Local digital currency exchange Independent Reserve adds two new execs, turns to institutions
Independent Reserve, the Australian Digital Currency exchange, has added two executives to its senior management team as the company turns its attention to its growing stable of institutional and SMSF clients. Roman Stefanidi joined Independent Reserve as Chief Technology Officer in August, and Lasanka Perera as Head of Strategy in October. CEO Adrian Przelozny said the firm was now well positioned to grow as it focuses on institutional clientele. “Digital Currency has reached a level of awareness now where we’re seeing investors who have been waiting on the sidelines starting to enter the market,” he said. “Factors like the the new regulation by AUSTRAC, emerging ETFs and crypto […]
CUA launches Apple Pay on its EFTPOS rediCARD
Apple Pay is now available on the full range of CUA-issued debit and credit cards. Australia’s largest credit union CUA has today launched Apple Pay to its EFTPOS rediCARDs, allowing customers with the rediCARD to make real-time contactless purchases via their iPhone or Apple watch. The integration completes the loop for CUA, with Apple Pay now available on the full range of CUA-issued cards. The new functionality will enable CUA customers with rediCARD to make EFTPOS purchases via the digital wallet securely using their own money and in real-time. Customers with a compatible Apple device will now be able to choose to make the contactless payment with EFTPOS, by selecting […]
Cryptocurrency craze drives two Perth ventures
Two Perth start-ups are entering the world of blockchain very differently, one to serve the layman and the other the expert, but both are undaunted by the drastic fall last month in the value of the technology’s high-profile product — cryptocurrency. Blockboxx founder Martin McGinty wants to gather together the existing expertise in Perth to move the technology forward. Mr McGinty, an IT professional, became involved with blockchain only early last year but, like the technology itself, wants to move fast. He said there were hundreds of online platforms where the enthusiastic early adopters of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency trading exchanged ideas. “I want to get all that and bring […]
Open banking regime to boost advice
Australia’s open banking regime will fundamentally change the way financial advisers interact with consumers but several hurdles must be cleared before any true potential is realised. The expected multi-billion dollar implementation of open banking will give consumers greater access to and control over their banking data – allowing them to share it with wealth managers for new or better services. However, giving consumers more control does not automatically translate to immediate benefit. In its submission to Treasury’s review of open banking in Australia, Fintech Australia described the initiative as vital but notes several shortcomings to customer data collection and reuse. It said reports from its 170 members indicated between 10 […]
Westpac, ANZ and NAB aren’t planning a bitcoin crackdown … yet
Australia’s largest banks have confirmed they do not currently have plans to block their customers from buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This differs from the approach taken by UK-based Lloyds Banking Group, and US banks JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citi.Those banks, in recent days, have announced they will ban their customers from using credit cards to purchase digital currencies. ANZ’s response ANZ told the ABC that it “does not prohibit customers buying digital or cryptocurrencies, or accepting them as a form of payment”. However, ANZ’s spokesperson said: “We monitor transactions for unusual behaviour to protect against potential fraud and in line with our regulatory responsibilities.” “We do not […]
Robo-advice provider inks deal with Class
An Australian robo-advice provider is partnering with Class to enhance its investment and tax reporting facilities. Class chief executive Kevin Bungard said the new arrangement with Six Park is “another great example of an innovative fintech solution which supports investors with effective investment decision-making, providing a daily up-to-date view of investment data and detailed tax reporting.” Six Park is also partnering with SMSF administration provider Heffron so as to offer its clients an automated SMSF management platform. Six Park chief executive Patrick Garrett explained: “While there will always be a place for traditional advice, there is a huge opportunity to use technology and automation to bring professional SMSF administration and […]
Westpac invests $25m more in Uno in mortgage broking play
Westpac Banking Corp has doubled down on the digital mortgage broker Uno Home Loans, investing another $25 million to ramp up the start-up’s brand marketing and sales teams in a deal that reflects a concerted drive into the broking industry by the nation’s second-largest lender. Westpac is keen to win some share of the $2 billion-plus in annual revenue which flows to mortgage brokers, who currently advise on nearly half of the $380 billion in mortgages written each year. Westpac now owns around 81 per cent of Uno, which wants to win a 10 per cent share of the highly fragmented broking market over the next 10 years. “The broking […]
Bitcoin bubble masks the real value of virtual currencies
At the end of last week the price of bitcoin sat at just over $US9000, half its high of $US20,000 in December: that’s a huge drop in value in a short space of time; January was the virtual currency’s worst month since February 2014. The recent sharp fall in the value of bitcoin is said to have been sparked by the South Korean government’s announcement it would crack down on the trade in cryptocurrencies (there are now nearly 1500 in a market worth around $680 billion). South Korea is the world’s largest market for this trade. US regulators are increasing their scrutiny of the market, and Facebook has banned all […]
