UBS invests big in blockchain future
Global investment bank UBS is throwing its resources behind the blockchain’s transformative potential, investigating a range of applications such as smart bonds, cross border payment transactions on the distributed ledger and a digital representation of physical currency. In 2015 the bank opened an innovation lab designed to explore how the blockchain could be used by the financial services sector and how it would disrupt traditional banking models. Now its research will turn into reality. UBS group chief operating officer Axel Lehmann told The Australian Financial Review the blockchain could be “the next internet” in terms of its potential, but there were still questions to be answered. “We don’t want to […]
RateSetter announces partnership with Purplebricks
This week we were very pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with disruptive real-estate agency Purplebricks. Having launched in Australia this week, Purplebricks lets homeowners sell their property for a flat fee of just $4,500, including professional photography, marketing costs and the services of a Local Property Expert to guide them through the sale process. Purplebricks is now the the fastest-growing real estate agency in the UK and their low-cost offering is expected to similarly shake up the Australian real-estate market and put end to three decades of commission-based remuneration for real estate agents. As part of its innovative offering, Purplebricks has partnered with RateSetter to offer customers the opportunity […]
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 […]
Coles backs Westpac, CommBank, NAB, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in Apple Pay fight
Retailers including Coles have thrown their support behind a push by several big banks to put their rivalry aside and negotiate as a bloc with Apple over its digital payments service. Apple’s current constraints on “digital wallets” provided on the iPhone threaten to stifle innovation and competition, the retail industry’s peak body told the competition watchdog. In what the banks say is a world first, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank are seeking an exemption from competition laws so they can negotiate as one, and launch a collective boycott of Apple Pay. The move, if approved, is intended to pressure the technology giant to allow […]
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 […]
How incubators are empowering fintech startups
Of all the technological innovations taking the world by storm, fintech has certainly been one of the most prolific. Hundreds of new startups are entering the space, offering products including everything from lending to more specialised fare. Older, more experienced bankers and financial experts leaving their industries have created many of these startups. But just as many have started through young up-and-comers – and they’ve needed a little helping hand along the way. This is one of the reasons incubators and accelerators have been such a key part of the fintech industry. All over the world, fintech businesses have been flocking to incubators in droves. In the United States, the […]
CBA trials blockchain for trade finance
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has successfully used “smart contracts” to execute invoice financing documents and letters of credit with 14 other global banks financing international trade, in another indication that blockchain technology is set to be deployed in the coming years by global banks to reduce costs. R3 CEV, a consortium of 51 global banks including CBA, said its Corda platform is “significantly faster, more reliable and cost-effective” than traditional trade finance processes that are largely paper-based, risky and open to fraud. Blockchain refers to networks of computers holding synchronised copies of information. Corda has been developed by R3 to allow banks to only share what’s needed for other banks […]
Kerry Agiasotis of WUBS: Win-win when rivals turn partners
One of the world’s largest non-bank providers of international business payment solutions says aspiring fintech companies should seek to pursue partnerships with their big company rivals rather than fighting them if they want their ideas to reach their full potential. The chief executive of Western Union Business Solutions, the dedicated business payments unit of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Western Union Company, said the firm was increasingly looking to partner with fintechs and other start-ups. WUBS is primary spot foreign currency trading provider to 20 per cent of the SME market in Australia and secondary provider to another 20 per cent, including the big four banks. It has more than […]
