Australian, Abu Dhabi regulators to co-operate on fintech
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has reached an agreement to co-operate with its United Arab Emirates counterpart, the Abu Dhabi Global Market, on financial technology. As part of the agreement, the two regulatory authorities will share information to keep on top of each other’s regulatory and commercial developments in order to support financial innovation in Australia and the UAE. ASIC’s innovation hub and the ADGM regulatory laboratory will be made available for innovative fintech businesses under the agreement. Most of the fintech activity by start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa region has focused on payments and mobile wallets, ASIC said. “With this fintech collaboration, ADGM and […]
RBA study finds cards are king, overtaking cash for the first time
Credit and debit cards have overtaken cash as the most frequently used consumer payment for the first time, as food retailers and ridesharing apps such as Uber offer more cashless payment options. Cards were the most frequently used means of payment, accounting 52 per cent of consumer payments, followed by cash at 37 per cent, according to the Reserve Bank’s consumer payments survey released on Tuesday, which surveyed 17,000 day-to-day payments made by over 1500 participants during a week. A decade ago, cash accounted for nearly 70 per cent of consumer transactions, and cards 26 per cent. The RBA said credit and debit card use increased across the board in […]
Search for 2017 Fintech 100 innovators kicks off
Nominations are now open for the 2017 KPMG & H2 Ventures Fintech 100, the annual list designed to recognize leading fintech innovators. Visit www.fintechinnovators.com by Thursday, 31 August 2017 and nominate your company, or any fintech you think should be considered for the Fintech 100. The Fintech100, available at www.fintechinnovators.com, is compiled by fintech investment firm, H2 Ventures in collaboration with KPMG’s Global Fintech practice. The annual Fintech 100 includes both the leading 50 established fintechs, and the most intriguing 50 “emerging stars.” How to nominate and the judging process: Nominations for the Fintech 100 can be made at www.fintechinnovators.com website by Thursday, 31 August 2017. […]
International payments the winning application for blockchain
Start-ups and banking institutions around the world are investing heavily in blockchain and on paper it seems like the perfect solution to fixing banking systems, which often times lag behind current technology trends and in some cases were created before the internet. But, it’s never as simple as it seems. As a refresher, a blockchain are a decentralised, secure, digital ledgers that can be used to record many different types of information. First developed as the architecture behind the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin, it allows for real-time transfers and a dramatic reduction in transfer fees. Theoretically, blockchain should be the perfect solution to the cumbersome process of international payments in particular. […]
ANZ is the first Big Four bank on both Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
ANZ has joined Samsung Pay, becoming the first of the big four Australian banks to be on all three major digital wallets. The bank had already been the only one of the majors to be on Apple Pay and was already available on Android Pay. “Samsung has strong device market share in Australia and many of our customers love its open approach to technology, so it made sense for us to work with them in bringing this convenient and secure mobile payments solution to our customers,” said ANZ product managing director Bob Belan. ANZ joins Westpac and a range of smaller institutions on the Samsung platform, which allows contactless payments […]
Square and Vodafone team up to make business easier
Square is teaming up with Vodafone Australia to launch a first-of-a-kind offer which will help time-poor business owners across Australia start accepting card payments and run an integrated mobile point of sale in their business instantly. Vodafone small business customers will now be able to source hardware, software and payments services in one place – with the inclusion of Square strengthening Vodafone’s stable of communication and business solutions. Available now from selected Vodafone stores, the Square Reader for contactless and chip can be purchased for just $5 (RRP $59) when bundled with Vodafone’s 24-month $60-and-above Red Plans and $50-and-above SIM Only Red Plans. To reduce costs for […]
Cyber fraud a growing risk to Australia’s financial markets, report finds
Austrac, the federal government’s financial intelligence agency, says foreign crime syndicates are also manipulating markets and laundering money. Australia’s multibillion-dollar financial markets are vulnerable to an increasing risk of cyber-enabled fraud, a new report has found. Overseas-based crime syndicates are also exploiting Australia’s financial infrastructure to manipulate markets and launder money, the report by Austrac, the government’s financial intelligence agency, found. Austrac said the risk of criminal exploitation of the nation’s securities and derivatives sector was “at the high end of medium”. Austrac’s work relied on an analysis of 663 reports of suspicious activity from the corporate sector, made by 68 entities. About half the reports involved suspected fraud. Austrac […]
FinTech Interviews: Uno Home Loans
In the second of Matthew Parker’s series interviewing FinTech CEOs, he sat down with Vincent Turner, the CEO of Uno Home Loans. Matthew Parker: There have been a few new Mortgage brokering businesses launch over the past 2 years, why is this happening now? What has created the right circumstance for this to occur? Vincent Turner: Good question… One of the drivers is that it’s one of the last transactions left to do digitally. People are now more comfortable applying for financial products online such as credit cards and loans, not just researching and comparing. As people become more comfortable transacting online with their holidays or flights or clothes, they […]
