Ahmed Fahour joins BCG Digital Ventures to stay in identity game
Ahmed Fahour, who has joined BCG Digital Ventures as non-executive chairman for Asia, said the future of e-commerce will rely on trusted digital identity and his new role advising the global venture capitalist, part of Boston Consulting Group, will place him at the forefront of blockchain being rolled into some of the world’s largest companies. After leaving Australia Post as its CEO on Friday, Mr Fahour has re-emerged at BCG, where he worked for 13 years before embarking on a banking career; the new role would take up a couple of days a month, he said, as he “works on the organisation, not in it”. BCG Digital Ventures worked with […]
ATO recognises fintech start-up Gobbill as Early Stage Innovation Company
The Australian Taxation Office has ruled that technology start-up company Gobbill satisfies the requirements to be an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC). Gobbill is a new digital service to automate and centralise all bill payments, giving users a streamlined solution offering greater security and increased control of their finances. The start-up is sponsored by Microsoft’s BizSpark program and is also a partner of Stay Safe Online, a Commonwealth initiative to protect Australians from cyber related crimes. New users can sign up for a free account at gobbill.com.au The ATO ruling states, “Gobbill’s email bill innovation is the first holistic product that provides end-to-end processing using a digital service platform that […]
How ASIC and the Australian government can kindle the fintech boom
Australia is beginning to enjoy the benefits of a fintech boom, but for this emerging industry to grow properly it needs infrastructure support. Without it, we’re at risk of seeing Aussie fintechs left behind as overseas players dominate the Australian and Asian landscape. There have been some welcome initiatives recently, like ASIC introducing a regulatory sandbox for start-ups to trial new ideas. But compared to other governments around the world, Australia doesn’t have the political support to turn this industry into a powerhouse. That’s a huge missed opportunity. Research from Frost & Sullivan predicts the Australian fintech market will add $1 billion in value by 2020. Missing out on this […]
XERO CEO: London’s fintech scene is ‘world class’ and will stay that way post-Brexit
The CEO of £1.4 billion accountancy software giant Xero says London is a world leader in fintech — financial technology — and will remain that way post-Brexit. Rod Drury, founder and CEO of Xero, told Business Insider during a recent interview in London: “We love the fintech innovation happening in London, it’s absolutely world-class. When you see the apps that are being built here, they will go global. We’re really impressed by the quality of the finch thinking that goes on here.” London has become a European hub for financial technology — fintech — companies since the 2008 financial crisis. London boasts both a global finance hub in the City […]
Blockchain is here to stay
Blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin, is the talk of the town at the moment. The financial services industry can’t get enough of it. The enthusiasm essentially boils down to the technology’s potential to reduce the financial transaction costs while ensuring robust security. While Bitcoin is unlikely to be make traditional currency extinct, blockchain has provided the impetus needed for new and innovative research into how the slow and often expensive centralised financial transaction systems that dominate banking, so what is this blockchain? Put simply, blockchain is a data structure that can be used to create digital ledgers of transactions shared among a distributed network of participating organisations. Financial institutions […]
The 2024 Finnies winners have been announced
The Finnies winners were selected out of 322 entries across 19 categories, and faced a rigorous two-round judging process.
The Finalists of the 2024 Finnies awards have been announced
The finalists for Australia’s 2024 Finnies fintech business awards have been announced.
