Preference for digital payments makes Australian banking ripe for fintech disrupters
Australian consumers’ love of contactless payments has helped push the country up global rankings that measure the use of non-cash payments across the world. Australia had the fourth-highest number of non-cash payments per person in the world, the report by consultancy Capgemini and bank RBS said. There were more than 300 non-cash transactions per person a year, the report said, putting Australia behind only Finland, the United States and the Netherlands. This is an increased from a few years ago, when Australia was ranked sixth in the report, and the rise reflects strong growth in digital payments for smaller purchases, where “tap and go” services on credit and debit cards […]
Banks V Bitcoin
Michael Pascoe raises some interesting ideas in this short segment about why the banks are interested in ensuring they don’t do business with those that are involved in legal bitcoin businesses but turn a blind eye towards better known ‘shonks’ using their services. What are your thoughts on the banks using these tactics and do you agree that APRA and the Reserve Bank should start to review this practice?
Will Bitcoin Finally Bring Down The House Of Medici? | TechCrunch
This article makes a great argument for Bitcoin and explains why we should use it instead of the current process. In the 14th century, the Medici family used the power of its newly invented, double-entry accounting system to build a cross-border banking empire that banks still use today. Now more than 600 years later, cross-border payments total more than $22 trillion. Source: Will Bitcoin Finally Bring Down The House Of Medici? | TechCrunch
Square thinks outside the box in Australia
Big investments in chip and PIN cards and tap-and-go payment terminals by Australia’s dominant banks and supermarkets has slowed the advance of Jack Dorsey-led payment upstart Square, but it claims it has found another chink in their armour.Square has had an office in Australia since May – its fourth country after the US, Japan and Canada, since it was started by Twitter co-founder Dorsey in 2009. Australian companies have been able to use beta versions of its free apps for years, but Square – which is rumoured to be heading for a listing in the US – announced its second product offer in Australia, a “digital dashboard” for small business, […]
Afterpay: Ron Brierley backing fintech start-up | The Australian
Legendary corporate raider Ron Brierley and a host of alumni from his former Guinness Peat Group have joined a group of wealthy investors in backing online commerce-tech start-up Afterpay to target the $100 billion market for online retail and e-services. Source: Afterpay: Ron Brierley backing fintech start-up | The Australian
Finance disrupters still rely on big banks, but bitcoin may replace
Start-ups, telecommunications giants, supermarkets and postal services are all getting into banking, but they concede they are not really disrupting big lenders or dominant card networks because most have to rely on banks or Visa and MasterCard to provide financial services. Source: Finance disrupters still rely on big banks, but bitcoin may replace
CoinJar to put brakes on Bitcoin volatility | The Courier-Mail
Australian Bitcoin start-up CoinJar has taken on one of Bitcoin’s chief criticisms, allowing consumers and businesses to bypass the cryptocurrency’s volatility and peg its price against a currency of their choice.Hedged Accounts was unveiled on stage at Europe’s biggest financial technlogy conference Finovate, and means that for example if a user holds $400 worth of Bitcoin in Australian dollars, they can access $400 worth of Bitcoins in future.Bitcoin itself has seen wild volatility in recent months, crashing from a value of over $1000 per Bitcoin to under $300 this month. Source: CoinJar to put brakes on Bitcoin volatility | The Courier-Mail
Coinjar to reveal Bitcoin volatility salve
Australian bitcoin exchange Coinjar will unveil plans to fix the value of the highly volatile cryptocurrency for its clients and offer conversion to a range of different currencies at a financial technology conference in London on Tuesday as it moves to compete with remittance providers. From late Tuesday, Coinjar joins a number of other bitcoin exchanges in offering “hedging accounts” that peg the value of the bitcoins purchased to the currency originally chosen when a conversion is first made. Source: Coinjar to reveal Bitcoin volatility salve
