News Archive for September 2016

An innovative contactless chip reader dubbed “Square” launched yesterday, giving Australian businesses a new technology to charge customers with in stores and on the go.

Beyond Bank will be the latest shareholder of peer to peer lender SocietyOne from Friday, in a new partnership that includes the credit union topping up personal loan funding to $10 million.

Mozo’s annual rewards credit card survey has found that the net value of rewards credit cards has dropped an average of 20% over the past year, bringing their value down from $88 per year, to just $72.

Startups around the world are shaking up the insurance industry by engineering new peer-to-peer platforms, allowing customers to take charge of their own insurance policies, premiums and claims.

A new government report has revealed NSW households that regularly switch energy providers are up for serious savings thanks to greater competition in the market.

The honest truth is: I’m not exactly a culinary expert, and unless you’re studying to be a chef, chances are you aren’t either. When I started uni, I spent two or three months subsisting purely on toasted cheese sangas and instant noodles.

The controversial backpacker tax, which would see overseas workers taxed at 32.5 cents in every dollar, may drive travellers away from Australia and impact the tourism industry.

The Sydney property market has recorded a high clearance rate of 85.1% over the weekend, according to Domain - but property prices remain out of reach for some first home buyers.

This month, as Glenn Stevens steps down from his role as RBA Governor, he’s succeeded by Philip Lowe. Mozo took a look at who Philip Lowe is and his credentials for running the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Merchants who surcharge based on how much a customer spends in a transaction is justified, as the overheads “can be quite high”, an RBA official has said.

Losing your luggage on holiday is something many travellers dread. Being the last person waiting at the conveyor belt, with your bags nowhere to be seen is the worst case scenario for many travellers.

Whether you’ve seen the logo on a bus ad or noticed it when perusing The Iconic, you’re bound to have heard of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) giant, Afterpay. But what is it exactly, and are there risks involved with dodging the upfront cost of a shopping spree?To help you make sense of this new payment service, we’ve jotted down some of the most commonly asked questions Aussies have with Afterpay.

Aussies living in SA who can’t afford to pay electricity bills on time are struggling with late payment penalties of up to $586 a year, The Advertiser reported recently.

Big four bank Westpac announced it would reduce discounts on several home loan packages by 0.2 basis points for new owner-occupiers and investors yesterday.

NAB is set to launch a new Mobile Banking App later this year, which will give Aussie shoppers more control over when, how and where they use their debit and credit cards.

Well, I’ve been stood up at the altar guys. I always knew this would happen, but I expected it to be by some dashing foreigner who decides the green card just isn’t worth it, not by a TV show.

Westpac has been crowned by Dow Jones as the most sustainable bank globally for the ninth time, beating its personal best with a 95% score.

CUA has recently launched its first ever ‘investor only’ home loan, easing restrictions around lending to investors, and opening the door for more Aussies to snap up an investment property.

Millennial fashion chain Topshop Topman has rolled out Afterpay into its bricks and mortar stores, in response to the thousands of customers using it for online shopping.

After the RBA announced interest rates would remain on hold at 1.50% for September, some experts are predicting that we’ve seen the last rate change until next year.

AMEX introduced a new credit card today dubbed “Explorer”, in response to the high number of Australians who frequently board domestic and international flights for short trips.

The Reserve Bank announced at its September board meeting that interest rates would remain on hold at a low of 1.50%.

Looking for the latest episode? It’s over here.

Term deposit products 12 months and older have higher interest rates than deposits with shorter time-frames, new data has revealed.

After conducting research into the potential costs of a medical emergency overseas, travel insurance provider InsureandGo reported that Aussies could wind up footing medical bills into the hundreds of thousands if they travel uninsured.

Here’s a recap of the rewards credit card world so far in 2016:

From 1 September 2016, excessive surcharges on card payments are set to become a thing of the past at large retailers, in an effort to cut back on the $1.6 billion Aussies are paying in surcharges every year.