Entrepreneur’s Instagram accounts reinstated; Aussie banks fend off Apple Pay: Midday Roundup

Fig and Bloom’s Instagram accounts back online

Fig and Bloom’s founder Kellie Brown is celebrating after discovering her small business’s Instagram accounts were reinstated on the weekend.

Brown, who last week told SmartCompany how her Instagram accounts had been shut down three times without explanation, now has access to the three accounts and a total of 10,800 followers.

She thanked her followers during her latest Instagram post for their help in getting the accounts back up.

“A huge thank you to those of you that used the hashtag #bringbackfigandbloom,” she says.

“It’s your support that has made this possible.”

Brown remains none the wiser as to why the accounts were deleted or reinstated for that matter, and says she only found out the accounts were reinstated after a friend alerted her.

Aussie banks fend off Apple Pay

Apple’s efforts to launch its payment platform in Australia have been delayed due to tough negotiations with the country’s four major banks.

Aussie banks are refusing to accept Apple Pay’s high interchange fees, which are around 15 cents for every $100, according to Fairfax.

This is because in Australia interchange fees are generally half of what they are in the United States.

Apple Pay launched in the US in October last year and allows iPhone users to use their smartphone like a tap-and-go debit card.

Shares up on open

Aussie shares are trading slightly higher this week, off the back of positive results from Wall Street.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said the new trading week will hinge on continued profit results as well as bank stocks.

“CBA will a key factor for overall market sentiment over the next couple of days,” Spooner said.

“With three of the big four banks now having completed capital raisings and Westpac this morning confirming a Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.5%, investor focus is likely to return to the dividend yields offered by these stocks in a low-growth environment.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 0.54%, rising 29.2 points to 5385.7 points at 11.30am AEST. On Saturday, the Dow Jones closed up 69.15 points, rising 0.40% to 17,477.40 points.