WorldRemit chooses Australia to springboard growth in Asia-Pacific
Global leader in Mobile Money transfers appoints Michael Liu to drive growth in region. Mobile Money transfer service WorldRemit – the UK’s fastest-growing technology firm1 – has chosen Australia as its base in Asia-Pacific. One of Europe’s biggest FinTech services, the WorldRemit app, lets migrants send money instantly to their friends and family abroad in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. WorldRemit is the leading sender of remittances globally to Mobile Money services, which have emerged as the payment system of choice in many developing countries where large numbers of people lack access to traditional banking services. With Mobile Money, people can instantly receive money transfers on their phones […]
Poking holes in the “fintech bubble”
Commentary on the “fintech bubble” started as early as mid-2014. As it continued, fintech has been gaining momentum, and more and more, traditional banks and financial companies are reconsidering the strength of their market position. Innovation has spread to payments, lending and currency, from companies such as Tyro, SocietyOne and OnDeck. But instead of focusing on this, the question still being asked is: how long could these “unicorn” companies can continue? The fintech bubble was named after the dotcom bubble of the early 90s, which burst spectacularly in March 2000. In the late 1990s Internet companies had expanded, with online retailers such as Pets.com and Webvan driven forward by low […]
Australian Startup Rewards Customers Paying Bills with Bitcoin
An Australian startup that acts as an intermediary to enable Australians to pay their bills with Bitcoin is now rewarding customers with a first-of-its-kind loyalty program. Living Room of Satoshi, aptly named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto is an Australian blockchain-based payments company that enables its users to settle their bills with bitcoin. Customers can use bitcoin to pay for utilities, home and property rent, school fees, credit card payments and insurance premiums. Now, the payments company has announced a loyalty program which will reap rewards for Australians who choose to make their payments in bitcoin. The rewards include the likes of Apple TVs, PlayStation 4 consoles, Fitbit wristbands […]
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 […]
ANZ Bank joins tech giants creating blockchain ‘Hyperledger’
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has joined a slew of tech giants and financial institutions banding together to explore how blockchain technology may further their businesses and potentially replace the dated international money transfer system. Lead by not-for-profit organisation The Linux Foundation, ANZ will join the likes of IBM, Intel, the London Stock Exchange, State Street, Wells Fargo, Cisco, CLS, Digital Asset, Fujitsu, IC3, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, SWIFT and VMware, in a project is called “Hyperledger”. In the project the firms in the group will each offer intellectual property and resources to develop their own “blockchain”. The blockchain is a decentralised database of transactions of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, […]
OzForex co-founder’s big winner from Western Union bid
OzForex co-founder Matthew Gilmour expects other bidders to emerge for the company after global payments giant Western Union made a stunning $888 million takeover offer bid for the company. As revealed by Street Talk Online on Wednesday, Western Union has offered to buy the online foreign exchange company for as much as $3.70 a share, which is up to $1.10 above its Wednesday closing share price of $2.60 and its average over the past six months of $2.47. Mr Gilmour stands to reap more than $34 million if Western Union buys it at the top of its offer range of $3.70 a share, which values the company at $888 million.OzForex […]
Western Union bids up to $888m for OzForex
Global payments giant Western Union has offered to buy online foreign exchange company OzForex Group for as much as $3.70 a share, implying a value of about $888 million, as revealed by Street Talk on Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company is taking its counsel from Gresham Partners. The offer is up to $1.10 above its Wednesday closing share price of $2.60 and its average over the past six months of $2.47. OzForex’s shares have climbed 28 per cent since touching a 52-week low of $2.03 on July 16. The proposed takeover price compares with the $480 million the company was valued two years ago when its shares first […]
Banks V Bitcoin
Michael Pascoe raises some interesting ideas in this short segment about why the banks are interested in ensuring they don’t do business with those that are involved in legal bitcoin businesses but turn a blind eye towards better known ‘shonks’ using their services. What are your thoughts on the banks using these tactics and do you agree that APRA and the Reserve Bank should start to review this practice?
