Fintech a $US1 trillion fight
Consultants Oliver Wyman has been talking to banking clients all around the world over the past few months about the concept of “modular financial services”. It’s the coverline adorning one of the firm’s latest research pieces on the impact of information technology on the future of banking. Even as the equity prices of US fintech poster children like Lending Club and OnDeck are pummelled as capital markets reassess valuations, incumbent banks around the world show no sign of losing interest in fintech. Indeed, if the interim results of three of Australia’s big four banks last week were any guide, thinking about fintech in the C-suite is only accelerating. The earnings […]
New fintech player CreditSME is helping both banks and borrowers in SME lending space
CreditSME has recently launched in the Australian market and is working with both lenders and borrowers to create a streamlined process for small and medium sized businesses to obtain finance. CreditSME has developed a new credit scoring system for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based on the financial and operating position of the company. This credit score, along with the financing requirements of the company, are then used to match the company to the most suitable financier. “There have been a number of new lenders entering the SME space over recent times which provides more options for borrowers, however it’s important for borrowers to understand what is being offered […]
Globalisation of FinTech: Are we learning from our neighbours?
Most areas in the fintech space are hotly contested. Anyone watching the fintech space can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of perspectives that emerge when a new product is launched, an article is written or a tweet is sent. And that is largely because fintech is global. Fintech companies may operate in their own local markets and compete with, or “disrupt”, local banks, but financial technology as a whole is a global dealing. Any discussion of fintech needs to have this perspective. This is not just a matter of having the correct frame of reference for discussion and debate, it ensures we find the right way to […]
Meet eight fintechs changing financial services
When you have just seven minutes to sell your idea as the next big thing to change banking and investment, every moment counts. Thirty of the country’s best fintechs are pitching to a room full of 160-plus bankers, brokers and venture capitalists at the Grand Hyatt ballroom in Melbourne, where their story, business plan and even looks are all being judged. From payments to wealth management, peer-to-peer lending and crowd funding, fintech start-ups are taking aim at the heart of the financial services industry and a pot of revenues that Goldman Sachs estimates at $4.7 trillion. The banks are all vying for a stake in these disrupters before they join […]
Artificial Intelligence, Algo-Banking, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and Robo-Advice Form Growth of Australian FinTech Market
Fintech is a disrupting force and a decentralising movement in the financial services sector. Fintech’s apply information technologies and modern internet protocols for data exchange, and deliver financial services using data storage, data analysis algorithms, or personal telecommunication devices. Digital ecosystems are fundamental to the success of both Fintech and traditional banks. Frost & Sullivan’s study, Fintech in Australia – Trends, Forecasts and Analysis 2015 – 2020 defines and focuses on the growth and challenges of the Australian Fintech sectors’ three market segments; Digital Payments, Personal and Business Finance, and Financial Infrastructure and Data Analysis. Each segment relies on its own set of digital technologies. Digital Payments Digital Payments are […]
Fintech challenges Veda, Dun & Bradstreet
CreditSME – founded by Adam Welsh, a former M&A and debt at Origin Capital Group and Goldman Sachs – is offering a sort of broker role, giving them a credit rating and then advising them on which lenders would be the best for them – be it traditional bank or online unsecured lenders. CreditSME, launching on Wednesday, is the latest in an explosion of ex investment banker-led fintechs targeting the small businesses traditionally treated with disdain by the banks. But it’s not lending them money, rather it wants to give SMEs (and their lenders) easy access to a credit rating, just like a big business. There are various operators that […]
Identifying customers in the digital era
Digital identity poses an array of challenges for the consumer and the merchant. The push to perform Know Your Customer (KYC) checks online (or 100 point check as it’s known in Australia) has dramatically increased, with AML/CTF obligated merchants seeking to acquire customers remotely, and in most cases seeking to release the tether to bricks and mortar entirely. Austrac defines KYC under the AML/CTF legislation as “documentation which sets out a business’s approach to ensure that it can effectively identify, verify and monitor its customers and the financial transactions in which they engage, relative to the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing”1. Austrac also allows electronic verification, where […]
Blockchain technology to impact financial services sector
Blockchain technology has the potential to improve client’s end-to-end experience but the legal profession must consider its regulation, according to Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers. Nick Abrahams, APAC head of technology and innovation, told those gathered at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Unlocking the Blockchain event last week that “Blockchain will radically impact the financial services sector”. Mr Abrahams – along with Norton Rose Fulbright consultant Tessa Hoser and senior representatives from ASIC, CBA and the ASX – were part of a panel discussion about blockchain technology and regulation at the event. The session focused on the potential applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, and the key legal and regulatory considerations for […]
