News Archive for October 2013

With a growing number of forecasters predicting that home loan interest rates are getting set to go up, rather than down, borrowers are being urged to plan for potential rises in their repayments now.

For the thousands of Australian school leavers who plan to celebrate the end of their school years at overseas hot spots like Bali, Fiji and Thailand, DFAT has warned that if they get into trouble while overseas there are legal and practical limits to what consular officers can do.

St George have this week unveiled plans to strengthen support for the small and medium business sector. The sector is an integral part of the national economy, employing over 70% of the workforce and producing around 33% of annual GDP.

October 17 is International Credit Union Day (ICU) a day of awareness building celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948. Around the country, credit union members will reflect on the credit union movement's history and promote their achievements, honouring those who have dedicated their lives to providing community minded financial services and support.

In September 2013, business rivals Visa and MasterCard received interim authorisation from the ACCC to work together on a campaign to phase out signatures for transaction on Australian issued chips cards under a plan called PIN@POS.

Over one third of Australians haven't had a holiday in over a year, the latest research from Roy Morgan shows. In the 12 months to August 2012, 35% of Australians over the age of 14 had no holiday within the past year, up from 31% in August 2008. Also, those Australians who do take leave are going less often, with the proportion of us taking three or more trips a year down to 36% while those heading off only annually or twice a year is up 1% to 29%.

Australia has the best distribution of wealth among developed nations according to the recently released Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse.

The fact that Australians are more likely to meet their expenses without having to dip into their savings may come as a surprise against a background of ongoing high unemployment, but that's the latest from an RFi survey conducted in July 2013.

Prepaid travel cards are making an impact on the Australian financial services market, widening into mainstream usage with a rapidly growing acceptance. According to the Research and Markets Prepaid Cards Global Strategic business report. The Asia pacific represents the fastest growing regional market for prepaid travel cards, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19% over the analysis period.

Australian Super market giant Coles is allegedly in the process of seeking a formal banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) that would allow it to launch a savings account under it's own name rather than in partnership with a bank.

MeBank is set to become Australia's most technology advanced bank and expects to have completed its three year technology overhaul by mid 2014.

The number of bank branches in Australia has shrunk for the first time in 11 years with branches pruned back to make way for the surge in online and mobile banking.

At its monthly meeting today, the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to leave the official cash rate on hold at 2.50%.

Bad news for consumers - one of Australia's largest loyalty programs may be on the brink of collapse and could leave 700,000 Australians and some of the nations biggest companies including Myer, iselect, Hoyts and GE Money, in the lurch. A scale of betrayal echoing the collapse of Ansett and their frequent flyer program in 2001.