Fintech currency wars heat up as Pelikin prepares to launch
A travel cash mishap in Croatia was Sam Brown’s inspiration to launch startup Pelikin into the competitive space of travel money and foreign exchange. “I was in Croatia, I went to get money out, put my travel card into the ATM and then cancelled my transaction because I changed my mind. My travel provider thought that was suspicious and blocked my funds. What that led to was having to borrow money, from the people I was travelling with,” Brown says. Brown has just closed out a crowdfunding raise for Pelikin of close to a quarter of a million dollars that has been “essentially a marketing campaign” for a the company’s […]
Cash payments are ‘niche’ says RBA governor
The governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia has said that Australians have embraced electronic payments and will continue to favour this payment method. Philip Lowe made the statements at the second annual Australian Payment Summit where he said that cash was becoming an increasingly niche payment. “It looks like a turning point has been reached. It is now easier than it has been to conceive of a world in which banknotes are used for relatively few payments; that cash becomes a niche payment instrument,” he said. Mr Lowe said he expected Australians to keep shifting towards electronic payments as cash payments continue to decline. “At the same time as […]
Sydney commuters can use credit or debit cards to tap on and off trains
Sydney commuters can carry one less card as of today. You can now “tap on and off” at the Opal reader with your Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit or debit card. Or if you’d prefer, you can use the digital wallet on your smartphone or smartwatch to replace how you use your Opal card. This is an extension of trials that have allowed commuters to use their credit or debit cards to tap on the Manly F1 ferry since July 2017 before it was extended to all public ferry and some light rail services in Sydney in March 2018. With Australia’s widespread adoption of contactless payments to make purchases, […]
Fintech disruption threatens wholesale payment revenues
Banks with large wholesale payments and cash management operations must innovate to avoid being ousted by disruptors. Wholesale payments and cash management (PCM) is a rapidly growing area, but existing players are under threat from technological disruption and must innovate in order to survive, according to a report by management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. In ‘Wholesale payments report: Disrupt from within’, the consultancy argues that banks must look closely at the strategies adopted by challengers and make changes to their legacy systems in order to defend their turf. “We see up to $175 billion (70% of revenue pool) in revenues at risk for incumbents,” writes Ronan O’Kelly, partner at Oliver […]
Do wearables and digital wallets spell the end of the credit card as we know it?
Wearable payment technology and digital wallets are the coolest new trend in the banking world – but does it really have the power to replace something as everyday and useful as your credit card? According to MyState Bank it’s more likely than you might think. Although digital wallets have technically been around since the 1990’s, recent innovative versions including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay started really making a splash in the Aussie market a few years ago, with banks big and small jumping on the trend. Now, MyState Bank has predicted a big take up of digital wallet technology in the coming years. “We […]
Peppermint to offer micro-enterprise program for Bizmoto agent network
Peppermint Innovation Ltd (ASX: PIL) announced it is launching a micro-enterprise program that will significantly benefit its growing Bizmoto agent network. Under a pilot program to be rolled out across the Philippines, Peppermint will facilitate and offer Bizmoto agents a finance and insurance package that helps them to buy a suitable motorcycle to be supplied by TVS Global Automobile Traders FZCO (“TVS”) via a locally registered wholesale dealer in the Philippines. Agents will be able to use their motorcycle to visit more customers in a timely manner, thereby increasing the number of transactions they are able to facilitate using Bizmoto’s technology platform, powered by Peppermint. The range of services available […]
Will Australians trust startups with their money as the cashless economy takes hold?
F5 Networks today announced new research showcasing that while Australians are moving towards a cashless economy, they remain divided when it comes to the future of payments. The study, The Changing Face of Payments & The Rise of the Cashless Economy, revealed over a third (34%) of Australians wouldn’t trust a startup with their money despite 58% of people using digital banking apps today. The F5 research explores the intersection between traditional and digital transactions with 60% of Australians indicating their behaviour will be guided by security. This builds on F5’s earlier Curve of Convenience survey, where 63% of Australian respondents emphasised valuing security over convenience. Jason Baden, Regional Vice President, AN/Z of F5 Networks commented, “With a major shift to […]
Bank gets on board with more digital wallets
A non-major bank has announced that its customers will be able to make payments using Garmin Pay. MyState Bank has added the ability for customers to use Garmin Pay, which functions as a digital wallet and fitness monitor, to make contactless payments. The non-major bank said that it expects a 200 per cent increase in customers using digital wallets by 2020, and that it already allows customers to use Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. “These services could easily overtake the use of credit cards by 2022,” MyState CEO Melos Sulicich said. The non-major bank said that it recognises that security concerns are the “biggest obstacle” hindering mass adoption […]
