Bendigo Bank customers can now shop with Apple Pay
After battling with Apple earlier this year, Bendigo Bank has now partnered with all three major digital wallets. Bendigo Bank is the latest Australian institution to join the Apple Pay ranks. From today, Bendigo Bank Mastercard customers can use their iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad to make contactless payments. This means lighter wallets, faster transactions and even more secure payments. To link your Bendigo Bank credit or debit card with Apple Pay, you just need to open the Wallet app and tap the plus symbol in the upper-right corner. Then follow the prompts to enter your card’s security code to add your credit or debit card from your iTunes account. […]
Woolworths & Apple alliance set to increase Aus digital wallet use
Customers of Australian grocery giant Woolworths will soon be able to acquire and redeem rewards points through Apple’s Wallet App. The retailer has made an agreement with Apple to store its loyalty cards within their digital wallet. The decision is tipped to significantly increase the uptake of digital wallets within Australia. With about 10 million members, Woolworths is said to boast the largest customer loyalty reward scheme in Australia. Though not every member will have an iPhone, nor be inclined to use Apple’s digital wallet. Reports state Apple and Woolworth will announce the agreement this week, prior to a launch in mid-October. Paul Monnington, Woolworths’ Head of Digital and Payments, states the decision is […]
TruePillars secures $5m in Series A capital raise
TruePillars, the online marketplace lender allowing everyday Australians to fund loans to small businesses, today announced it has raised a total of $5 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round was led by a long-term Melbourne-based private investor, and includes both equity and commitments by shareholders to fund loans to Australian businesses on the TruePillars platform. Further commitments from additional investors are expected to be finalised by 30 September. The business will now commence a recruitment drive to more than double its number of employees over the next 12 months. “This investment will give us the means to further innovate and build on our service, including our […]
Tyro sticks to strategy as CEO Gerd Schenkel exits
It was back to business at Tyro Payments yesterday after the fintech elder severed links with chief executive Gerd Schenkel, who was hired amid great fanfare only eight months with a mission to transform Tyro into an SME bank. Tyro’s decision to target the poorly serviced SME sector was prompted by non-executive director and Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes. Cannon-Brookes scolded his fellow board members for lacking ambition and being happy to live off the fat from unlisted Tyro’s payments platform, which generates $8 million-plus in earnings from servicing the EFTPOS requirements of its 18,000 small business customers. Instead of telling him to go jump, the board agreed. Tyro secured a […]
Fintech Down Under
Cameron Dart is the CEO of International Fintech, a hub that connects Australian fintech companies to the rest of the world and vice versa. The company recently opened a London “launch pad” office that helps Australian startups expand globally and links startups in other countries to the Australian market. To help shed light on the state of Australian fintech, Benzinga caught up with Cameron Dart for a Q&A about innovation and how fintech solves problems for Australian users. Q&A With Cameron Dart What’s the general “lay of the land” of Australian fintech? The Australian fintech industry as a whole is in its infancy compared to the United States and the […]
Australia weathers fintech slump
Global investment in fintech companies almost halved last year as “froth” comes out of the burgeoning industry and investors wait to see if they can successfully disrupt incumbents such as banks and insurers, according to a new report. Fintech investment funding declined to $US24.7 billion ($32.17bn) last year from a bumper $US46.7bn in 2015, driven by fewer merger and acquisitions, and private equity investments, KPMG found. However, the less mature Australian fintech industry bucked the trend as investment soared to a record high of $626 million last year, up from $185m in 2015 and $461m in 2014. The increase was powered by Champ Private Equity’s acquisition of Pepperstone, Stirling Products’ […]
Luxury Escapes books its dream holiday with zipMoney
Partnership between leading Australian travel retailer and digital payments platform enables Australians the option to travel now and pay later. Luxury Escapes announced it had become the largest Australian travel retailer to partner with ASX-listed zipMoney Limited (ASX: ZML) and is now offering Australians the option to travel now and pay later. Luxury Escapes General Manager, Blake Hutchison, said the agreement with zipMoney meant Luxury Escapes’ million-plus members now have the flexibility to book their holiday today and pay over time in interest-free instalments. “Luxury Escapes is delighted to partner with zipMoney to simplify our members’ online travel booking experience,” Mr Hutchison said. “We want every […]
A great fintech border invasion
If ever there were a banking niche ripe for disruption, it would be cross-border payments. It almost defies comprehension that Amazon can deliver physical goods faster than a bank can make a credit entry. The reason, of course, is that remittances still meander through the 600 year-old correspondent banking system, which requires six players to link up to achieve the final outcome — the payer, the payer’s bank, the payer’s bank’s correspondent, the beneficiary’s bank’s correspondent, the beneficiary’s bank and the beneficiary. The system is clunky, opaque and extremely costly for users. Fintech was always going to find a better solution, and the machinery is now in place for far-reaching […]
