Partnerships driving the local fintech sector
Financial technology startups are growing in Australia, from less than 100 in 2014 to approximately 579 companies today. Many financial businesses see this as a direct threat, but if our country is to have any hope of building a world-class financial services technology industry, the future lies not in competition, but in collaboration. We are already seeing the local attitude change, with a recent PwC report finding that over 82% of financial institutions expect to increase fintech partnerships in the next three to five years. By partnering and collaborating with smaller fintech startups, established companies can accelerate industry growth and push the capabilities of both parties forward. Australia has a […]
Afterpay surges as sales head for $1.5b
Lay-by payments service Afterpay Touch says its underlying annualised sales are on track to surpass $1.5 billion as more major brands sign up. The fintech’s first quarter sales hit $367 million, up from $271 million in the fourth quarter of 2016/17, and comes after Target, Luxottica and Petbarn recently adopted its online payments system. Shares in Afterpay jumped 48 cents, or 10.2 per cent, to $5.18 on the company’s quarterly sales update. Afterpay says more than 8,600 merchants are now on board, up from about 6,000 on June 30. And more brands are expected to join up in the second quarter. “Significant development of partnership and platform initiatives in the […]
Hashkloud Australia’s Blockchain integrated PaySHA digital payments platform goes LIVE
PaySHA promises cashless and cardless digital payments that uses Blockchain & QR code technologies to deliver real time payment solutions for the customers Hashkloud Pty Ltd (HKAU), a Blockchain focused Fintech company based in Sydney, Australia announced that United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB), a full service commercial bank based in Dhaka, Bangladesh have launched Upay, a digital payments platform on Oct 17th, 2017. Upay is based on HKAU’s PaySHA Digital Payments Platform, a universal digital payments platform that uses Blockchain technology where transactional data during payments processing are cryptographically hashed and verified using Blockchain. PaySHA supports a cashless and cardless digital wallet that uses QR (Quick Response) code to deliver […]
Link4 partners with Squirrel Street for faster invoice processing
Turning the information in an invoice into an entry in a cloud accounting system is a pain point for businesses. Now Squirrel Street’s industry leading AI data extraction and human verification process has been incorporated into Link4 so users can import legacy PDF invoices along with instant, truly digital, eInvoices into any of the six main cloud accounting solutions used throughout Australia. This partnership announcement is a win for all business owners from micro to medium enterprises, as it provides them with functionality often reserved for large enterprises. “Both teams have been working together in order to offer a smooth user experience and increase their productivity,” said […]
IBM develops blockchain system for banks
The company expects to process up to 60% of all cross-border payments in the South Pacific by early 2018. International technology company IBM has joined forces with blockchain startup Stellar and payments company KlickEx Group to enable high-speed cross-border payments for banks and other financial institutions. The aim of the payments process is to speed up clearances and settlements on a single network in real time. Blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, is a revolutionary distributed-ledger technology that offers a secure and immediate way of transferring a range of data – more specifically, in this case, currency transactions. IBM’s solution is already active, processing live transactions across 12 different currency corridors […]
Myer launches credit card featuring Android Pay and Apple Pay
Myer’s new rewards-based Myer Credit Card is the first Australian retailer-provided Visa card with Android Pay and Apple Pay. The Visa credit card, issued by Macquarie Bank, will allow people to use their smart phone’s digital wallet to pay with either Android or Apple Pay. Consumers also have access to a range of security features and budgeting tools through the Myer Credit Card app, designed to make it easier to track and manage spending. The Myer Credit Card works off a rewards-based system, whereby customers can earn uncapped Shopping Credits on eligible purchases at Myer and MYER one affiliates by presenting their MYER one card number at point-of-purchase. Canstar Research […]
NAB’s Apple Pay gap
There have been curious developments over the Tasman in relation to Apple Pay, with National Australia Bank’s BNZ unit announcing today it will offer the service to customers by the end of this month. Yes, that’s the same NAB that tried to enlist the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in a nasty spat with Apple over access to the iPhone’s near-field communication antenna. Success would have enabled the bank to offer its own digital wallet to iPhone users in competition with the Apple’s wallet, but without using Apple Pay. The competition watchdog knocked back the application by NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, ruling that competition could be distorted if the […]
Latitude Financial Services partners with Samsung Pay
Latitude customers can now tap and pay with their Samsung, Apple or Android smartphone. Latitude customers have a new way to pay as of today. Samsung Electronics Australia and Latitude Financial Services have joined forces to offer cardholders the convenience of Samsung Pay. This means that Latitude cardholders can now use their compatible Samsung device to make contactless digital payments instead of pulling out their card at the checkout. If you’ve never used it before, setting up Samsung Pay with your Latitude card is simple. You’ll just need to download and open the Samsung Pay app, sign in and take a photo of your card or enter the details manually. […]
