A Central Bank blockchain could make other banks obsolete
Will banks like ANZ and Westpac go the way of the record store? Professor David Yermack from NYU Stern School of Business thinks so. He argues it’s only a matter of time before Central Banks withdraw banknotes from circulation and put the national currency into an electronic blockchain rending other banks “unnecessary”. The distributed ledger technology promises to give Central Banks much greater control over national currencies and could put an end to money laundering and tax evasion, argues Yermack, who counts bitcoin and cryptocurrencies among his areas of expertise. “It’s not a question of if but when a country will do this. And my expectation is that the benefits […]
Reimagining wealth management for the digital age
David Levi looks at why responding to the digital challenge is not just about defence but about shaping a new era of wealth management. As consumer needs and the financial landscape evolve, major banks are being forced to reconsider their approach to wealth management services. Colonial First State, for example, has predicted that the retirement of Baby Boomers would result in unprecedented transfers of wealth. Similarly, Citigroup announced its plans to triple the size of its wealth management business in Australia by 2020, as it targets customers with more than $1 million to invest. While the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) reports that private sector forecasts superannuation assets […]
AI RegTech deal boosts compliance speeds for Airwallex
Melbourne headquartered fintech startup Airwallex today announced a partnership with AI-driven RegTech ComplyAdvantage. The partnership will allow Airwallex to conduct real-time screening and monitoring of transactions for sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF), following a US$13 million Series A funding round from Tencent, Sequoia and Mastercard that has spurred rapid growth into new regions. ComplyAdvantage helps firms make intelligent choices by using Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics to manage their compliance and risk obligations, and to prevent the occurrence of financial crime. Regarded as one of the most trusted and innovative compliance solutions in the industry, ComplyAdvantage’s real-time insights will minimise risk on transactions conducted […]
‘Better than blockchain’ new asset trading system unveiled
The chief scientist of the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre, Michael Aitken, has demonstrated a new asset trading system – known as digi.cash – which he says will allow a broad range of financial assets to be traded at virtually no cost with immediate settlement, potentially disruptive to existing markets like the Australian Securities Exchange. Digi.cash works via a system of “tokenisation”, where a digital representation is made of a physical asset. When the “token” is sent from one person to another, settlement is instant. The receiver can then “withdraw” the real asset. In a presentation to the Financial Review Innovation Summit, Professor Aitken, who received the Prime Minister’s innovation […]
Bitcoin is beyond government control
Bitcoin has surged more than 33 per cent from Friday’s wave of panic selling, suggesting the cryptocurrency is becoming more and more immune to government intervention. After news broke that Chinese regulators were shutting down all exchanges on the mainland, the price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency plummeted over 40 per cent and dragged the price to a low of $US2,981 ($3741). Citing the lack of licensing and regulation, authorities gave the major exchanges operating in China 10 days to close their doors. As of Friday, the last exchange ceased trading and Bitcoin sustained heavy selling. However, over the weekend, exchanges throughout the rest of the world picked up […]
Legislation introduced to remove double taxation on digital currencies: What this means for startups
Digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum will no longer be subject to double taxation if legislation introduced last week into the Federal Parliament is successful. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the proposed change will “further cement Australia’s reputation as a global Fintech centre”. The legislation follows a promise the federal government made in the 2017 Budget, when it pledged to exempt purchases of digital currencies from the goods and services tax (GST) from July 1. The promise followed on from a statement by the Treasurer in March 2016, committing the government to addressing the issue. The legislative changes mean digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum will be treated similarly […]
Equity crowdfunding a slow burn, advisers say
The legalisation of equity crowdfunding has met with enthusiasm from those hoping to raise money with it, but financial planners say it will be years before it is taken seriously by investors. Leading advisers contacted by The Australian Financial Review said no clients had approached them in relation to the new crowdsourced equity funding legislation, which was introduced by Treasurer Scott Morrison on Thursday. With Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos set to open The Australian Financial Review Innovation Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, the government is hoping equity crowdfunding will help bring start-ups and innovation closer to the average Australian, and boost support for the “ideas boom” agenda blamed for nearly […]
Two Australian fintechs selected to help develop payments solutions for the world
Two Australian fintech companies have beaten entrants from across the world to be selected among five finalists in a global payments industry challenge, where they will work to develop new cross-border solutions for thousands of banks. Assembly Payments and CurrencyVue have been selected to take part in the SWIFT gpi Industry Challenge in Singapore on 13-14 September. As part of this challenge, the two well-established financial technology companies will work with 30 banks to develop new services for SWIFT’s more than 11,000 financial institution members across 200 countries, leveraging its SWIFT global payment innovation (gpi) service. Two winners will emerge from the Singapore event and will be featured at Sibos […]
