DTA to explore blockchain for government payments
The government has ringfenced $700,000 of the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) budget to explore the use of blockchain for ‘government payments’. The DTA – formerly known as the Digital Transformation Office – will “investigate areas where blockchain technology could offer the most value for Government services” the Treasury stated in its Budget papers. “The cost of this measure will be met from within the existing resources of the Digital Transformation Agency,” Budget documents say. Last year, CSIRO’s Data61 group released two reports on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. “Blockchains transactions can support services for payments, escrow, notarisation, voting, registration, and process coordination. These are key in the operation of government […]
Doshii expands into Asia with signing of Raptor, first major POS in ASEAN market
Doshii API, which connects Apps with POS (Point of Sale), is pleased to announce an integration with Raptor POS, which heralds an expansion into the lucrative Asian market. Doshii, which connects Apps with POS in real-time, was backed by Reinventure in Seed funding in January 2017. It has matured its technology and offerings to the market over the last 12 months. Leslie Tan, Raptor Founder and Managing Director, says his company is pleased to be the first POS vendor across the ASEAN market to sign a partnership with Doshii. “Doshii solves the enormous problem of connecting the high number of Apps in our rapidly changing market to our more than […]
Westpac says fintech partnerships paying off
Westpac’s $100 million investment in the Reinventure venture capital fund is paying off for the bank, according to group CEO Brian Hartzer. Reinventure has made 20 investments in areas including distributed ledger technology, payments, data analytics, digital currencies, social networking and P2P lending. Those investments are increasingly a strategic asset for Westpac, Hartzer told a briefing on the bank’s first half results. “These investments have helped build Westpac’s reputation as a good partner for fintech companies and this is now paying off in our core business,” the CEO said. He cited as an example the launch in April of Presto Smart, which integrates point-of-sale systems with merchant payment terminals. “Presto […]
Suncorp launches Apple Pay for Visa debit cards
Suncorp customers now have the choice of Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay to tap and go. If you have a Suncorp debit card, you can now use your Apple device to tap and pay at the checkout thanks to a new partnership with Apple Pay. Once you’ve linked your card, you can hold your iPhone or smartwatch against the contactless card reader at the checkout and use your biometric Touch ID (your fingerprint) or PIN to authorise a transaction. Each transaction is also authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is built into your Apple Wallet on your device, so you just need to add […]
ANZ sees dramatic uptake in digital wallet payments
Almost $600m in six-month period. ANZ Bank customers made almost $600 million in mobile payments during the first half of fiscal year 2018. The bank said today that customers completed more than 18.5 million mobile payment transactions in the half, an increase of 156 percent on the previous corresponding period. ANZ said the transactions were made from mobile wallet services from Apple, Samsung, Google, Fitbit and Garmin, as well as the bank’s own mobile pay service. CEO Shayne Elliott credited the bank’s investment in mobile services as well as the 2016 establishment of its digital bank division – overseen by former Google executive Maile Carnegie. Elliott said ANZ’s mobile app […]
RBA not suitable to regulate new payments technologies
The government is being urged to follow in the UK’s footsteps and create a new regulatory body for the payments industry that can regulate new forms of payments being made via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. A white paper commissioned by lobby group the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance and conducted by researchers from RMIT University found that existing bodies such as the Reserve Bank were not suited to regulating the rapidly changing digital payments sector, because it wasn’t flexible enough. Co-author of the report RMIT senior research fellow Christopher Berg told The Australian Financial Review having payments policy and monetary policy in one institution would not be workable with the introduction of cryptocurrencies. […]
IncentiaPay to crack Chinese tourist market with Alipay
ASX-listed IncentiaPay is partnering with Australia and New Zealand’s largest independent EFTPOS provider to give over 55,000 Australian retailers the chance to target Chinese tourists with discount deals and offers via Alipay. Alipay is an e-wallet payment method that is favoured by the Chinese. In a market update this week, IncentiaPay — known until recently as BPS Technology — said the marketing agreement with Smartpay Holdings was aimed at increasing its exposure to Alipay and the whopping $13 billion annual Chinese tourist spend in Australia and New Zealand. Under the deal, the payment providers will leverage the more than 55,000 merchants across their networks to promote goods and services to […]
Citi partners with Apple Pay
Citi cardholders can now tap and pay with their Apple devices. Citi is the latest bank to jump on the Apple Pay bandwagon. From today, Citi credit card holders can use Apple Pay to make contactless payments with their smartphones or smartwatches. Citi is now one of the largest banks (as well as the likes of ANZ, American Express and HSBC) that has partnered with Apple Pay. Meanwhile, the rest of the Big Four (CommBank, NAB and Westpac) have yet to partner with Apple Pay as a result of disputes over access to the tech giant’s NFC in an attempt to run their own payment apps on iOS devices. Citi […]
