DayTek Capital Granted Banking License In Australia

DayTek Capital, an Australian challenger bank known for its prepaid “Infinity” card, has been granted a banking license by the country’s Securities and Investments Commission, a report from AltFi says.

The bank is among others like 86 400, Xinja, Judo Bank and Volt that have shaken up the Australian banking scene in the past several years.

DayTek was just launched this year, in Queensland, according to the report. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Will Banks said the bank will “cover a range of markets” and offer “dynamically structured and intimate banking products,” which will be personalized for various customers’ financial positions by using artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics.

“An AI marketplace will also be offered where our SME and retail customers can interact with each other,” he said, according to the release. “This will all be underpinned by a unique and state of the art AI-driven technology stack, provided by global technology partners.”

Banks and fellow Co-Founder Krish Gosai both quit their day jobs 12 months ago to focus on starting DayTek, the release says. Banks emigrated from the U.K. to do so. Gosai, in the release, is quoted as saying that they are “extremely excited to now be regulated and have the appropriate authorisations to move forward with our plans and deliver Infinity to consumers across Australia.”

The next step for DayTek, the release says, is working on acquiring a Restricted Authorised Deposit Taking Institution Licence (RADI), which will let any deposit up to $250,000 be protected under the Australian Financial Compensation Scheme.

In 2018, Volt was the first neobank to get a RADI, the report notes.

DayTek is backed by the Australian federal government and Queensland state bodies, the report says.

Challenger banks have been making waves as of late, emerging as competition to traditional credit unions, PYMNTS wrote recently. Thirty-five percent of customers say they might switch to challenger banks due to the idea that they’re easy to use, while others say they prefer online banking, and still others are enticed by the idea of being able to use ATMs from any financial institution.

That said, it isn’t yet a death knell for traditional institutions, due to issues like trust being a major factor for some. Many people, experts say, don’t necessarily want to transfer important payments like paychecks to a new challenger bank.