Westpac joins Swift blockchain test
Second Aussie bank after ANZ to take part. Westpac has become the second Australian bank to join a proof-of-concept by payment messaging service Swift that aims to test blockchain for facilitating cross-border payments. It is one of 22 global banks to join the PoC today, adding to the six foundational banking participants, one of which is ANZ Bank. It was always envisaged that a number of other banks would join the project to further validate the concept. The project aims to prove whether or not banks can reconcile their international nostro accounts in real-time using blockchain technology. Nostro accounts are those held by banks in other countries in the local […]
Beyond bitcoin: what emerging blockchain technology means for your organisation
Crypto currency Bitcoin is gaining increasing attention as an alternative to existing financial options. It offers a highly secure way for parties to exchange funds without the need for an intermediary such as a bank. Yet Bitcoin is only one application of the technology that underpins it. Dubbed blockchain, this technology has the potential to revolutionise everything from billing systems and contracts to supply chains and even electronic medical records. In reality, Bitcoin is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to blockchain deployments. According to analyst reports, usage is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61.5 per cent until 2021. This means […]
440,000 transactions per second with Red Belly Blockchain
The University of Sydney has recently announced that it has developed a new Blockchain-based system that can perform more than 440,000 transactions per second. Researchers from the School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney, who developed the new Blockchain, named this system after one of Australia’s most deadly snakes – Red Belly Blockchain, and claim that it has a game-changing potential for the financial transfers industry. Moreover, according to them, the Red Belly Blockchain allows for the exchange to occur in a peer-to-peer fashion, as well as in a commercial environment restricted to certain users, which makes it the first blockchain being built to work both in public […]
What Monopoly? Blockchain startup Setl sets sights beyond Australia
Setl founder Peter Randall isn’t waiting for permission to build the first competing platform in an Australian post-trade system long dominated by a monopoly. While the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) enjoys exclusive rights to clear and settle transactions for the nation’s financial institutions, Randall’s startup has already built a service he believes can process the load more quickly and at lower cost than ASX’s proprietary CHESS platform. Ironically, ASX’s exploration of distributed ledger tech with partner Digital Asset Holdings has boosted the blockchain industry in Australia, yet its monopoly means less competition in bringing solutions to market. Nevertheless, Randall isn’t waiting for the nation’s regulators to begin loosening older, monopolistic […]
Opportunities being lost as crowdfunding debate rumbles on
The ongoing debate regarding the introduction of crowd-sourced funding legislation appears to have lost sight of the essential point. Start-ups, investors and the economy continue to miss out on valuable opportunities while people argue. While other countries, including New Zealand and the US, already permit companies to raise capital under a crowd-sourced offer, the Australian legislation allowing public companies to do so has not yet come into effect. The government is now proposing to also allow proprietary companies to raise capital by means of a crowd-sourced offer, with draft legislation currently under consideration. Once implemented, these new measures will expand the scope of the legislation and allow more start-ups to […]
Privacy fears fuel a fintech pioneer
A rebellion is stirring against our digital overlords, as seed and venture capital investors place bets on new business models that feed on privacy concerns in the post-Snowden era. Perversely, large-scale data breaches only benefit fintech companies like the Stone & Chalk resident Meeco, which aims to disrupt the likes of Google and Facebook by enabling consumers to regain control of their personal data and turn it into a valuable asset. Until about five years ago, Meeco founder and chief executive Katryna Dow’s privacy mission was falling on deaf ears — she was out of step with a seemingly manic desire by people to share everything online. In 2013, a […]
Australian govt consults on digital currency taxation legislation
The Australian government is looking for the best way to address the so-called “double taxation” of digital currency which is now prescribed by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law. The push comes amid a sharp growth in the use of this particular type of medium of exchange. The government has published exposure draft legislation and explanatory material for amendments to the GST law. The public consultation on these proposals will run for four weeks, closing on July 26, 2017. The draft legislation would have a retrospective start date of July 1, 2017. In summary, from July 1, 2017, digital currency will be treated just like money for GST purposes. […]
Former AFL star Ted Richards’ goal for robo adviser Six Park
Ted Richards learnt an important investment lesson as a young footballer, one that would lead him to pursuing a career in the financial services sector after he retired from sport. Richards was drafted to AFL club Essendon as a 17-year-old in late 2000 and once in the sporting system found himself getting paid relatively well for someone his age and wondering what to do with his money. A gift from his father, the Peter Lynch book One Up On Wall Street, gave him the idea of dabbling in the stock market. “I was 17, living at home and didn’t have a lot of expenses, so when I started getting pay […]
