home loan industry.” Anthony Justice said: “Getting a home loan is one of the biggest financial […]
Women in senior leadership given the nod of approval
Award-winning Nod confirms its next major hire on their executive team will be a woman. Nod developed a patent pending algorithm that utilises AI to create real-time Statement of Advice for Financial Advisors and Accountants and today confirms they have appointed Kathryn Sforcina, an accomplished serial entrepreneur in her own right, as Head of Growth. Kathryn will bring the number of women on the Senior Leadership team up to 50% making Nod one of the few technology companies in Australia, if not the world, to have such a high representation of women in a senior leadership capacity. Joel Robbie, CEO, says the decision to actively seek true parity within their […]
Buzzing trend of Australian FinTech – ASX intends blockchain setup for settlements
There has been a five-fold rapid surge in the number of FinTech startups in Australia over the past 5 years and the sub-sectors encompassed have become more diverse, as per the reports of KPMG. Investment in the Australian FinTech sector has risen remarkably as the Australian FinTech ecosystem is becoming increasingly diverse. It is reported that on the successful launch of the world’s first blockchain-based fixed income product. The World Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and other investors made the initiative possible, which stemmed in the bond-i raising more than $80 million. While Australian Government’s 2018-19 budget has allocated $530,000 for blockchain research under the Digital transformation Agency (DTA) […]
IRESS launches its next-generation client portal to meet core client servicing needs
Financial technology business IRESS today announces the launch of its next-generation client portal with a clear focus on engagement. The new client portal, available now through IRESS’ market-leading financial software solution XPLAN, provides a contemporary, simple to use, front-end solution for businesses to engage their clients in a range of services digitally. IRESS product executive, Emily Chen said, “Today’s financial services businesses, including advice businesses, need to deliver a professional and personalised digital experience to their clients, offering an accurate perspective of their investments and financial life. Our new client portal provides a secure and straight-forward way for clients and financial professionals to engage and communicate with each other 24/7 […]
Novatti to become an AUD Utility Token Anchor on the Stellar Network
ASX-listed Novatti Group Limited announce that it will launch the Novatti AUD Utility Token, the first Australian Dollar-Backed Utility Token. As an Anchor for the Stellar Network, consumers and institutions will be able to use the Novatti platform to instantly accept and settle payments in AUD, as well as easily access foreign exchanges via a lightning-fast global network. The Novatti AUD Utility Token, a token on the Stellar Network is one-to-one backed by the Australian dollar (AUD). Held in trust by Novatti, one Novatti AUD Utility Token will always be equivalent to one Australian dollar. With the Novatti AUD Utility Token, consumers and institutions, once KYC’d, will be able to […]
Fintechs, Koch clash over branding
Personal finance brand-cum-TV commentator David Koch had some advice for today’s fintech leaders. They didn’t all agree with it. Koch, who launched Money Magazine, moderated a panel of seven speakers at a fintech event on Tuesday in Sydney. There, he commented that a big problem the financial technology industry is facing right now is that the consumer does not see another human being they can trust. “I’m not suggesting the Gerry Harvey or the John Symond model,” Koch continued, “but none of you put yourself up in the market [as if to say to clients that] there is a living human being looking after your interests in running the platform. […]
No need for national digital dollars: RBA
The Reserve Bank of Australia and a global investment bank say the speed of payments innovation will fend off any threat from cryptocurrencies, and creating digitised versions of central bank money will make bank runs much more likely during a crisis. After last year’s speculative bitcoin bubble, the potential for the Australian central bank to issue digital dollars to allow money to move through distributed ledgers is fading. RBA assistant governor Michelle Bullock told a global audience at Sibos that while it’s still open to considering wholesale applications for a digital Australian dollar, it hasn’t yet been convinced of the need to create one, and the RBA does not want […]
