$500m Silicon Valley crowdfunding start-up Tilt heads to Australia
US crowdfunding start-up Tilt will set up shop in Sydney, letting Aussies chip in to pay for group activities. Tilt, a Silicon Valley social money exchange start-up valued at more than $500 million, will expand to Australia, enabling individuals to chip in to pay for group activities. The company, which has raised $US67 million ($87 million) in funding from renowned venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel and investor Sean Parker, will set up shop in Sydney, with the office being viewed as a potential headquarters for Asia Pacific expansion. The Tilt app has proved popular overseas, since the company was founded in 2012, as it promises to take […]
Blockchain technology to hit bank profits
Revolutionary blockchain technology threatens to slash the profits of banks and wipe out lenders which fail to quickly adopt the online record-keeping innovation, a high-powered panel of finance and technology experts warned. Jose Fernandez Da Ponte, global digital business executive at Spanish banking giant BBVA, said digital disruption to financial institutions by blockchain posed “extremely large” threats and opportunities. “Those institutions not up to that are likely to cease to exist,” he said at a conference in Washington. At a panel convened by the International Monetary Fund, financiers, technologists and regulators debated the ramifications of the evolving blockchain. IMF deputy managing director David Lipton said banks and regulators were grappling […]
Apple Pay may be coming to Australian banks
Reports have emerged that ANZ Bank are currently testing Apple Pay’s paymemt technology. Although the mobile payment service was launched in Australia late last year, only American Express card holders were able to access the service. Neither tech giant Apple, nor ANZ bank have confirmed the speculation, however some bank customers are reportedly receiving confirmation emails and text messages that suggest the bank is testing both Apple and Android Pay functionality. On the other hand, on a recently blog post, Google has said that its service, Android Pay was coming to Australian banks, including ANZ, St. George and Westpac “some time in the first half of 2016.” Source: East & […]
Fintech hub Stone & Chalk aims to become regional ‘glue’
The nation’s newest fintech hub, Stone & Chalk, has identified five key Asian cities for the first stage of its FinTech Asia program as it ramps up plans to become the “glue” that connects the fintech ecosystem in the region. Stone & Chalk this week held its first meetings with the Hong Kong government’s investment promotion department, Invest Hong Kong, before moving to mainland China as part of the giant Australian trade delegation spearheaded by Malcolm Turnbull. It also hosted a panel session at the Hong Kong offices of HSBC on Monday evening that brought together Hong Kong’s key financial regulators — the Securities and Future Commission, the Office of […]
Beyond Bank and Avoka Celebrate Celent Model Bank 2016 Award Win
Beyond Bank, one of Australia’s largest customer owned banks, has achieved international recognition as a Celent Model Bank for 2016. The award was made for its omni-channel customer engagement platform, designed and delivered by Avoka, the leader in digital customer acquisition for financial services. The Celent Model Bank Awards recognize excellence in the use of technology by financial institutions across the globe. Beyond Bank is one of the first financial institutions in Australia to launch an omni-channel customer engagement platform, transforming how it interacts with customers. The project, built on the Avoka Transact platform, has helped Beyond Bank achieve a truly customer-centric, digital engagement strategy, eliminating manual processing across key […]
Winklies, Dorsey Hunt Oz Biz
New York’s Winklevoss twins, the ex-Olympic rowers who famously – and unsuccessfully – sued Facebook for a fortune in 2011, claiming founder Mark Zuckerberg had stolen their idea, have confirmed plans to bring their bitcoin technology to Australia. The twins – Tyler and Cameron – who have since successfully set up a well-regarded bitcoin exchange in New York – have reportedly been negotiating with Melbourne-based Trimantium to help bring their blockchain technology Down Under. Their presence might well be welcomed here, given the problems the local industry has been experiencing, with one outfit, Bitcoin Group, recently refused entry to the ASX for want of an acceptable financial report (CDN, Feb. […]
Shares in fintech Mint Payments are soaring on a Singapore deal
Shares in Mint Payments jumped when the fintech came out of a trading halt to announce a deal with Singapore’s NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers). A short time ago, the shares were up 9% to $0.12. The company went into a trading halt on Friday after being queried by the ASX on the reason for a sharp rise in the company’s share price. NETS is an electronic payments started in 1985 and owned by Singapore banks, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and UOB. One in three Singaporeans use NETS everyday to make payments. Mint now has a five year-agreement with NETS covering Mint’s payment solutions.Under the deal, Mint will work on […]
Invoice2go launches mobile payments feature in Australia
SYDNEY, April 12th, 2016: Invoice2go, the App Store’s leading invoicing app, has today launched its highly anticipated mobile payments feature allowing small businesses to receive debit and credit card payments, without having to invest in EFTPOS infrastructure. The launch supports Invoice2go’s vision to make it possible for people to run their own business by providing the simplest way to look professional, track their time, improve cash flow and untangle themselves from paperwork. With more than $1 billion invoiced per month globally, and $200 million per month in Australia alone, the new payments feature, powered by Stripe Connect, is positioned to immediately help Australian business owners across all industries get paid […]
