The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) recently issued a consultation paper that will see clients agreeing on how their advisory fees are deducted and disclosed.
The proposal was published days after the government set out a draft legislation looking at how to implement the recommendations made in the Hayne report following the Royal Commission into banking, superannuation and financial services.
But, according to technology provider Iress, the proposed rules will require clients to give their consent through a platform.
This would mean that there would need to be an industry-wide standard for such obligations to be met both by the customers and by financial advice firms.
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Iress believes that blockchain could support this transition – which is the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, not the currencies themselves.
Chief executive Andrew Walsh said: “The challenge is ensuring client consent information and its transmission is accurate, timely and efficient for all parties.
“No-one can solve this problem in isolation.
“As a response to discussions, we are bringing together adviser groups and platforms, and other relevant parties. This will involve adapting existing systems and working within existing data standards such as EPI to place the end customer at the centre of the advice consent blockchain.
“Blockchain will provide a single source of truth to allow all parties to be confident in the accuracy, timeliness and currency of data.
“This will include leveraging Iress’ recently acquired blockchain platform. A single approach will also ensure greater efficiency for industry parties.
“We are well advanced with a blueprint ahead of launch, which we are planning in the first half of this year,” he added
