FinTech Voice January 12, 2023
Dear Community,Welcome back and wishing you a happy and prosperous new year. With new challenges and opportunities on the horizon, FinTech Australia is building a strong support network and new services to ensure our member community is well supported. We will continue to champion ethical and responsible fintech innovation to grow the Australian fintech industry and to create jobs, economic growth and prosperity for Australians.We’re currently working with our members and policy partners to draft three submissions - Consumer Data Right: Non-bank lending sector design paper; National Reconstruction Fund and Strategic Plan for the Payments System. See advocacy section for more information.We’re also close to finalising the plans for the Finnies and Intersekt this year along with plans for other key events through the year. Watch this space for more information.Regards,Rehan D’Almeida,General Manager,FinTech Australia
Current consultations and upcoming policy calls
Late January and early February will be a busy period with ongoing policy consultations across the CDR, payments and funding opportunities. Members can get involved by joining our working group discussions or providing written feedback.Consumer Data Right: Non-bank lending sector design paperTreasury is consulting on the design specifications for expanding the CDR to the non-bank lending sector.The design paper seeks feedback to support the development of sector-specific rules and data standards. It covers key design issues, including which non-bank lenders should be required to share data, what products are in scope and how implementation of mandatory data sharing should be staged.National Reconstruction Fund: Consultation PaperThe Department of Industry is consulting on the design of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF). The NRF will provide finance (including loans, guarantees and equity) to drive investments that add value and develop capability.The NRF will invest across seven priority areas, including enabling capabilities across engineering, data science and software development. Fintech is specifically mentioned in the consultation paper as an area the NRF could invest in to support innovation, early-stage research and development, and commercialisation.The NRF will be operated by an independent board but will be guided by the Government’s expectations and policy priorities, which will be set out through a legislative instrument and an investment mandate.Strategic Plan for the Payments System: Consultation PaperTreasury is consulting on a Strategic Plan for the Payments System. The Plan is the first step of the Government’s payments system reform agenda and was a recommendation of the 2021 Farrell Review of the payments system.The consultation paper outlines several high-level and largely uncontentious principles and priorities to guide the future of the payments system. It also sets out a range of specific initiatives to support these priorities and a draft roadmap for their delivery. These initiatives include introducing a tiered payments licensing framework for payment service providers and Ensuring the payments system is aligned with developments in the broader data ecosystem, such as the CDR.
Feedback to this consultation will inform a final draft of the Government’s Plan which will be released later this quarter.
Opportunities
📱Nauggets app launches in Australia making gold more accessible with instant account-toaccount payments powered by Azupay a specialist real-time payments fintech, putting gold in reach of anyone with an Australian bank account 24/7 365 days a year. See here🇮🇳 Market Strategies for Aussie Technology Companies Interested in learning more about the fintech market in India or launching your operations in the market? Austrade will be leading a number of initiatives to help Australian businesses in India in 2023. Touch base with Stu (stu@fintechaustralia.org.au) to learn more.
Member Showcase
Don’t miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.
- RSM Australia’s national technology group lead, Mathavan Parameswaran, said tech sector to rebound from markdowns in 2023
- CreditorWatch Chief Economist Anneke Thompson writes a year of highs and lows for the Australian business community
- Bano Pty Ltd receives Australian financial services licence
- GoCardless becomes first ‘PayTo ready’ international payments company
Industry News
- Australian fintech Grapple secures $35m in funding
- 2023 starts slow for FinTech investments with 14 deals recorded
- Weekly investors roundup: Australia's HESTA increases sustainable PE; Temasek puts VC in rural India
- Australia’s Alex Bank lands regulatory ADI licence
- How Payment Trends Are Set to Evolve Across Asia in 2023
New Members
