Young, male and educated: Australian fintech has a type
Australia’s typical fintech founder is a bloke in his 40s with a postgraduate degree. That’s one of the findings of the 2018 EY Fintech Australia census, which shows 72 per cent of Australia’s financial technology startup employees and 81 per cent of founders are men. FinTech Australia chairman Alan Tsen says the sector is focused on boosting the participation of women, noting female fintech staff numbers are up 4 per cent in the past 12 months. “The Fintech Australia board, which is 50:50 gender balance, remains committed to driving tangible actions and initiatives to help further increase female participation in the sector,” he said in a statement when the census […]
Finastra launches Open Banking Readiness Index in Asia Pacific
Finastra today launched its Open Banking Readiness Index, providing for the first time a framework for banks in the Asia-Pacific region to assess their capabilities and benchmark readiness against peers in the race towards Open Banking. Unveiled during Hong Kong Fintech Week, the research reveals that 84% of the top 146 banks in Asia Pacific are considering collaborating with external partners to enhance their Open Banking capabilities between 2018 and 2020. Developed in partnership with IDC Financial Insights, the Finastra Open Banking Readiness Index measures banks across five dimensions – Adoption of APIs, Fintech/Third-Party Ecosystem, State of Data-based Transformation, Data Monetization, and State of Innovation. It is based on interviews […]
IRESS releases automated personal advice solution and announces implementation with WA Super
IRESS has today announced a new automated personal advice solution allowing super funds to service members wanting superannuation advice digitally. The multi-advice, multi-channel solution, drawing on information within the fund registry, allows members to set their retirement objectives, review projections and then make choices to optimise their retirement outcomes. Members are provided with a statement of personal advice and can choose to action the recommendations using the solution and monitor progress. Members can also receive automated personal advice for wealth protection, savings and debt management. WA Super has become the first superannuation fund to implement the solution to deliver a personal advice service for retirement planning through its online member […]
ASX-listed Peppermint Innovation registers more than 5,000 Bizmoto agents in the Philippines
Peppermint Innovation Limited announces that to date more than 5,000 agents have signed up to its Bizmoto network in the Philippines. Having launched the Bizmoto agent network in late May followed by a preliminary digital marketing drive which started on August 23, the Philippines operations team had registered 5,000 Bizmoto agents as of the end of last week. The agents are now being on-boarded and trained in how to deliver the various Bizmoto services, including mobile banking, mobile eLoad, bill/product payment and money transfers. They also receive training on how to charge and recharge their electronic wallets, which they use to facilitate Bizmoto services. At present, Filipinos can use their […]
uno cracks the formula for 10-minute home loan recommendations
Online mortgage broker uno Home Loans has introduced technology that delivers refinancers a credit proposal for a cheaper home loan in the time it takes to drink a coffee. Watch the video here. The new refinancing pathway on uno’s platform digitises the process to combine a property valuation; ID verification; instant credit check; collection of current loan details; verification of income, expenses and liabilities; and assessment with credit policies from nine lenders. This expedited process – which would take days with a traditional broker – addresses a major barrier to more Australians refinancing and saving. uno Home Loans Founder and Chief Innovation Officer Vincent Turner said, “Many Australians know they […]
Gobbling up your bills one at a time: how startup Gobbill is automating bill payment through AI
So, here’s an idea: imagine a digital financial assistant powered by artificial intelligence that digitises your bills and schedule payments, all whilst checking for fraud. Pretty cool, right? That’s what Gobbill, a fintech startup that automates bill payments for small businesses and households does. But that’s not all. Shendon Ewans, CEO and Co-Founder of Gobbill, says, “You can link any Australian bank account, and it will debit that account, so you don’t have to tell every biller your bank account details. Essentially, the product allows you to centralise your direct debits in one place.” In addition, the ability to pay your bills in cryptocurrency will be coming soon thanks to […]
Superannuation ripe for blockchain
Australia’s $2.7 trillion superannuation system has a lot to gain from adopting distributed ledger technologies (DLT), but the industry will want more clarity around blockchain applications before it jumps in. Bravura Solutions global head of wealth management product Michelle Lusty says blockchain and DLT will find success in wealth management once they begin to offer a compelling business case while improving inefficient links in the value chain. “In core superannuation admin the margins are not excessive, so you have to look across the value chain for opportunity within the margins. “Where DLT could potentially make a positive difference is in superannuation investments. Within super, there’s a fund structure that invests […]
Open banking could make expense checks easier for brokers
Brokers will be one of the many beneficiaries of the comprehensive credit reporting and open banking regimes, according to mortgage industry executives. Stephen Moore, CEO of Choice, believes brokers will significantly benefit from the mandatory comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) regime — which is yet to be legislated despite the government imposing a deadline on the major banks to submit 50 per cent of their CCR data by 30 September 2018 — and open banking more broadly. “We have a fundamental belief that the future of broking for many brokers is a combination of digital interaction with customers married with high-quality face-to-face advice,” Mr Moore told The Adviser. “The reason we say that is because […]
