The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the authority that oversees financial services industry in the country, has issued a new ‘restricted’ banking licence to a fintech company volt bank.
The new licensing will enable volt bank to conduct businesses under various restrictions for a limited period of time.
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Initially, the bank is permitted to receive up to A$2m in deposits through its online platform. It can also maintain assets of up to A$100m.
Besides volt bank, the regulator has received several other applications from various companies under the new restricted licensing scheme, reported Reuters.
The introduction of the new banks is expected to enhance competition in the Australian financial services sector which is currently dominated by Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Westpac Banking.
These four entities hold the maximum share of consumer deposits and credit loans in the country.
The news agency quoted volt chief executive Steve Weston as saying: “volt bank will show Australians how banking can be done in a simpler and better way.”
Recently, volt bank raised A$15.7m in equity to support its research and platform testing works.
