The Pulse of Fintech
‘ The Pulse of Fintech ’ is a quarterly report created by KPMG along with KPMG Enterprise’s Global Network for Innovative Startups and CB Insights (the ‘go to’ name for insights related to venture capital investment) which launched on August 17th, 2016. The series analyses the latest global trends in venture capital investment data on the fintech sector. Given the significant interest in fintech globally, and its ongoing evolution in terms of market drivers, technologies and potential use-cases, KPMG and CB Insights are partnering to bring you the pulse on fintech investment globally. Each quarter, we’ll highlight key fintech deals, issues and challenges around the world, in addition to key […]
Blockchain prototype gives ASX confidence
Market operator ASX says its successful blockchain prototype has given it the confidence that it can develop a system that could eventually replace the trading platform that underpins the $2 trillion Australian market. While chief executive Dominic Stevens cautioned that he could only give a “two week view” having been appointed on August 1, the trials run on the prototype suggested that it could eventually handle the required volumes and make the market more efficient for regulators, ASX customers and other stakeholders. Further development will occur over the next 18 months with Digital Asset Holdings, the blockchain start-up run by former JPMorgan executive Blythe Masters. ASX owns 8.5 per cent […]
Apple Pay: Banks ask for help from ACCC in fight over digital payments
The big four banks are used to being the big guys in town, but Apple is bigger than all of them combined. Apple has made its name and fortune on a closed system and Apple Pay, a mobile payment service and digital wallet, is another platform that does not connect with the systems of other providers. That has become the sticking point with the banks, which have been developing their own ‘e-wallet’ offerings that Apple is refusing to accept. “This is what they’re concerned about. It’s not really about consumer choice. It’s about maintaining their monopoly position on these interchange fees and maintaining control of their consumers,” said Dr David […]
Perth firm claims to have created first Australian blockchain
Perth company Ledger Assets says it has created the first Australian blockchain and slashed the amount of energy used by the revolutionary technology. Blockchain technology underpins the bitcoin virtual currency and a worldwide race is on to find other uses in areas from stock exchange settlements and financial transactions to medical records and art, energy and wine trading. Ledger Assets’ blockchain is already supporting another Perth startup – Power Ledger – which is trialling peer-to-peer trading of surplus household solar power which has the potential to further disrupt the centralised power grid. Ledger Assets is also exploring further opportunities in the arts, medical records and insurance sectors using its pioneering […]
Barry Lambert backs robo-adviser Ignition Wealth
Financial planning pioneer and Australia’s 167th richest person Barry Lambert has taken another leap into the future, pairing his chairmanship of cloud-based self-managed super administrator Class with a $1 million stake in digitally led adviser Ignition Wealth. Class, which Lambert has chaired for eight years, on Tuesday announced a 71 per cent rise in net profit for the year ended June 30 to $5.83 million. Its Class Super product now administers more than 19 per cent of Australia’s 576,000 self-managed super funds. Ignition Wealth, launched in 2008 as a pure robo-adviser called Advice Connect, is also gaining traction since in February 2015 becoming the first digitally led adviser to be […]
SocietyOne’s Jason Yetton backs Maile Carnegie on fintech disruption threat
The former head of Westpac’s retail bank Jason Yetton has backed the call by ANZ’s new head of digital banking Maile Carnegie, who says that big banks will have to lift the pace of innovation in order to fend off disruption from fintech companies seeking a slice of their billions of dollars of profits. In his first speech as chief executive of peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne five months into the job, Mr Yetton said that UBS’s recent forecast of growth in P2P lending activity over the next 12 months of between 47 per cent and 150 per cent was an “increasing possibility” given recent market traction. Australian banks would be disrupted […]
6 enterprise technologies that may affect your business this year
We’re just over halfway through 2016, and it’s already proven to be a turbulent year in the realm of technology. We’re seeing more and more intersection between technology and other economic and industrial forces. Whether it’s Apple’s refusal to unlock the iPhone for the FBI or the upcoming presidential election adding uncertainty to the future of Biotech stocks, technology is practically inextricable from the other major factors that keep our world going. These turbulent shifts in tech are catching the attention of huge enterprises, as new products have led to innovative practices in consumer tech, manufacturing, and even politics. There’s still half of 2016 left to go, and these next […]
digi.cash launches digital Australian dollar
digi.cash, a spin-off company of the Capital Markets CRC, today officially launched the digital Australian dollar. The electronic version of the currency is digitally ‘minted’ as electronically signed coins and banknotes. These can be held on smartphones, computers or storage media. Just like cash, online users can transfer coins and notes between each other via free, instant transactions. The encryption technology used means that the electronic banknotes can securely circulate over public communication networks, without the risk of theft or counterfeiting. Digi.cash founder Andreas Furche, along with Chairman David Skellern and Director Peter Clare, said the launch represented a fulcrum moment for Australian FinTech. “Unlike other digital money products, digi.cash […]
