Why this un-banked Kiwi crypto startup has relocated to Sydney
Kiwi cryptocurrency broker startup Cryptosaver has relocated from its Auckland birthplace to Sydney, with the founders claiming they have been unable to open a bank account for the business in New Zealand. Founded a year ago by James Viggiano, Denym Bird and Jack Daffron, Cryptosaver is an investment platform for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, designed to make it easy for users to purchase cryptocurrency and track gains on their investments. Co-founder James Viggiano, who is now based in Sydney while his co-founders work out of Auckland, tells StartupSmart the startup was initially able to open an account with one of the New Zealand banks, but that bank soon closed their account. […]
Wisr launches Australia’s first credit score comparison service – WisrCredit
Wisr (ASX: WZR), Australia’s first neo-lender, today announced it has launched the country’s first credit score comparison engine, WisrCredit. WisrCredit.com.au will be the first site in Australia that allows customers to compare credit scores and information from major credit agencies and other sources. According to IBIS World the Australian credit reporting industry is worth $1.1 billion and growing at more than 7.5% each year. Wisr research suggests more than 23% of Australians have checked their credit score in the past months[1]. Anthony Nantes, Chief Executive Officer Wisr said WisrCredit would be an important part of the company’s growth strategy. “As part of our commitment to financial wellness, we want to provide transparency into […]
Research reveals most Australians have accepted they are powerless to prevent cyberfraud
Most Aussies believe they will have their personal financial information stolen online, but many have accepted it as ‘normal’, a study revealed. Three quarters of Australians are worried they can’t protect their personal and financial information from cyberfraud, while 87 per cent now accept that data breaches and hacks are the new normal, new research has found. The Mastercard survey of 1010 Australian adults also revealed more than two-thirds of respondents did not feel in control of their online security. Mastercard spokesman Matt Barr said it was important people knew how to protect themselves. “When it comes to buying goods or services via social media, customers can take some small, […]
Zip targeting $1b of sales and 1m customers
More than half a billion dollars of sales went through credit card disrupter Zip Co’s payment system over the latest financial year, more than twice the volume of the previous year but only a quarter of that spent on competitor Afterpay. But as the popularity of “buy now, pay later” offerings continues to surge among Millennial shoppers, Zip – of which Westpac Banking Corp owns 17 per cent – is targeting $1 billion of sales over the coming year. “We are only just beginning and are well positioned for a bumper 2019 financial year,” said CEO Larry Diamond. Zip announced a $1.2 million loss at the cash earnings level for […]
Strip banks, credit cards of digital payment powers: Productivity Commission report
Australia’s biggest banks and global payments schemes must have self-regulatory powers covering digital payments and infrastructure access forcibly removed to dismantle a harmful oligopoly. That’s the radical call from the Productivity Commission’s inquiry report into Competition in the Australian Financial System. Released Friday, the in-your-face tome has left institutions and regulators reeling from the depth of criticism levelled at them. Describing Australia as having “an oligopolistic banking system” it’s a blueprint for an earthquake rather than a shake-up. $1.0 trillion restructure If implemented, the reforms would drastically restructure how payment flows of $1.0 trillion – yes trillion – would be regulated. It would also redefine the landscape for how tens […]
Blockchain, chatbots, and AI could reinvent corporate finance
Over the next several years, CFOs and their finance organizations will be able to tap three key technologies to make their business processes better, faster and less expensive. Traditionally siloed and manual corporate finance operations are beginning to test – and in some cases adopt – three still evolving technologies that can offer a single view of corporate data in near real time while also automating arduous business processes. Blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbot technology may not be fully baked yet, but they are already available for proof-of-concept testing and limited production rollouts in enterprise finance departments, according to a new report from Deloitte LLP. The sooner enterprises begin […]
Half of Aussies prefer platforms: Stripe
The use of businesses such as Uber, Deliveroo and Vinomofo has reached a tipping point, with a new study revealing 50 per cent of Australians already prefer to use these online marketplaces versus traditional businesses like taxis, restaurants or retailers. The study conducted by Nielsen across nine countries, which was commissioned by payments technology business Stripe, revealed that Australia was significantly ahead of markets such as the US and the UK when it comes to the uptake of marketplaces, but trailed Singapore, where 73 per cent of respondents said they preferred using marketplaces. The Stripe head of growth of Australia and New Zealand, Mac Wang, told The Australian Financial Review […]
Woolworths and Coles embracing digital wallets
Grocery retailers Woolworths and Coles are moving quickly to embrace digital payments as shoppers increasingly shop with their mobile phones and leave their wallets at home. After reaching agreement with Apple last September to store Woolworths Rewards loyalty card details on Apple’s digital wallet app, Woolworths has now extended the service to Google Pay. Android users can earn Woolworths Rewards points in Woolworths supermarkets and BWS liquor stores by tapping their smartphones. Woolworths said the move, a first in Australian supermarkets, would give more of its 11 million loyalty scheme members a simple and secure way to earn and redeem loyalty points in-store. Once rewards details are loaded, customers can […]
