Blockchain report: Where are we now, and where are we going?
A report by international law firm Allens investigates the use cases for blockchain and where the technology is now. International law firm Allens, which has offices in Australia and Asia, has released a detailed report investigating the attributes, problems and possible use cases for blockchain. The report’s lead authors say blockchain first got on Allens’ radar in 2012 due to a junior lawyer’s penchant for blockchain, and the fascination stemmed from there. “We’ve seen distributed ledger technology move out of the lab and onto the C-suite agenda of our clients, from startups to multinational giants with centuries of transactions behind them,” they said. While perspectives are many and varied, the […]
ANZ, Wells Fargo test blockchain for cross-border payments
Blockchain technology promises to reduce the time and cost of transferring funds and increase access to liquidity, according to ANZ Banking Group and Wells Fargo. The companies made the comments following the completion of a six-month project that built and tested a distributed ledger for reconciling and settling payments between the two banks. In a recent report on their “proof on concept” the banks said blockchain could “add real value to both the customer experience and the efficiency” of correspondent banking relationships, which refers to deals between global banks over access to local payment systems. “Cross-border payments and correspondent banking are ripe for rejuvenation,” ANZ and Wells Fargo said, pointing […]
Why the parliamentary inquiry was good for fintech
Discussion of data sharing, small business loan rates and investment troubles spell increased opportunities for fintech. The parliamentary inquiry into banks saw CEOs of the Big Four – Westpac, ANZ, NAB and Commonwealth Bank – grilled about a range of issues pertaining to their bank’s conduct. While the line of questioning taken by House of Representative economics committee did not directly relate to fintech, the answers and defences at the four inquiries reveal several interesting points that relate to the fintech sector, for both banks and fintech companies. Data sharing Westpac and NAB were questioned over the sharing of customer data in order to increase competition. This is a key […]
NAB is opening its data vaults for fintechs
NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn says he will support moves to require banks to share customer data, a key requirement for fintechs to compete with the big players. “We welcome competition,” he told the House of Representatives economics committee. “That’s how this bank has survived and competed for 150 years. “And now we’ve got new competition, fintechs that are coming at us and we welcome that too. You have to lift and get better and that’s good for customers.” Thorburn also supports greater account portability, where a customer could more easily move to a new bank without having to change automatic payments. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority […]
UBS invests big in blockchain future
Global investment bank UBS is throwing its resources behind the blockchain’s transformative potential, investigating a range of applications such as smart bonds, cross border payment transactions on the distributed ledger and a digital representation of physical currency. In 2015 the bank opened an innovation lab designed to explore how the blockchain could be used by the financial services sector and how it would disrupt traditional banking models. Now its research will turn into reality. UBS group chief operating officer Axel Lehmann told The Australian Financial Review the blockchain could be “the next internet” in terms of its potential, but there were still questions to be answered. “We don’t want to […]
Australia leads the way in revolutionary blockchain technology
Good news on the #Innovation front! Australia leads the way in developing international standards for blockchain technology. Neil Buckland explains this new technology predicted to revolutionise practically anything! Australia leads the way for incorporated blockchain technology Blockchain technology has been in the news a lot recently. Many industries are even predicting it could be the future for the way in which they operate. Australia has recently received the go-ahead to develop the international standards of the technology; a move which Standards Australia says will create better market confidence and certainty. So what exactly is blockchain technology and how could it aid businesses? Understanding blockchain technology Blockchain technology is most commonly […]
Challenging the big banks
Atlassian’s co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes jokes that he loves the famous quote from Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos: “Your margin is my opportunity.” Bezos has created one of the world’s biggest and most successful retail giants using that approach. Atlassian’s spectacular global growth as a start-up software company from Australia shows that Cannon-Brookes has been able to adopt a similarly disruptive style. But one of Cannon-Brookes’ key targets in terms of taking advantage of margin and opportunity remains Australia’s big banks. It also made him an early supporter of Tyro Payments and now of chief executive Jost Stollman’s determination to challenge the power of the banks with Tyro’s new banking licence. To Cannon-Brookes, […]
New FinTech Uno Home Loans lands a $16.5 million investment from Westpac
New Australian FinTech company ‘Uno’ has landed a $16.5 million investment from Westpac after its success in the digital mortgage service in the past few months. The major bank investment is set to expand the company even further as customers are discovering the benefits of having a greater power in the home loan search process. Chief Strategy Officer at Westpac, Gary Thursby, said “uno’s success has been impressive and we’re seeing its potential to become a serious player in the home loan market”. Westpac has been involved with uno since the concept phase and Mr Thursby is pleased to announce the investment where Westpac will be a strategic investor at […]
