Trust deficit means fintechs will fly
Leading fintech founders believe the fallout from The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry is a great opportunity for them to wrest market share from the major banks. They believe their existing focus on customers is a serious competitive advantage they can exploit as mainstream financial services businesses reposition their operations subsequent to the release of the final report last week. Jason Wilby, director of insurtech Huddle Insurance, says for too long, there has been an imbalance of power in the financial services sector. “Now is the time for new and emerging fintechs to flip the financial services industry on its head, for the […]
Finnie Awards move to Melbourne
Australia’s only industry-backed fintech awards, the Finnies, is introducing new awards to highlight collaboration in fintech and is shifting this year’s awards from Sydney to Melbourne The annual awards give over 100 fintech startups the opportunity to be recognised by their peers for their work and innovation. A total of 19 awards will be on offer including with several key awards returning. These include: FinTech Organisation of the Year, Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year, Female FinTech Leader of the Year, Emerging FinTech Leader of the Year and Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year. Several new awards are being introduced to highlight collaboration, including: Deal of the year, Partnership of […]
Bank sector transformation will come with open banking, competition: Xinja
Australian neobank Xinja said transformation of the financial services sector, described by Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne as often driven by greed, will only happen when consumers have clear choice, and can move easily and quickly between banks and other providers within the banking sector. The final report from the financial services Royal Commission paints a damning picture of the culture that drives Australia’s banks, with Commissioner Hayne imploring those who run Australia’s biggest and most profitable financial institutions to ‘obey the law’, ‘act fairly’ and offer services that are ‘fit for purpose’. “The reality is, the reason we’ve reached this low is that the sector has been controlled by a […]
Australia prepares payments for digital age
The Australian Payments Council (APC) is inviting businesses, NGOs, government and consumers to comment on what’s needed to support payments in the digital economy of the future. Chairman of the APC Robert Milliner says: “We are renewing our strategic vision for the payments system and are looking for views on how we can collaborate to navigate the rapidly changing landscape.” With this mind it has today (22 January) launched a consultation paper – “2019 Consultation – Payments in a Global, Digital World” – as it seeks to make this a reality Down Under. To give you some background, in 2015, the APC consulted across the country to develop the Australian […]
Australia’s first academy launches for businesses wanting to ride crowdfunding wave in 2019
Australian businesses will learn how to become crowdfunding champions – thereby helping to avoid an emerging ‘credit crunch’ – as part of a government-supported private academy to be addressed by two international experts. Sydney-based ReadyFundGo has launched a crowdfunding academy – which is the first of its type in the country – to operate across Australia during early February. The academy has received funding from the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme. The academy launch comes amid evidence that 2019 will be a turning point for the business crowdfunding sector, thanks to new regulatory changes, credit shortages and rising interest in the fundraising option. In October last year, the Australian Government commenced […]
Long-dormant Bitcoin whales resuming activity could rock price action, analysts say
The number of active Bitcoin (BTC) wallets, many of which have long been dormant, has seen an uptick that could herald some major market movements, Bloomberg reports Jan. 11. Bloomberg bases its report on data and analysis from crypto analytics startup Flipside Crypto, which sealed the backing of major crypto exchange Coinbase and veteran crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) back in November. According to Flipside, as of Oct. 2018, a high number of long-inactive Bitcoin holders — defined as those that haven’t transferred their Bitcoin for between six and thirty months — have begun to transfer their coins, resulting in wallets active over the past month now […]
Banks will assess loans using real spending data: Basiq
A start-up backed by Westpac and National Australia Bank has developed software to read bank account data and automate the loan assessment process for banks, allowing them to base lending decisions on actual customer spending rather than relying on estimates and indexes. Basiq’s system is being used by Regional Australia Bank, whose chief risk officer Campbell Nicoll says asking customers to estimate spending in various categories during an application process no longer cuts it. “People have just been guessing their expenses,” he said. “But Basiq plugs into our bank, extracts two years of transaction data, categorises it – and that and gives us the true picture on expenses.” The Australian […]
Priviti is a finalist in Westpac’s Innovation Challenge as Australia prepares for data privacy legislation
Selected as one of five finalists, Priviti’s patented consent management solution gives users greater control over how their data is shared and mitigates companies’ compliance and reputational risk amid growing data privacy concerns. Australian bank Westpac has announced that Priviti is one of five finalists for its 2018 Innovation Challenge, an initiative that gives startups the opportunity to pitch their ideas to help businesses meet their regulatory obligations and drive game-changing enhancements to customer experience. As Australia prepares for Open Banking standards and the Consumer Data Right, this year’s Challenge features RegTech solutions addressing topical issues including responding to regulatory change, ensuring customer privacy and consent, and product management. The […]
