ASX partners with Australian Technology Innovators to enter electronic property settlement market
ASX anticipates to invest approximately $30 million in the new venture over this and the next two financial years.
ASX Limited is about to enter the Australian electronic property settlement market thanks to a partnership with Australian Technology Innovators Pty Limited (ATI), the parent company of provider of eConveyancing technology and services InfoTrack.
Sympli Australia Pty Ltd (Sympli), owned 50:50 by ASX and ATI, has applied to become an Electronic Lodgment Network Operator (ELNO) with the regulator, the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC). Sympli will offer lawyers, conveyancers and financial institutions a more streamlined and comprehensive technology solution that will seamlessly integrate with clients’ existing practices and systems. The service aims to improve efficiencies and support Australia’s successful transition to full electronic conveyancing and settlement.
Subject to regulatory approvals, Sympli expects to begin operations towards the end of 2018.
ASX anticipates to invest approximately $30 million in the new venture over this and the next two financial years. This will comprise approximately $7 million in 2018, with further investments in 2019 and 2020. ASX estimates that Sympli will break-even in the 2021 financial year.
Mr Dominic Stevens, ASX Managing Director and CEO, noted that entering the electronic property settlement market is a natural evolution for ASX. ASX already settles approximately $70 billion in transactions electronically every day and has been the central settlement venue for the Australian financial market for decades. InfoTrack is seen as the ideal partner given its 18 years’ experience and deep understanding of the property conveyancing industry.
Speaking of ASX and new technologies, let’s recall the efforts that the Exchange is making in replacing the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) with a new system based on Digital Asset’s (DA) distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The new system aims to provide users with more efficient clearing, settlement and other post-trade services through improved record keeping, reduced reconciliation, more timely transactions, and better quality data. But ASX also recognizes that users will require flexibility as to how they connect to the new system. That is why, they may choose to connect and transact by sending and receiving messages in a similar way as today or they may choose to take a DLT node and interact directly.
The DAML Software Development Kit (DAML SDK) being offered by DA will allow stakeholders to develop DAML based applications that integrate directly with a DLT node. This will allow them to leverage data and services they are allowed to access and facilitate real time and deeper integration into their existing processes.
