Big four banks consider creating their own digital brands
Each of the big four banks have considered launching new digital bank brands to attract new, young, digital-savvy customers. Apart from National Australia Bank’s UBank, the plans have been non-starters, getting lost among layers of bureaucracy, management changes and restrictions on new investment. But the pending launch of Volt Bank, which on Tuesday received an unrestricted banking licence from the prudential regulator, and with Up already in the market, the majors might be forced to reconsider whether creating entirely new standalone digital brands, or partnering with emerging players in the emerging “neobank” space, is needed to stay on the front foot in the fast-moving world of digital banking. NAB is […]
Millions looking to leave major banks
New research has found that over two million Australians are currently seeking new banking providers, with many currently customers at one of the big four. The research produced by Nielsen found that 2.1 million Australians are seeking new providers and 67 per cent of them are currently customers at one of the big four. The research found that Australians were increasingly looking away from the established banks and instead looking at digital banks, with a five-percentage point increase in Australians looking to change to digital banks in the past twelve months. Nielsen’s head of financial services and insurance Jo Brockhurst believed that the open banking legislation would see this number […]
‘We’re tech companies’: The neobanks’ advantage
A big advantage that “neobanks” have over the big four is that they are nimble and highly scalable technology companies focused on customer experience, according to the co-founder of Up. After hearing Stephen King from the Productivity Commission (PC) claim that challenger lenders do not have a realistic chance at competing with the major banks and will ultimately be “gobbled up” by them, Dominic Pym said the advantage that challengers such as his company Up, along with the likes of Volt and Xinja, have is that they are technology companies with a focus on improving customer experience and the ability to move and adapt fast. Speaking on a panel at […]
Neobanks are about to explode onto the Australian market
A number of restricted banking licences are expected to be issued to aspiring neobank startups by Australian authorities in the next few months. A raft of fintech players, including Xinja and Up, have already completed detailed applications to the prudential regulator APRA. The first licence went to Volt in May this year, creating another bank in Australia for the first time in 28 years. Since then, key players have been working to complete the regulatory hurdles to be able to call themselves a bank. APRA hasn’t a timetable for an announcement of new restricted authorised deposit-taking institution (RADI) licences but several startups expect an announcement shortly. The new restricted licence […]
Missed the 2018 FinTech Summit? Here’s the best recap you’ll read
Tuesday 16th October. The 5th FinTech Summit took place in Sydney. An all-star line-up of FinTech leaders and a sell-out crowd made this the best FinTech Summit yet. The topics of open banking, the rise of challenger banks, the recurring themes of raising capital and hiring talent were all debated. But the prominent themes of the day were integrity, ethics and genuine care for customers. There was a real sense of excitement in the room, with the audience recognising we are at the beginning of a new era in FinTech. Presentations by UP Bank and Xinja demonstrated the differences between a digital challenger bank and a neo bank. Using ground […]
Open banking: Refinance in 15 minutes
Open banking could see borrowers refinancing their home loans in 15 minutes, according to one panellist at a recent fintech summit. The event, held in Sydney on Tuesday (16 October), focused on how digital innovation was changing finance. The program included speakers and panel discussions on topics such as challenger brands, neo-banking and open banking. One panel session on challenger brands and neo-banks discussed the future of open banking. Panellists included CEO of VOLT bank, Steve Weston, and chief marketing officer of Athena Home Loans, Natalie Dinsdale. Athena Home Loans is still in a soft pilot phase, but Dinsdale said its “mission is to own home loans”. Other panellists were […]
Australians are embracing fintech as they move away from traditional payment solutions: Research
Australian appetite for fintech services is on the up, with non-bank contactless or card-less mobile payment solutions now being used more than bank-owned payment solutions, according to recent research from market research company Roy Morgan. The Roy Morgan Digital Payment Solutions Currency Report, which is based on more than 50,000 consumer interviews, suggests fintechs, including startups, are taking market share from incumbents, albeit slowly. While 6.4% of people interviewed said they had used bank-owned digital payment solutions within the past 12 months, 6.5% had used non-bank solutions such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet. Further, 6% said they had used pay-later startup Afterpay within the past year. Some 94% of Australians said […]
APRA prepares to approve three new banks
There’s a prospect of there will be three new banks in the Australian market by Christmas, operating under unrestricted, full banking licences. That these could be held by three start-ups less than a year old – Volt Bank, 86400 and Judo Capital – shows just how fast the regulatory environment is changing under policy leadership of new Prime Minister Scott Morrison. As Treasurer, he championed the need for more competition to pressure incumbent banks to become more customer-centric. Before Morrison’s 2017 budget paved the way for new entrants to enter the deposit market by streamlining application procedures, APRA had granted only one new banking licence to a local player in […]
