Brexit provides lessons for Australia’s FinTech start-ups
[ Extract ] Lessons for Australia Australia’s FinTech scene, scarcely acknowledged eighteen months ago, has developing rapidly and now commands the attention of policymakers, banking executives and the financial media here alike. We have a highly advanced financial services sector, one that is acknowledged globally as mature, skilful and well regulated. It contributes around AU$140 billion to GDP each year and employs some 450,000 people. We have the fourth largest pool of investment funds in the world, anchored by the AU$2 trillion-plus in our nation’s superannuation funds. That a viable FinTech ecosystem has developed Down Under should therefore come as no surprise. Australian start-ups span the FinTech spectrum across peer-to-peer […]
Celebrate innovation that puts the customer in charge
It’s no secret that the word innovation is in vogue. It’s not just that it’s one of our prime minister’s favourite words, it’s a trend across the English-speaking world. Use of the word has grown steadily since 1943, according to Google’s database of books published from 1800 to 2008. It was used almost twice as much in 2008 as 1969, the year humans first landed on the moon, and it’s a dead cert the past eight years have been no different. But using “innovation” as a mantra doesn’t make you more innovative. Many people feel that it’s become, or becoming, a meaningless catchphrase. It’s time to reclaim it. It’s a […]
Swipe right to protect: Trov launches world-first on demand insurance
Trōv, a company that is reinventing insurance for the mobile generation, and leading insurer Suncorp Group, today announced the limited launch of on-demand insurance in Australia, beginning with coverage for common electronics. For the first time ever, people can now turn insurance on – or off – for individual items entirely from their mobile device. The claims process is facilitated by an automated bot and live chat, which means making a claim is as simple as sending a few texts. Trōv Protection is only available via the Trōv app and is a first for the Australian market. “Trōv was built to empower the mobile generation to protect the items that […]
Banking faces massive disruption by fintech says IBM
A new study argues that as the traditional functions of banks become commoditised, value is moving from transactions to relationships. Unfortunately for banks, they face competition from small start-ups and enormous, cashed-up tech giants inserting themselves directly into the relationship with their customers. IBM’s Institute for Business Value has released a fintech report called “Banking at the Brink”, which identifies the finance industry as sitting square in the centre of a perfect disruptive storm. The Institute calls out three challenges. Banks are still struggling with sluggish profits in the aftermath of the Great Recession. A new type of customer, easily dissatisfied and disillusioned, has ever-growing expectations of engagement and improved […]
Fintech floater convinced blockchain its future
David Cassidy, the managing director of Irish float hopeful KYCkr says blockchain is the future of its business identity check business. KYCkr is raising between $6 million and $8 million by floating between 30 million and 40 million shares at 20¢ each on the Australian Securities Exchange in June. This would give it a market capitalisation of between $25 million and $27 million. The funds will be used to market the business in Europe and Asia as well as move its systems to a blockchain, or distributed ledger. The company, which has direct links with government business registries around the world, verifies the business customers of banks and other companies […]
Globalisation of FinTech: Are we learning from our neighbours?
Most areas in the fintech space are hotly contested. Anyone watching the fintech space can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of perspectives that emerge when a new product is launched, an article is written or a tweet is sent. And that is largely because fintech is global. Fintech companies may operate in their own local markets and compete with, or “disrupt”, local banks, but financial technology as a whole is a global dealing. Any discussion of fintech needs to have this perspective. This is not just a matter of having the correct frame of reference for discussion and debate, it ensures we find the right way to […]
Banks Struggle to Keep Pace with FinTech Disruption – World Retail Banking Report 2016
FinTech providers are making increasingly significant inroads with customers, yet the vast majority of banks admit they are not adequately prepared to manage this emerging FinTech threat, according to the 2016 World Retail Banking Report (WRBR), released today by Capgemini and Efma. The report found that nearly two-thirds of customers (63 percent) are now using FinTech products or services, and are much more likely to refer friends and family to their FinTech provider (55 percent) than to their bank (38 percent). However, while 96 percent of banking executives agree that the industry is evolving toward a digital banking ecosystem, where Fintech providers play a much bigger role, only 13 percent […]
Accenture calling for fintech entrants
Fintech startups are being asked to apply for a place in a 12-week program that will see the young companies gain exposure to executives at big global banks. Accenture is taking applicants for its third annual Asia-Pacific FinTech Innovation Lab, a program for entrepreneurs that are developing technologies for the financial services sector. It focuses specifically on new technologies in the areas such as big data, analytics and cognitive computing, security and identity management, risk management and compliance, blockchain technology, and Internet of Things applications. Accenture says investments in Asia-Pacific fintech companies are on the rise, totalling $2.7 billion in Q1, 2016 – representing 51 per cent of the $5.3 […]
