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 […]
Afterpay’s shares recover as the fintech backs greater regulation of buy-now-pay-later consumer lending
Payments fintech Afterpay, whose shares were hit hard after a Senate inquiry was formed to investigate consumer lenders not covered by the financial services royal commission, says it supports “appropriate regulation” and oversight by corporate regulator ASIC. The company says its buy-now-pay-later model is different to traditional credit, a fact recognised by the New Zealand Government when it recently decided not to include products such as Afterpay in local credit regulations. “Afterpay welcomes the opportunity to participate in any review to ensure an informed discussion takes place in an appropriate forum and that the differentiated nature of Afterpay’s service is clearly understood,” the company said on a statement. The fintech […]
Banking royal commission interim report: Banks to tap each other’s account data
There’s a clear takeaway for the fintech scene from the banking royal commission’s interim report: the major banks will have to get much more sophisticated accessing and analysing spending data generated by customers. In the wake of Commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s blockbuster report, data policy inside the banks is no longer going to be viewed solely through the prism of customer experience but also of regulatory compliance. The ability to tap reliable data sources held outside the bank, and making sense of those numbers, will become a mission critical function for all banks. This means spending on data analytics technology is set to rise, and banks are likely to accelerate engagement […]
Basiq and Verrency enable banks to drastically improve the quality of their data
Basiq and Verrency have joined forces to enable banks to store clean, categorised and enhanced transaction data – in real-time, at point of purchase. This will uncover new opportunities for banks to offer their customers innovative, and personalised products and experiences. We are all aware of how ‘unclear’ transaction data can be. Think of how often customers call banks with queries – they have no idea what an item on their credit card statement called ‘HT Willis Brook’ is. You may have heard the term ‘garbage in – garbage out’. If a bank stores unclear transaction data when a customer makes a purchase, this data is then passed downstream to […]
Xero State of Lending Report: Funding gap is stifling small business growth in Australia
Research unveiled today by Xero suggests Australia’s small businesses could borrow as much as $80 billion over the next 12 months, if they could get the funding. Instead, small businesses are struggling to access the capital they require, in large part due to the complexity of the loan process. This is creating a funding gap and holding back significant jobs and growth opportunities for the Australian economy. According to the Xero State of Lending Report, one in five small business owners (22%) say access to capital is the greatest pain point or perceived threat to their long-term growth aspirations, and a quarter of small business are not very confident in […]
Australian startups selected for Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab
Eight leading fintech companies have been selected for the fifth annual FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, a 12-week mentorship program created by Accenture. The 2018 program received a record number of applications, from more than 160 companies, and comes at a time when investments into the sector are soaring. According to an Accenture analysis of data from CB Insights, global investment in fintech ventures reached another all-time high in 2017, of US$27 billion, with continued growth in 2018. Launched in Hong Kong in June 2014, the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific has received nearly 600 applications since its inception, with 33 companies participating to date. Alumni companies from the Lab have raised US$288 […]
Bendigo Adelaide launches “all-in-app” digital bank
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has become the latest institution to launch a new pure play digital bank. Dubbed ‘Up’, the separately branded neo play will come in the form of a dedicated and separately branded app, as Bendigo attempts to snatch younger customers disillusioned with the offerings of the Big Four. Australia’s fifth largest retail institution claims the the new mobile-centric service, now in beta, will be Australia’s first fully licenced “all-in-app” mobile banking platform. It will come with native phone payment and mobile wallet functionality in what is essentially a plastic-free play. Global payments scheme mastercard has come along for the ride and gets to bolt its mobile debit […]
Open data revolution ramping up: What fintechs need to know
By Steve Philpotts, General Manager – Data Quality and Targeting, A/NZ at Experian In case anyone thought the open data revolution was settling down, last month’s advances have proved that we’re only just getting started. The government set new deadlines for Australia’s Open Banking regime, set aside millions in the budget for funding broader ‘Consumer Data Right’ measures, and announced that they will hire a National Data Commissioner. All this occurred in the shadow of data security concerns, and debates around the nuances of comprehensive credit reporting. Understandably, many financial services organisations have been left wondering how they can keep pace. As regulators across Australia are increasingly looking to […]
