Blockchain payment solutions that simplify travel transactions
Fenex – a blockchain-powered payment and services solution for the travel and hospitality industry that provides a network of payment products to simplify B2B travel transactions. Fenex’s range of products will serve travel agents, hotels, airlines and tourism experience providers looking to speed up payment settlements, automate processing, reduce transaction fees and generate additional revenue opportunities. These products include the patent pending blockchain powered digital business to business payment platform (dB2B), BlocRec, and BlocTic, among others. Today, the current structure of the credit card issuance and acceptance costs in the hospitality industry can be as complicated as a 16-step process. Fenex is out to simplify this for its partners, offering […]
SocietyOne hits $600M in loans after record holiday season
Australia’s leading marketplace lender, SocietyOne, has sped past $600 million in loan originations after a record holiday period, with $64.9 million in total originations over the past three months, compared to $39.5 million over the same three months last year. The milestone comes just six months after the appointment of Mark Jones as CEO, who oversaw the launch of a broker channel in June, an improved credit assessment process in July, a marketing campaign beginning September, and an improved online customer quote and application experience from October. “We are thrilled to be growing so strongly as it’s a sure sign that Australians are increasingly turning away from one-size-fits-all options and […]
Bitcoin: Ten Years On
A mysterious, anonymous entity known as “Satoshi Nakamoto” posted a white paper on October 31 2008 entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. It was the first time that the concept of Bitcoin entered the world. But outside of the cypherpunk mailing lists – those promoting the use of privacy-enhancing technology – this event was hardly noticed. Ten years on, who hasn’t at least heard of the cryptocurrency? On just nine pages, the white paper explained how the Bitcoin system would work. Many attempts at electronic cash had already been made going right back to computer scientist David Chaum’s “Digicash” developed in the 1980s. Using an intricate dance of cryptography, […]
60% of Australians pay bills using BPAY
Australians have a knack for downplaying their greatest inventions, and BPAY is one of them. 20 years ago BPAY was introduced across nearly every bank in the country to help people pay bills and to help businesses get paid. On average people pay 5 or 6 bills a month, and around 60% of Australians pay those bills using BPAY* 88% of Australians recognise the iconic BPAY logo, as it’s on nearly every major bill in the country and in almost every internet banking platform* According to Keith Brown, BPAY Group’s General Manager of Product, Scheme & Business Development, BPAY is still growing even after 20 years of leading bill payments. […]
On The Money: Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay explained
Over the last ten years, smartphones have replaced MP3 players, PDAs, cameras and – for some – even dedicated portable computing devices like laptops. Now, smartphone and wearable vendors are trying to replace your wallet by cementing themselves as a crucial part of the mobile payments space. If you’re confused about things like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay – here’s everything you need to know. What are mobile payments services? Mobile Payment services (also known as mobile payment platforms or digital wallets) is a term that refers services or apps that allow you to pay for things with your phone or smartwatch (via a connected credit or debit card). The […]
Is Qantas a cryptocurrency in the making?
Qantas points are already Australia’s de facto second currency. Switching to blockchain would make it a real one. In 2017, Qantas (ASX:QAN) made more money selling points than it did selling international flights. Qantas is an airline; only madmen would call it a tech company. Yet over the past decade, that’s precisely what Qantas has become. In 2007, the company’s loyalty program accounted for 11% of pre-tax profits. In the year to December, that figure has grown to 23%. The Loyalty division earned $369m in pre-tax profits compared to $327m from the International division. Qantas’s Frequent Flyer program has 11 million members – nearly half the Australian population – and […]
Australia leads the way when it comes to Digital Banking
When it comes to cashless banking in Australia, Sydney and Canberra lead the way according to a report by card company Visa. The report recognises both cities as being digital leaders in large part as a result of Australia’s advanced digital banking payments system. Aussies are already very accustomed to online banking and there are a large number that make use of the system. 100 cities were looked at The report looked at more than 100 cities around the world and analysed their development in terms of cashless payments and banking. The report showed that 18 cities spread across Asia, Europe and the United States were deemed to be “digitally […]
The future of FinTech
In case you haven’t noticed, FinTechs (short for financial technology) are moving in fast on the traditional financial services world – or at least they’re trying to. You’ve already been swept up in the FinTech revolution if you use a bank app or contactless credit card chip, pay in Bitcoin, transact with PayPal or take part in crowdfunding or peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. The FinTech movement The idea behind FinTechs is to cut out the middlemen, streamline the process, and give customers a better experience than what’s traditionally been on offer from the banks, which, among other shortcomings, can still take a few days to process a simple electronic deposit. The […]
