Briefs: Future Fund trims debt investments, Mortgage Choice approvals up, Paypal changes terms

Ian Rogers
  • Australia's Future Fund trimmed its debt investments over the second half of its financial year. A periodic update released yesterday shows the Future Fund reduced its debt investments to 11.3 per cent of total assets at the end of the June 2014, down from 12.2 per cent of total assets at December 2013.
  • Mortgage Choice said it recorded home loan approvals for the September 2014 quarter at 12.5 per cent higher than the same period the year before. It said it now had 556 loan writers, a rise of 46 over one year.
  • As few as 1300 people a month have used "tick 'n' flick" mechanism to have their automatic payments switched to a new bank account, News.com.au reported. The scheme was introduced in 2012 to make switching day-to-day transaction accounts simple but has never caught on. Australian Payments Clearing Association data showed in August this year there were nearly 440,000 new bank accounts opened and 240,000 bank accounts closed.
  • PayPal said it updated its terms to expand "buyer protection". Customers may now file disputes up to 180 calendar days after a transaction date, up from 45 days. Custom made items will now also be eligible for protection.