In retrospect, did you just come to Australia to complain about the archaic way of trading in Australia: cash payment or card payment, and most of the time you have to charge a fee for swiping cards! Australia's trading channels are too Old-school, compared with China, where food can be paid by social app.
More than that, on Tuesday's Budget Night, government announced that cash transactions larger than A $10000 would be banned in the future!
The news is a big deal for Chinese Australians, who are known for their preference for cash transactions. But what I didn't expect was that Australians reacted more violently to it than the Chinese!
Because, with Australia this new fiscal year new regulation at the same time, is an already in progress Australian society huge change!
On Monday, (APRA), Australia's financial regulator, approved the first digital bank in Australian history: Volt Bank!
This news, has caused the entire Australian financial circle! The Australians panicked and the Chinese were stunned: first, digital banking licences were issued and then cash flows were restricted. Is the "cash-free society" in Australia really coming?.
1. Hot-hot first piece of APRA license plate
The "a lucky dog" Bank, as the "List of authorized deposit institutions" of a number of digital banking startup companies in Australia, has obtained the first APRA license in Australia's history. On the APRA official, it is possible to see that the Volt Bank is the only authorized deposit agency on the "restricted".
"We are proud of our first restricted banking licence in Australia," Volt Bank wrote on the website's home page.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Weston said, Volt Bank is a "completely independent, 100 percent" digital bank with no traditional offline banking system, no branch offices and no infrastructure.
In other words, this bank is pure "on-line", it does not have an ATM machine, also can not withdraw. This is also the bank and the main offline business, sideline is the online "four big banks" essence is different.
At present, the company has only 35 employees and is tightly controlled by regulators: it can only accept up to A $2 million in deposits from users, with a balance of not more than A $ two hundred and fifty thousand per account, and so on.
But Australians feel that the "cash-free society" is really coming: the digital bank, which has just been licensed, is like a seedling growing in a "test field," although it looks like a gust of wind can bring it upside down. But it has the potential to grow into a big tree.
2. Break down traditional barriers and redefine "bank"
So where exactly is the bank's "anti-tradition" performance?
New definition one: bank Intelligent Butler, customer centric
You may be numb to the slogan of "customer-centered" and "customer first", but Volt Bank dares to play this card. It is precisely because it is unique: (1) opening bank accounts using smartphone facial recognition technology is more secure than text passwords; (2) because of the low-cost and fully digitized structure of digital banking, Users pay far less for services than traditional banks. (3) humanized data analytics that tell users how to save money on monthly utilities and insurance. And help Moonlight record daily expenses to help them stay within budget. The emergence of digital banks not only facilitates the lives of young Australians, but also makes the lives of some older Australians more convenient. Today, many older people are reluctant to use online payments because they often forget passwords, but Volt Bank has helped them solve this problem-facial recognition technology that makes it safer and easier to use online payments. It can also help the elderly save time in the Post line to pay for utilities and help careful old ladies analyze how to save on utilities and gas!
New definition two: break the gap between the big banks and realize the multi-use of one household
The key to distinguishing Volt Bank from traditional banks is that it breaks the gap between big banks. In other words, if you have an Volt Bank account, you can bind debit cards and credit cards from other banks in that account, and then view the balance information and transaction history of other bank cards through a digital bank account.
This is very convenient for people who have bank cards in more than one bank. They don't have to look at balances and transactions in multiple APP!
See here, there must be a lot of people will think: so convenient things, Australians must be extremely happy! After all, Australians "lazy" is well known, like their national treasure koala, as if more movement would overwork. But it turns out that Australians do not welcome the "cash-free era" at all. Even under the news, many Australians say that the era of change, the last thing Australia wants to see, is coming!
3. Australians'"Cash-free complex"
Countless people were "shocked" and "unacceptable" by government's announcement to ban more than A $10, 000 in cash transactions and promote e-banking, calling it a "cash-free era" for Australian society. The emergence of digital banks may not be good news for them, but even worse. Why are Australians so responsive to the dangers of digital banks?
4. Downsizing crisis
The emergence of digital banks, is to provide everyone with convenience. But the lack of bank outlets, massive services, and the completion of functions through computer systems have raised new fears: will digital banks lead to job cuts in the banking sector? With the rise of high-tech finance, there are bound to be more traditional jobs, such as bank window tellers, hall managers, and their managers, losing their jobs. Earlier this year, NAB announced plans to cut 6000 jobs and has cut 1000 in its first round. It seems that with the emergence of digital banking, more banking employees will be at risk. There have been several media outlets in Australia that have expressed deep concern about the replacement of intelligence, believing that 1 / 3 employees will be replaced in the future! Bank workers, too, may soon be replaced, not even needing an ATM from now on, and Indian-accented employees on the other end of the phone will be replaced by mechanical and standard smart women. When you think it over, you will feel horrible!
5. Concerns about wealth security
Australians, however, have deep misgivings, even disgust, about the cash-free age.
Because the cash-free age means payment can only be done through a handful of financial institutions. People are "kidnapped" by these channels of payment. At the same time, your savings are just one number of these financial institutions. This is something the Australians are deeply afraid of. When natural and man-made disasters occur, your money evaporates directly. "in an era of cash-free, we ceded our power to financial institutions in exchange for the convenience of not carrying cash. But countries that have experienced currency crashes know that all of a sudden wealth is zero and nothing hurts. The 2008 financial crisis has also proved that they are not always safe. "
Will privacy no longer be safe?
In addition, Australians are worried that with the advent of digital banks, people still have privacy?
Every online payment is recorded: when, where, what, what services have you received … Your online payment of hotel tickets, but also your future itinerary has been silently recorded. How much panic will this information cause once it is leaked? Even if there is no leak, which level of people can access this information, master the information, master your every move? So, at the level of the government department, is there no privacy for the people? Afraid of thinking!
In other words, cash, unemployment, privacy, the birth of digital banks, unexpectedly hit the Australian three "dead hole", is definitely more harm than good! It is no wonder that Australians say that Australia's society will usher in a great change! But there was also a faint voice saying: is it better to be more convenient? It's easier, okay? If you don't do anything wrong, why are you afraid of a cash-free society?