Square’s Jack Dorsey muscles in where banks have failed to serve
Billionaire Square co-founder Jack Dorsey says big banks have allowed his payments disrupter to muscle in on their territory by breaking the trust of customers and serving small business borrowers poorly, or not at all. Mr Dorsey, who also co-founded social media platform Twitter, said a long history of corruption had tarnished the reputation of the financial services sector, but with Square he hoped to restore trust in the industry. “The banking industry was invented in the 1600s in Florence and there has been corruption ever since,” Mr Dorsey said while in Melbourne for the second anniversary of Square’s local launch. “It’s not something that’s new to a particular country, […]
MYOB predicts a future without cash to end Black Economy
MYOB, a leading provider of business management solutions in Australia, has praised the Black Economy Taskforce in their findings to combat the black economy. “MYOB welcomes the recommendations outlined in the Government’s Black Economy Taskforce report. It’s great to see these recommendations leverage some of the good Government policy work already in place. One of the ways to tackle the black economy is to further promote a cashless economy, something we know Australian businesses on the whole are eager to embrace,” said MYOB CEO Tim Reed. Federal Budget supports Black Economy Taskforce findings by ending large cash payments The Black Economy Taskforce released the findings from its recent report in […]
Top-20 banks should be investing in disruptors, says Reinventure co-founder Simon Cant
As Reinventure announces its third $50 million fintech investment fund, co-founder and managing director Simon Cant says its important for big banks to invest in the very startups that are disrupting their industry. The latest fund brings the Westpac-backed VC firm’s total funds under management to $150 million, and follows two previous funds, which have invested in 20 startups. Cant tells StartupSmart that, under its independent venture capital structure, Reinventure is focused on ensuring “our interests are financially aligned with those of the entrepreneur”. Specifically, this third fund will be looking for startups that could be relevant to top-20 banks and their global operations. While Cant says Reinventure will still […]
Open banking already changing the UK market
The launch of “open banking” in Britain earlier this year is prompting the incumbent banks to develop new smartphone apps that give customers a holistic view of their finances. But they face newfound competition from fintechs, telcos and e-commerce giants who see the data-sharing regime as a way of becoming dominant financial services providers in the digital economy. That’s the assessment of the head of Britain’s Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), Imran Gulamhuseinwala, who predicts the regime will result in fintechs flourishing and force a fundamental shift in the incumbents’ retail banking strategies. Treasurer Scott Morrison said last week a similar open banking regime in Australia would be switched on […]
Raiz Invest to list on ASX with a $120m valuation
Raiz Invest, the micro-investment fintech, has lodged a prospectus with the corporate regulator for a June float in a deal that will value the start-up at around $120 million. As flagged by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column last week, the initial public offering for Raiz, formerly known as Acorns Grow Australia, will raise just over $15 million. The shares, which have an offer price of $1.80, are due to begin trading on the ASX on June 21. The offer has been fully underwritten by Bell Potter and is understood to be two times oversubscribed with strong support from institutions in Hong Kong. Raiz has plans to expand in […]
DTA to explore blockchain for government payments
The government has ringfenced $700,000 of the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) budget to explore the use of blockchain for ‘government payments’. The DTA – formerly known as the Digital Transformation Office – will “investigate areas where blockchain technology could offer the most value for Government services” the Treasury stated in its Budget papers. “The cost of this measure will be met from within the existing resources of the Digital Transformation Agency,” Budget documents say. Last year, CSIRO’s Data61 group released two reports on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. “Blockchains transactions can support services for payments, escrow, notarisation, voting, registration, and process coordination. These are key in the operation of government […]
Westpac says fintech partnerships paying off
Westpac’s $100 million investment in the Reinventure venture capital fund is paying off for the bank, according to group CEO Brian Hartzer. Reinventure has made 20 investments in areas including distributed ledger technology, payments, data analytics, digital currencies, social networking and P2P lending. Those investments are increasingly a strategic asset for Westpac, Hartzer told a briefing on the bank’s first half results. “These investments have helped build Westpac’s reputation as a good partner for fintech companies and this is now paying off in our core business,” the CEO said. He cited as an example the launch in April of Presto Smart, which integrates point-of-sale systems with merchant payment terminals. “Presto […]
Suncorp launches Apple Pay for Visa debit cards
Suncorp customers now have the choice of Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay to tap and go. If you have a Suncorp debit card, you can now use your Apple device to tap and pay at the checkout thanks to a new partnership with Apple Pay. Once you’ve linked your card, you can hold your iPhone or smartwatch against the contactless card reader at the checkout and use your biometric Touch ID (your fingerprint) or PIN to authorise a transaction. Each transaction is also authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is built into your Apple Wallet on your device, so you just need to add […]
