OnDeck launches ‘Turn That No Around’ campaign
Small business loan specialist OnDeck Australia has kicked off a campaign, #turnthatNOaround, targeted at small business owners who are looking to seize growth opportunities, but are unable to do so due to lack of funding from traditional sources. The campaign, which is already running on radio, is scheduled to run across outdoor, social (LinkedIn and Facebook) and digital media to encapsulate an integrated multi-channel outreach. With the #turnthatNOaround campaign, OnDeck aims to reach small business owners who have experienced a “no” from their banks, giving them an opportunity to secure a loan that is much faster than the banks – it takes just one business day. “Small business owners, which […]
UK’s open banking revolution has lessons for Australia
There’s a revolution going on in British banking. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final order on “open banking” in February. The new regime – on track to come into force next year– is set to have a profound impact on the sector in the coming decades and beyond. Banks have been told that information such as transaction and loan repayment data does not belong to them, but their customers. Those who want to use that data to access better financial products or services will be able to do so in a safe and secure manner. Delivery will be via application programming interfaces (APIs), software that allows […]
SETL wants to settle and clear equities in competition with ASX
The ASX is facing competition for clearing and settling equities, with blockchain start-up SETL pledging to build a post-trading system cheaper and to deploy it quicker than the replacement for the existing CHESS infrastructure, which is being developed by the ASX itself and US group Digital Asset Holdings. London-based SETL is raising capital from some Australian brokers and has retained local lawyers to prepare regulatory applications to approve its system. The move comes as the federal government considers whether to remove the ASX’s monopoly over equities settlement and clearing – the vital “pipes” that underpin the operation of Australia’s equity markets – later this year, if regulators can devise a […]
Bitcoin price plunges after SEC rejection
Regulator says no to first ETF to track the digital currency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has denied a request to list what would have been the first US exchange-traded fund built to track Bitcoin, sending the price of the digital currency plunging. Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been trying for more than three years to convince the SEC to let them bring the Bitcoin ETF to market. CBOE’s Bats exchange had applied to list the ETF. In response to the rejection, the digital currency’s price fell as much as 18 percent in trading before rebounding slightly. It last traded down 7.8 percent to US$1098. Bitcoin had scaled […]
Government urged to test blockchain’s potential
Blockchain technology might help prevent a repeat of the Centrelink data-matching disaster, says investment banker turned business professor Christine Helliar. Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but is increasingly viewed as having applications elsewhere in business and government. In simple terms, blockchain is a tamper-proof digital ledger that keeps a continuous record of all transactions that take place. Each transaction is time stamped and stored as part of a detailed history that builds up over time. The information can be shared among a network of computers.Professor Helliar, who works for the University of South Australia, said blockchain could be used to link all tax and welfare payments, reducing the […]
Bitcoin tipped to replace gold as portfolio staple
Digital currency is increasingly being seen as serious asset class, but investors need to get in soon to mine the opportunity, says a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur. Speaking to InvestorDaily from San Francisco, Australian-born entrepreneur Michael Dunworth, CEO of Wyre and a former staffer at Midwinter Financial Services, said professional investors and advisers are waking up to the bitcoin opportunity following strong market performance. “Bank of America, hedge funds and high-net-worth individuals – they’re all getting into digital currencies as part of their diversified portfolio,” Mr Dunworth said. “There’s no getting away from it. It has been one of the best performing assets for the past five years, with no serious […]
Bitcoin rises to record on currency controls
Bitcoin hit an all-time high overnight, according to Bloomberg data, thanks to continued adoption in China and other parts of the world where traditional currencies are tightly controlled. The digital currency, which just turned eight years old, reached $US1140.64, which was higher than the $US1137 it hit in November of 2013. In December, bitcoin also surpassed its previous all-time high in total market capitalisation, which now exceeds $US16.1 billion. The latest increase was driven by capital or currency restrictions in countries ranging from China to India and Venezuela, where people purchased bitcoin to protect their savings, as well as increased adoption by investors. The digital currency beat every other currency, […]
Logging on to the future of financial advice
For hundreds of thousands of investors around the world, the future of financial advice is already here. There is as much as $US300 billion ($392 billion) of funds under the management of robo advisers – computers powered by algorithms that can buy and sell on your behalf – with that figure expected to rise to $US2.2 trillion by 2020. To put that into perspective, these robo advisers could buy every company on the Australian Securities Exchange and still have a trillion dollars left over. While not all robo advisers have the authority to buy and sell, and others are rebadged offerings, the benefits of digitising and automating some of the […]
