ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott says digital wallets may displace plastic cards in less than a decade
Digital wallets could take over from plastic credit and debit cards in less than a decade, as consumers become more comfortable making purchases on smart phones, ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott predicts. Google on Thursday launched its Android Pay system in Australia, which will allow consumers to use their smart phones for payments wherever contactless card payments are accepted, and to make purchases within apps. ANZ is the first Big Four bank to offer the service to its customers, and Mr Elliott anticipates it won’t be long before payments on smart phones overtake those using plastic cards. Digital wallet offerings from banks started to emerge a couple of years ago […]
Google launches Android Pay in Australia
Google has today announced the launch of its contactless smartphone payment system Android Pay in Australia, providing a new way to pay for just about anything without needing to grab your wallet. “We truly believe that we’re at a tipping point in Australia, where we can get mass adoption of mobile payments”, Google’s senior director of product management Pali Bhat tells Fairfax Media, noting that 60 per cent of Australians already make payments with a contactless card. Mobile payment solutions for phones are already offered by Apple, Samsung and some individual banks, but Google believes Android Pay differentiates itself with its ease of use. Because the system is baked directly […]
Xero & CommBank unveil innovations to transform small business banking
Xero today announced the first of many new features to be released with Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest bank, designed to enable mutual small business customers to make smart, informed decisions. A world first is the ability to set up direct bank feeds from either platform. Mutual customers of Commonwealth Bank and Xero can choose to start their journey within Xero, or connect from the Xero accounting platform directly within NetBank. This feature also accelerates the processing time of setting up Commonwealth Bank bank feeds for a small business customer from ten days to having the feeds available overnight. It means Commonwealth Bank and Xero customers can reconcile more of their […]
ChimpChange new revenue generating product goes live
ChimpChange Limited (ASX: CCA) (“ChimpChange” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has launched into the market its photo cheque load tool. The photo cheque load tool is the first in a line of new product offerings being rolled out by the Company to complement its existing transactional banking account and debit MasterCard. While cheques are becoming rarer in the Australian banking environment the US banking system is still a cheque based economy. According to the World Payment Report, in 2013 cheques account for approximately 13% of all non-cash payments in North America (US$17 billion). The product allows customers the ability to take a photo of a cheque using […]
Ignition Wealth superannuation tools drive superfund engagement
Ignition Wealth is Australia’s leading provider of superannuation tools and calculators. Since 2010 our tools and calculators have been used by superannuation funds to drive member engagement and provide excellence in client experience. “With 750,000 members served over the past six years we know that user friendly tools and calculators hold the key to powerful member engagement. Our technology allows superfund clients and prospective clients to do their financial homework while becoming comfortable with the superfund. This leads to a solid growth in the superfund’s business.” Mark Fordree, CEO, Ignition Wealth. The Ignition Wealth wealth management solutions are hosted on the superfund’s own website or mobile app. Recognising […]
Fintech is going to be much bigger than you think
If payments can be made anywhere, anytime, across any device, why do you need a currency? Or even a bank? The “fintech” revolution is upon us – but what we’ve seen may only be the start of it. Fintech – a term coined with the listing of peer-to-peer lending platform LendingClub on the New York Stock Exchange in late 2014 – is not only a portmanteau of ‘financial technology,” it describes a whole new industry composed of companies that use technology to make financial services more efficient. It’s big, it’s growing and it’s disruptive. “Fintech is set to change finance as profoundly as the issuance of the first permanent banknotes […]
2 Upcoming FinTech IPOs
For decades financial services in numerous flavours were the exclusive province of the banking sector. To get a loan, pay bills, apply for credit cards, or transfer money, consumers and corporations alike turned to banks. It is hard to imagine the rise of the Internet is little more than 20 years old and the rise of smartphones is even more recent – less than 10 years. As a direct result new industries are emerging, among them FinTech, or financial technology. FinTech companies offer alternatives to the banks and as such stand ready to massively disrupt the way financial services are delivered. Direct peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding are changing the way […]
Australian FinTech marketplace Valiant announces capital raise
Valiant, member of fintech hub Stone & Chalk announced today that the company has completed their seed round capital raising subscription. The $800,000 capital raise was led by fintech venture capital firm Reinventure, supported by H2 Ventures and a selection of prominent angel investors including Mitchel Harad and Vincent Turner. Co-Founders Alex Molloy and Richard Cotton launched the Valiant business loan marketplace in November 2015, with the aim to minimise the angst associated with sourcing, comparing, and securing business loans. Valiant partners with over 26 lenders from across the lending spectrum with more lenders being added monthly. Alex Molloy: “We built the Valiant marketplace to solve a very particular need. Until now, it has been difficult for time poor business owners to quickly […]
