Collaboration with industry and regulators key to enhancing RegTech innovation
Industry delegates gathered at a high-level event in Singapore on the 16th of November, calling for financial institutions and regulators to work more collaboratively with start-ups to enhance RegTech innovation across the region. Hosted by Deloitte, Austrade and The RegTech Association, the event was held as part of Singapore’s inaugural FinTech Festival, and was attended by the Australian High Commissioner, the Hon. Bruce Gosper. At the event, industry influencers, government officials, tech start-ups and entrepreneurs came together to discuss strategies for driving cross-industry and cross-border collaboration, and opportunities to safeguard against financial crime with RegTech solutions. Julian Fenwick, Chair of The RegTech Association and Managing Director of GRC Solutions, a […]
Wary banks to enter fintech waters
While larger financial institutions have traditionally stayed out of the fintech space, this could soon change, according to some of Australia’s leading experts. “To date I’ve actually taken the view that I don’t think the banks have really played much in this space because it’s disruptive and it’s easier for them to not necessarily add fuel to the fire or to accelerate that disruption,” said Anthony Millet, CEO of BRICKX, in a panel discussion at the Millennial 20/20 conference in Sydney (14 November). This is now changing with new legislation being introduced in Australia that makes it easier for start-ups to enter the market, he said. “I think we’re going […]
Why Twitter is taking the place of r/Bitcoin and Bitcointalk
Many Bitcoin core developers, business leaders and commentators post more often on Twitter than in crypto-related forums, such as Bitcointalk and the r/bitcoin subreddit. They engage in heated debates on the state of cryptocurrency. See this tweet from Samson Mow, the chief strategy officer at Blockstream, and the conversation that followed it: A check on core developer Peter Todd’s Reddit username discloses that he posts there a few times a week. However, he posts and engages other users on Twitter several times daily. Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer, one of the most known crypto security experts, also posts almost daily on Twitter, but never on Bitcointalk or Reddit. If […]
How consumers can help clean up the alternative lending market
An influx of alternative lenders and a seemingly unbreakable cycle of bad debt for borrowers have given the short-term loan sector a bad reputation. However, consumers have a role to play in helping clean up the industry. The first step – understanding how lenders should be acting. ASIC requires lenders to conduct ‘reasonable inquiries about a consumer’s financial situation.’ This means inquiries must be made about the consumer’s actual situation and, while alternative lenders are known to be more lenient when it comes to bad credit scores and being on Centrelink, they must still gather enough information about circumstances likely to affect a consumer’s ability to repay their loan. Daniel […]
Yield-hungry investors switch their cash to peer-to-peer lenders
Peer-to-peer lender, RateSetter, says 56 per cent of money invested with it is from savers withdrawing their money from their bank savings accounts. Yield-hungry investors are understandably frustrated with earning next-to-nothing on their cash held at their banks, with interest rates at historic lows and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. With the the advent of peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, online platforms that match investors and borrowers, investors can get up to three times the interest paid by term deposits. P2P lenders charge borrowers lower rates of interest than they would pay on bank loans, while lender-investors earn higher interest than they could get with a bank term […]
Sexiest Job of the 21st Century: Data Scientist
Data miner? Web analyst? Information wrangler? Harvard Business Review[1] labelled it the “sexiest job of the 21st Century” and the opportunities are exploding and salaries rocketing for astute professionals choosing “data science” as their career. As industries and governments worldwide race into the era of Big Data, James Cook University (JCU) is giving its students a head start with a fast, fully online and keenly priced Master of Data Science that offers students a potentially rapid return on their investment. Graduates will enjoy up-to-the-minute skills in the scientific methods, systems and processes used to unlock the secrets hidden in data. This ability to deliver insights and solutions by analysing data will give graduates an edge […]
PledgeMe joins Equitise in eyeing Australian market
PledgeMe, the equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platform, has joined rival Equitise in signalling plans to enter the Australian market ahead of a law change coming into effect across the Tasman this month. Co-founder Anna Guenther will relocate to Brisbane for six months to establish the Wellington-based company’s Australian arm, according to a PledgeMe blog post. PledgeMe will participate in the Queensland government’s HotDesQ programme, which provides networks, support, and funding for companies to relocate to the state. “There are over 2.1 million SME’s in Australia (compared to just under 500,000 here in New Zealand), so the opportunity is pretty clear,” she says. The Australian Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Act […]
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