ASIC lays out robo-advice rules for financial services
The corporate watchdog has published its guidelines for financial services companies offering so-called robo-advice in the burgeoning automated advice sector. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has laid out what constitutes personal advice as opposed to general advice to clarify when an Australian financial services (AFS) licence is required by companies providing automated advice using algorithms. Five months after issuing its draft guidelines, ASIC also highlighted the need for rigorous testing of the algorithms used to provide recommendations through a website or app where users seek tailored financial advice. ASIC said that, with only about 20 per cent of adult Australians seeking personal advice, digital advice has the potential to […]
ASX-Listed Australian FinTech company zipMoney – Full Year Results
zipMoney are pleased to announce today their FY16 Annual Results, the first set of accounts as an ASX-listed Company. Some of the key highlights: Transaction volume of $51.5 million, up 962% Loan book (receivables) of $40.7 million, up 1,296% Company revenues of $4.3 million, up 976% More than 50,000 customers and 2,000 merchants Omni-channel strategy delivering volume growth Bad debts of 1.1%, below industry standards FY16 saw a number of very pleasing achievements for the Company. This included strong growth in transaction volume, with more than $50 million processed on the zipMoney payments platform. This was supported by close to 2,000 merchants across their target sectors and a number of […]
Fintech start-up enters third-party channel
A new online mortgage platform has decided to partner with brokers – rather than compete with them — by offering a new digital solution that drives efficiencies in the third-party channel. In the ongoing battle between innovative fintechs and mortgage brokers, Sydney-based start-up LoanFlare has bucked the trend by launching a digital platform to help brokers do the best possible job. LoanFlare provides dynamic home loan rates for consumers to enquire about, empowers clients to enter their application details and provides instant serviceability calculations — all through an engaging website. On the broker side, it also automates workflows and data entry, provides actionable intelligence and minimizes fraud through a comprehensive […]
ANZ Apple Pay users hit 250,000
Around a quarter of a million ANZ Banking Group customers are understood to be using Apple Pay, a number that exceeds the bank’s expectations four months after the service was launched. It’s also a number that’s set to rise, with ANZ to announce on Tuesday that its Mastercard customers are also able to load their credit cards into Apple’s digital wallet. Apple has restricted ANZ’s reporting of the number of cards that have been loaded onto Apple Pay since it jumped ahead of its rivals at the end of April and struck a deal with the tech giant to allow ANZ Visa and American Express cards to be loaded onto […]
The blockchain revolution in banking and trading
A change is coming to financial services that its proponents compare to the introduction of the internet: its effects will be dramatic, but it’s hard to see all its potential yet. The change is the introduction of blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology, which could have broad impacts across banking and trading for both individuals and institutions. For private investors, the technology could allow for cheaper share trading and faster settlement. It could also help provide confidence to market participants in times of stress and allow more issuance of stock, particularly from smaller companies. Blockchain technology is best known for its role underpinning digital currency bitcoin, but its uses are much […]
ANZ Bank ups cloud focus with open networks for fintech collaboration
ANZ Banking Group has upped the ante in its adoption of cloud-based services in order to pursue a more flexible technology strategy, with Netflix-developed software to stop outages and the door left open to collaborate more openly with emerging fintech start-ups. The bank’s general manager of consumer digital technology Christian Venter told The Australian Financial Review it has significantly increased its use of cloud platforms – most notably the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud – to host more dynamic content on its websites and mobile apps, and was designing new systems that would allow access for data sharing with external organisations. The move to open up systems comes amid a […]
Just don’t call us payday lenders
More than 20,000 Australian small business owners have trouble accessing finance (Deloitte Access Economics). Are they denied access because they aren’t good candidates for loans? Yes, in some cases. However, a significant number (37%) of these businesses are denied finance because they don’t have collateral (be it a home or considerable assets) to secure a loan against. Interestingly more than 40 per cent of rejected applications examined by the NSW Business Chamber were for amounts less than $100,000 – it seems traditional providers aren’t interested in small loans, or small business. Archaic systems and processes which serve the interests of incumbent big business are being dismantled in the current global […]
Fintechs ‘on the front line’ for brokers
A recent meeting has highlighted that when it comes to serving customers in the third-party channel, “there’s a space for everyone”, and that fintechs can act to bolster and expand the businesses of their broker counterparts. The meeting last week was attended by both brokers and fintechs in Sydney and asked the question: “Disintermediation and diversification: what impact will fintech have on finance brokers?” On the night, founder and CEO of uno Vince Turner highlighted that technology has firmly entered it’s “third wave”. “The first wave was simply building the internet. HTML, dial-up, all this kind of stuff in the ‘90s,” Mr Turner explained. “The second wave was building an […]
