Greg Medcraft urges innovation on blockchain technology
Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has called on market regulators around the world to “start thinking about” the challenges of blockchain, the technology behind cyber-currency bitcoin. Mr Medcraft, who is also chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissioners, urged regulators to consider the potential challenges of blockchain at a recent meeting in Madrid. In an interview with The Australian, Mr Medcraft said the broader commercial use of the blockchain technology was “on the horizon” with industry claims that it could “save billions of dollars if they can make it work”. He said it also had the potential to “improve liquidity” in some financial instruments, “which is […]
Target market for robo-advisers to grow with net usage
Robo-advice does not work well in complex situations but suits people in their 30s and 40s who are already using the internet to manage their finances and are starting to save serious money toward retirement. Robos work very well where the investor’s situation is not complex and a person neatly fits into one of several predetermined categories. For example, the small but relatively focused subset of people in their 30s and 40s who are starting to save serious money toward retirement are perfect for robos. They may have already looked at negative gearing and margin lending to grow their savings but feel disinclined to take on the added risk in […]
Square arrives, but without tap and go
Australia finally gets to use big-name US payments company Square’s mobile payment device on Tuesday, but it is missing the key contactless payments function. Square country manager Ben Pfisterer said tap-and-go would have made the device too expensive and too big – a drawback competitors have struggled with – to fit Square’s signature shape, but pointed out a PIN won’t be needed for purchases below $35. Australians are the biggest users of contactless, with 60 to 70 per cent of Visa and MasterCard transactions now done this way. “A lot of hard work has gone into it to create an alternative solution for small business; we think there is a […]
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 […]
Signal Ventures hunts Australian early stage tech startups with $10m fund
Early stage Australian tech startups will soon have a fresh option for seeking funding with the formation of a new $10 million venture capital fund backed by US and Australian investors. The fund is to be run by Signal Ventures, which has been founded by Melbourne-based startup industry backer Atlanta Daniel and experienced US-based tech investor Niel Robertson. It is in the midst of raising a $10 million warchest, and expects to have closed its funding round by the end of April. The fund will target so-called seed investing rounds, or the first external funding round for up and coming startups, and is likely to inject around $150,000 to $250,000 […]
SocietyOne sees potential to work with banks
The new chief executive of SocietyOne, Jason Yetton, says there is potential for the peer-to-peer lender to work with a big bank such as Westpac, his former employer, as it tries to distribute loans to a wider range of customers. SocietyOne is one of the emerging group of “marketplace lenders”, which are eyeing off the profits that banks make from unsecured lending, by using online platforms to allow investors to lend directly to borrowers. P2P lenders typically promote themselves as a lower-cost option for borrowers, prompting banks to consider their defences against the new online threat. Mr Yetton, who previously ran Westpac’s retail and business bank, will also use his […]
Avoka Named Top Ten FinTech Worldwide by KPMG
Avoka, the leader in digital customer acquisition for financial services companies worldwide, has today announced that it was named as one of the Top Ten Fintech companies worldwide by KPMG. The award recognizes ten companies from the KPMG FinTech 100 list that are having the most impact on how financial services firms do business and was announced at the KPMG FinTech 100 event in London on February 9, 2016. “Once again our Fintech 100 exposed some incredibly interesting and exciting companies that are changing the face of finance. We saw a real wealth of talent from right across the globe but those who made it into the top ten clearly […]
Robo-advice not ’biased’ during volatility
Human advice may be outperformed by robo-advice during times of market volatility, considering automated tools are not subject to behavioural bias, says BetaSmartz. BetaSmartz chief executive John James said eliminating behavioural bias means that robo-advisers will accurately manage risk, and “will always have an advantage over humans”. Mr James argued that robos are not subject to a domestic or “home bias” to the extent that human advisers are. “This [domestic] bias can limit diversification and, in a volatile environment, completely exposing an investor to just one market may not be the optimal way to meet their goal,” he said. He explained that robo-advisers can easily navigate volatility because they have […]
