Briefs: ANZ actions voice ID, Stargroup working on Bitcoin ATMs, cryptocurrencies set to soar
ANZ said it introduced Voice ID technology on mobile banking, and that "with Voice ID, ANZ customers can now make 'Pay Anyone payments of more than A$1000 on their mobile without needing to log into internet banking, or remember additional passwords or PINs." They can also use Voice ID to make BPAY payments of more than $10,000 on their mobile. ATM operator Stargroup Limited said it will "jointly offer and tailor a 'two-way ATM' solution for buying and selling Bitcoin with ASX listed DigitalX. Stargroup said that "at present, there are less than 20 ATMs in Australia that can facilitate a Bitcoin transaction and conversion, [while] fees are in the range of 4% to 8% of the transaction value." The value of cryptocurrency transactions "is expected to surpass US$1 trillion in 2017, more than 15 times the level in 2016, driven primarily by 'altcurrency' Ethereum," Juniper Research said in a study published overnight. Ethereum has a 2015 vintage in the increasingly confused world of Bitcoin and derivatives.