FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch – Page 61 – At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce

Investor Registration Website Launched Following China’s Ezubao Scam

Feb 23 2016

Chinese regulators launched a website on Saturday to aid authorities in their mission to investigate the gigantic Ezubao “Ponzi scheme” that allegedly stole money from more than 900,000 investors.

Ezubao, China’s largest peer-to-peer lender, was caught red handed fabricating the majority of its listed investment projects and using investor money to fund the extravagant lifestyle of the company’s executives earlier this month.

K&L Gates Partners to Speak on Marketplace Lending at Alfi Europe Conference in London

Feb 23 2016

K&L Gates will be sponsoring the AltFi Europe conference, which will take place in London, England on 4 May. London partner Jacob Ghanty and New York partner Ed Dartley will participate in a panel discussion.

Some Feedback on Crowdfunding Reforms in Australia

Feb 23 2016

By Jim Bulling

International banking group Investec Australia has purchased a 20% stake in equity crowdfunding platform Equitise. Equitise, which is based in New Zealand, was founded in Australia in 2014, but has developed its business model in New Zealand as a result of slow development to crowdfunding regulation in Australia. The deal values the startup at close to AUD$10 million.

Tech-savvy Aussies Preference Digital Payments

Feb 04 2016

By Cameron Abbott and Meg Aitken

The number of Australian consumer using contactless payment mediums is on the rise. Statistics revealed in the World Payments Report 2015 ranks Australia behind only the United States, Finland and the Netherlands as the countries recording the highest number of non-cash payments per person.

NAB is the most recent big-four bank to respond to changing consumer behaviour in the market. This week, NAB launched a new payment solution that allows customers to ‘tap and pay’ on Android phones. NAB claims the new ‘NAB Pay’ facility is the first in Australia to utilise the Visa Token Service and enables customers to make contactless payments via the bank’s existing app without revealing their account details.

Read more about the new NAB Pay mobile payment service here.

FinTech Start-ups Shake up Banking Industry

Feb 03 2016

By Cameron Abbott and Meg Aitken

Tech start-ups are infiltrating the finance sector at a rapid rate, and customers love it. Changing consumer expectations and behaviours are forcing traditional banks to lower costs, be more efficient and provide better security in order to remain competitive.

Financial Innovation Now

Jan 31 2016

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

Rival technology powerhouses Apple, Google, Amazon, Intuit and PayPal have joined forces to form an advocacy group known as Financial Innovation Now, focused on enabling technological change within the finance industry. The group will work with policy-makers and key stakeholders to promote policies and regulations that encourage greater innovation in the financial services sector as well as ensuring that policy-makers understand the advantages that technology can bring to the industry.

Social media platforms launch “buy now” buttons for US consumers

Jan 28 2016

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

Twitter is changing the future of e-commerce by introducing a “buy now” button to users in the United States, making online shopping even more accessible to consumers. Twitter has joined forces with major e-commerce platforms Stripe, Shopify, Bigcommerce and Demandware to allow retailers to sell physical and digital goods and services directly through a simple 140-character tweet.

Blockchain not Bitcoin Becomes Industry Focus

Dec 16 2015

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

Blockchain, the public decentralised ledger technology behind Bitcoin, is gaining attention from a much wider audience within the financial services industry in terms of the potential application to securities clearing and settlements, payment processing and loan transactions.

Robo-Advice Risks and Benefits

Dec 15 2015

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (JCESA) is considering what regulations, if any, will be required for robo-advice throughout the European Union (EU). JCESA has released a discussion paper on automation in financial advice to assist it evaluate how robo-advice is currently being used in the EU and its potential growth in banking, securities and insurance. The discussion paper highlights what the JCESA identify as the main potential benefits and risks to both consumers and financial institutions which offer some form of robo-advice.

Robo Advice Regulation Movement in Three Jurisdictions

Dec 15 2015

by Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

After increasing concerns that robo-advisers may not fit neatly into existing regulations, Australian, United States and United Kingdom regulators have all indicated in the last few months that they will be looking at the appropriateness of current regulations for the increasingly fast growing industry of automated financial advice.