Unique marketplace driving alternative finance
The fourth annual AltFi Australasia Summit is approaching, with alternative finance leaders convening to discuss the future of the industry on 15 April. “Alternative lenders are currently facing a unique convergence of market happenings: reduced trust in traditional lenders, the upcoming shift to open banking, and the impending introduction of comprehensive credit reporting,” said the global CEO of alternative lender OnDeck, Noah Breslow. The 2018 Deloitte Trust Index for Banking revealed that less than half of Australians trust that their personal bank will keep its promises, and only 36% feel that their bank has their best interests at heart. According to Breslow, “This has created an opportunity to capture an […]
Fintech Start-Ups invited to apply to Accenture 2019 FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific
To be eligible for the Accenture 2019 FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, startups must have a working version of their technology/solution for financial institutions Applications are now being accepted for Accenture’s annual FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, a 12-week program that helps early- and growth-stage fintech companies accelerate product and business development through mentorship with executives from top financial institutions. Fintech entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge products, services and technologies are invited to apply now until May 10. The sixth year of the Lab comes after global fintech investments more than doubled in 2018, to US$55.3 billion, led by a surge in funding to start-ups in mainland China, as well as by record fintech […]
Asia Pacific look towards embracing technologies to advance their digital transformation strategy: F5 Networks survey
Asia Pacific organisations are keenly taking advantage of embracing emerging technologies to accelerate their digital transformation projects. F5 Networks’ (NASDAQ: FFIV) latest 2019 State of Application Services report revealed that 41 percent of Asia Pacific organisations are employing containers, and taking advantage of agile development methodologies to deliver applications smarter and faster. While such shifts present new opportunities for automation and agility, complexity levels also arise; leaving organisations with additional challenges such as enforcing consistent security and optimising reliable performance standards. “As Asia Pacific businesses look to further advance their ongoing digital transformation initiatives, the ability to modernise its application portfolio and infrastructure is taking center stage,” said Adam Judd, Senior […]
Future of advice: boutiques for some, robo-plans for the rest
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer says the growing cost of providing personal financial advice, including sky-rocketing regulatory costs, is creating a bifurcated financial advice market, with specialist boutiques serving customers willing to pay more for bespoke plans, while banks – sensitive about their reputations following the Hayne inquiry – shift to an automated model supplying general advice to the masses. After Westpac announced it would no longer provide personal advice, leading wealth advisers also said the traditional model of major banks seeking to provide cheap, personalised advice funded by cross-selling products was now dead, following the royal commission, and agreed “robo advice” would emerge as the way of delivering financial […]
Super funds look to AI to improve member engagement
Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google are driving members’ expectations of customer experiences which presents a major headache for superannuation funds. Georgie Obst, HESTA’s general manager – campaigns and customer growth – told CFSM delegates on Friday that funds need to do whatever they can to exploit new technologies to help cement their position as their members’ most trusted financial services brand. “That’s a very good role for the super funds to play particularly in the current environment,” she says, What’s shifting she went on to say is that members now expect funds to leverage personal data to the members advantage. Mario Garrido, head of brand behaviour change […]
Binance will let you buy Bitcoin with cash from 1,300 stores in Australia
Binance says cryptocurrency fans in Australia will soon be able to purchase Bitcoin from over 1,300 supported Newsagents across the country. The new service, “Binance Lite,” marks the first time the Malta-based exchange has managed to open a fiat gateway in Australia. While it will only support buying Bitcoin at launch, press materials say more digital currency and fiat options will be added in the future. “Binance Lite Australia further expands digital currency adoption by providing easier ways to buy [Bitcoin],” said Wei Zhou, Binance CFO. “Australia has been at the forefront of blockchain innovation, and we hope Binance Lite Australia can play a role to help further this cause.” Once users […]
Australian financial instos show support for blockchain
The Australian financial services industry may have seen a shift in sentiment towards blockchain, with major financial institutions supporting BC Gateways’ new blockchain platform, The Gateway. The platform, which is designed for the global industry to publish and distribute any type of structured data, conducted a pilot in Sydney late last year focused purely on distributing pricing data in the Australian wealth management industry, with IRESS, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Perpetual and Equity Trustees among the participants. IRESS chief executive, Andrew Walsh, said it was keen to change the way financial data was delivered, and the multiple connectivity options to the BC Gateway would allow them and other participants to quickly […]
Australian based financial advice technology provider Midwinter Financial Services appoints new CEO
Australian based financial advice technology provider Midwinter Financial Services has today announced the appointment of Jeffrey Hall as Chief Executive Officer off the back of consistent growth. Midwinter has continued to expand rapidly over the past several years, particularly within the enterprise market. As a consequence of this, Midwinter has been actively searching for additional executive presence to complement its existing management team. He joins Midwinter after spending almost 7 years at Ernst & Young as a Director within the wealth and asset management division, as well as spearheading the professional services division at COIN in the early 2000s. Jeffrey Hall is pleased to be joining the independent company, saying […]
