ANZ boss Shayne Elliott hot for start-up investments as it partners with Honcho
ANZ Banking Group has partnered with Sydney-based Honcho to fast-track customer small business registrations, as new boss Shayne Elliott drives the bank to work more closely with technology start-ups. ANZ’s managing director of corporate and commercial banking, Mark Hand, says ANZ is open to investing equity into fintech start-ups. It could establish a referral relationship with an online business lender, similar to the arrangement Westpac has with Prospa and Commonwealth Bank of Australia has with OnDeck. After Mr Elliott said he wanted his legacy to be defined by digital banking and criticised ANZ’s siloed approach to technological innovation in an interview with BOSS magazine earlier this month, Mr Hand said […]
PromisePay’s a disruptive influence that has learned well
As some of the heat recedes from the bubbly global fintech sector, Melbourne-based payments disrupter PromisePay is among a select group of local start-ups with a rapidly deepening revenue stream, serious global prospects and an embarrassment of funding options. Sometime this year, PromisePay will start taking bids for a second round of funding. One of founder chief executive Simon Lee’s problems is that he can’t accommodate everyone who wants to clamber aboard the PromisePay bandwagon, which is why a $10 million cash-grab is likely to be upgraded to $30m-$40m. That way, PromisePay can flaunt its balance sheet to customers generally concerned about trust and stability, and lock in adequate funding […]
Reserve Bank says Australian dollars could come in digital form in future
Death of the cheque and the rise of Bitcoin? FinTech is certainly gaining momentum in Australia with the RBA hinting at digital dollars, or a form of Bitcoin, in the future is quite a possibility. It is entirely possible that Australian dollars will come in digital form in the future, breaking the link entirely between material notes and coins, the Reserve Bank says. In a speech where he also flagged the end of the cheque, Mr Richards said the RBA had been watching the growth in demand for privately-established virtual currencies like Bitcoin, and believed there was a place for a central-bank-issued digital currency in Australia. It thinks digital […]
How fintech is helping peer-to-peer lending disrupt the Big Four
When talking about fintech, the word disruptive is thrown around a lot. However, the two terms don’t go hand in hand. A company can create fintech without being disruptive, and a company can have disruptive ideas without the technology to back it. What makes a disruptive company? Is it simply operating in a technological industry? Is it being part of a business that produces an innovative product? Or is is something else? Looking at peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, it’s tempting to consider the entire industry as “disruptive”. Peer-to-peer lenders link individuals willing to lend money with people seeking finance, using online platforms to create connections that would never exist […]
Samsung Pay goes with Amex first
The race for digital wallets is heating up in Australia and it’s great to have giants like Apple and Samsung battling it out. This can only mean one thing – great results and products for consumers! Samsung has confirmed it will join the re-boot of the digital wallet race in Australia in 2016, becoming the fourth country to get Samsung Pay after South Korea, the US and China.Like Apple Pay, Samsung will be going with American Express first and add other cards later. American Express payments have been available on Apple Pay since November. Bank issued Visa and MasterCard will initially only work on Android Pay, which is understood to […]
Why fintech’s herbivores are eating with banks
FinTech Herbivores & Carnivores – a great analogy for those wanting to disrupt and those wanting to co-exist in the financial sector. At FinovateEurope, a start-up pitchfest held in the Old Billingsgate Market Hall on the River Thames in London the week before last, new nomenclature emerged to describe the evolution of fintech disruption. Some of the 70 start-ups in attendance were classified as “carnivores” – disrupters wanting to kill traditional banks. But others were not seeking to attack. They were the “herbivores”. This fintech posse want to work with incumbents, who can provide real-world problems and customers to help the start-ups scale up. Ian Pollari, KPMG’s global co-head […]
Macquarie takes stake in fintech minnow
It’s a positive sign to see Macquarie Group investing more in the Australian FinTech sector. They seem to be getting very active very quickly. It will be interesting to see which of the other big banks will follow suit… Macquarie Group has waded deeper into the fintech sector with an equity agreement with listed marketplace lender DirectMoney to assist in the development of what the minnow claimed would be a new securitisation funding market. In a boost after a bumpy listing in July, DirectMoney yesterday said it had sold $5 million of personal loans to Macquarie and secured the investment bank as an adviser to assist access to funding, […]
Westpac looks to blockchain, robots and drones in fight for the future
“Blockchain is a technology that is clearly disruptive, but what it will be we don’t know. We do know that $970 million has been spent on blockchain by fintechs,” Curran said. Right now he likens blockchain to Napster – pioneering technology – not necessarily the end point. The tech expo and board update is part of Curran’s bid to ensure he and his team are recognised by the bank as “game-changing technologists”. But it’s not all toys and what-ifs. Tess (Test Enabling Super Simulator) developed in association with tech firm Infosys, is testing new systems and updates – making sure human interfaces such as ATMs, keyboards, note counters and the […]
