Fintechs must jump many hurdles on the road to disruption
Bendigo & Adelaide Bank was one of the first Australian banks to invest in fintech start-ups. In 2012, Bendigo announced a $1.5 million investment for a 15 per cent stake in Adelaide-based NoQ, a joint venture with former Adelaide Crows AFL player Brad Moran. These days “NoQ” (no queue) provides independent supermarket and liquor retailers with e-commerce solutions. Bendigo managing director and CEO Mike Hirst has said there are excess profit pools among the diverse product range of the Aussie banks that could be targeted by single product-focused fintechs such as NoQ. Some big investors say the inexorable forces are clear. Successful fintech innovators are cutting costs and improving service. […]
Blockchain adoption in banks coming, but slower than expected
Recent headlines suggest that blockchain technology is revolutionizing financial services. JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Commonwealth Bank, Wells Fargo and several other leading banks are using the digital ledger technology to conduct equity swaps, cross-border trades, and other transactions. You might think that blockchain has gone mainstream. Not so fast, says former UBS CIO Oliver Bussmann, who claims it may take banks two years to run blockchain in production due to regulatory hurdles, a lack of standards and other stumbling blocks. “This is real, this will come but in a very regulated environment. We will go through a lot of validation,” says Bussmann, who jumpstarted blockchain efforts when he was leading […]
DigitalX Ltd files unique blockchain patent for its money transfer app
DigitalX Ltd (ASX:DCC) has filed its second global provisional patent application, further strengthening the company’s ‘AirPocket’ blockchain-based money transfer app. AirPocket can also be used to pay bills and top-up phones. The new patent describes a method for creating and storing a digital ID on a blockchain, and providing the owner of the ID a way to grant access to historical data from a point in time. In AirPocket, this method is known as an “AirID”. An AirID is created for each user that is digitally on-boarded via AirPocket once successfully passing Know Your Customer, Sanctions and Politically Exposed Person checks. These three processes are necessary to make international payments […]
Citi Unveils Global Digital Wallet: Citi Pay
Citibank announced the launch of Citi Pay, a new digital wallet that will provide Citi customers with a simple and fast option for online, in-app and in-store payment needs. Barry Rodrigues, Head of Global Digital Payments at Citi, said the company is uniquely positioned to accelerate payment innovation on a global scale. Citi Pay will be made available to Citi customers for online and in-app purchases. As a digital extension of their current card relationship, Citi customers will be able to make online and in-app purchases using the same Citibank online user ID and password that they currently use to manage their existing online relationship with Citi. The company is […]
Payment giants Ezidebit and eWAY join forces to launch the eWAY Accelerator
Ezidebit and eWAY are delivering another innovative product launching the eWAY Accelerator, a FinTech solution which challenges the banks in the market.
Bitcoin technology could ensure grain growers get paid
A NEW company is seeking a technological answer to one of the biggest problems facing grain farmers — delays in being paid. Full Profile, established last year by Emma Weston, Bob McKay and Ben Reid, is looking at technology used in bitcoin trading to make prompt payments to farmers when they deliver grain. Ms Weston said Full Profile started building a program around the technology, known as blockchain, in April and will test it in Dubbo with a grain delivery to Fletcher International in the next four or five weeks. Ms Weston said the aim was for grain growers to know if the trader had the funds to pay them […]
PayPal allows sending money by voice via Siri on iPhone
PayPal has announced you can send contacts money simply by asking Siri on your iPhone. You can now use commands such as “Hey, Siri, send John $20 using PayPal”. PayPal says the feature is available from now in 30 countries including Australia with the latest version of the PayPal app. “With so many P2P transactions happening during such a busy season, we’re excited to give our users an early holiday present,” PayPal says in a blogpost today. PayPal is not the first company to offer sending money by voice. Amazon lets you buy certain items from its store using its Amazon Echo home robot. However the robot is not officially […]
Apple Pay coming to millions in Australia with Cuscal signing credit union deal
Up to 4 million Australians can soon start using Apple Pay following a deal between Apple and a body representing smaller banks and credit unions. Customers with debit and credit accounts held with 31 financial bodies will be able to use Apple Pay to make retail payments from their iPhone following a deal with payments provider Cuscal. A Cuscal spokesman said a starting date for the service was yet to be announced. The agreement does not include many of Cuscal’s industry partners and a number of credit unions but it does include 31 credit unions and banks. The list includes Credit Union Australia, Bank of Sydney, Horizon Credit Union, Police […]
