Fintech Voice, June 8, 2023
Hi FinTech,
We've had an exciting week with major regulatory announcements from the Government on the CDR and payments system reform.
FinTech Australia was delighted to see finalisation of the Government's Strategic Plan for the Payments System and the commencement of long-awaited consultation processes on payments licensing.
The Government also released its response to last year's Statutory Review of the CDR, providing certainty on the future direction and priorities as the reform continues to roll out.
We also recently launched the new CDR Month initiative – a series of events throughout June to promote and raise awareness about the Consumer Data Right. FinTech Australia will host the marquee CDR Showcase half-day conference on 29 June, featuring a keynote address, topical panel discussions and a 'use case showcase' session where founders will present on their exciting CDR use cases. These will cover payments, lending, climatetech, financial management and literacy and other exciting use cases. Your participation is crucial in amplifying our collective voice and making an undeniable impact.
In other news,
The Finnies was a massive success and we would like to thank you all for your support. Here is the full album and congratulations to all the winners!
Don't miss the webinar today we're hosting on Customer-Centric Risk Decisioning in Digital Lending webinar with Clayton Howes (CEO, MoneyMe), Joanne Edwards (Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Wisr) and Bharath Kumar Vellore (General Manager APAC, Provenir).
And lastly, Intersekt!
If you would like to discuss speaking opportunities, sponsorship, activation zones and more, please reach out.
Kind regards,
Rehan D’Almeida,
General Manager,
FinTech Australia
Policy Update
Major payments system reform announcements and finalisation of the Strategic Plan
The Treasurer this week announced the finalisation of the Strategic Plan for the Payments System, which sets out the Government's policy objectives and priorities for payments.
Accompanying the finalisation of the Plan, the Government released two consultations which were outlined in the Plan:
A discussion paper on defining payment functions, to support a licensing framework for payment service providers; and
A consultation paper on proposed reforms to the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998.
FinTech Australia will make a submission to both consultation processes. Details on how to get involved will be distributed to Policy Working Groups shortly.
Submissions close on 5 and 19 July.
Government responds to the Statutory Review of the Consumer Data Right
The Government this week released a statement in response to the Statutory Review of the Consumer Data Right.
The response agrees to many of the Review's recommendations and sets out a path forward for the next few years, notably flagging:
Greater focus on supporting the CDR to mature in banking and energy and improving data quality, before considering further sectoral expansions like telcos, super and insurance;
Prioritising the rollout of action initiation;
Enhancing cyber security;
Greater transparency on the consultation schedule and forward timelines;
Greater visibility of the 'Benefits Realisation Management Framework'; and
Consultation on policy options for phasing out screen scraping.
Minister Jones also flagged that an update will be available "very soon" on the Version 5 CDR Rules, which include implementation of business disclosure consents.
New consultation paper on Safe and Responsible AI in Australia
The Government has recently released a discussion paper on safe and responsible AI in Australia. The discussion paper explores a range of potential tools, frameworks, principles, regulations, standards, and business practices aimed at ensuring responsible AI use. The paper builds upon the Government's National Science and Technology Council's Rapid Research Report on Generative AI.
FinTech Australia will make a submission. We will release specific communication about how to get involved to our Policy Working Groups.
Please contact our Policy Team if you would like to contribute to our response. Submissions close on 26 July.
AUSTRAC publishes final guidance on debanking
AUSTRAC has released new guidance aimed at addressing the issue of debanking.
This new guidance is aimed at banks and businesses operating within sectors affected by debanking. It seeks to clarify the role that both banks and affected businesses play in ensuring a balance between risk management and financial inclusion.
FinTech Australia and our members were closely involved in the development of this guidance. We appreciate the guidance and AUSTRAC's position of discouraging the indiscriminate and widespread closure of accounts across entire industries and encouraging banks to assess their customers’ financial crime risks on a case by case basis.
However, we remain disappointed about the lack of action in implementing the Council of Financial Regulators' proposed policy responses to debanking. If you have recently been impacted by debanking, please reach out to the team. Data and recent de-identified case studies help us to raise this issue with Government.
AUSTRAC's National Risk Assessment Survey
AUSTRAC is actively working on two national risk assessments to showcase Australia's comprehension of money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
AUSTRAC invites members to complete a short survey to help them gather insights into the current money laundering and terrorism financing environment in Australia and the measures currently in place to mitigate these risks. Completing the survey should only take 5-10 minutes.
The survey closes on 16 June 2023.
Current consultations
We are currently developing submissions to consultations on:
Department of Industry, Science and Resources - Supporting Responsible AI : Discussion Paper;
Modernising Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing consultation.
We recently made submissions on:
See our recent submissions on our website.
FinTech Australia regularly makes submissions to consultations across a wide range of policy and regulatory issues. Communications about how to get involved in these processes are distributed to our Policy Working Group membership.
If you would like to get involved, please reach out to discuss membership
Upcoming Events/Opportunities
As we dive deeper to the world of Consumer Data Right (CDR) and Open Banking, join CDR Month's satellite event "Will Fortune Favour the Brave?" hosted by Ajeka.
The event will be joined by a list of panelists including Jacob Parker, CEO Fiskil, Stuart Low, Founder and CEO Biza.io, Chris Malcom, General Manager – Data, Analytics & Open Banking P&N Bank, and more to be announced.
Does your early-stage startup need funding? Apply to the Pitch, SmartCompany’s startup pitch competition where your startup could win up to $100,000! Get feedback on your big vision, unique market potential, and exciting solution from VC's like Blackbird, Tractor Ventures, AWS, and many more.
If you are a business professional or technologist seeking a career move in the fintech sector, be sure to join the upcoming free-to-attend eFC’s Global Fintech Fair, on June 21, 2023 to expand your professional network and gain insights from potential employers!
Bank of America Breakthrough Lab™ Seeks Founders of Early-Stage Startups. Founders of early-stage startups from underrepresented communities are encouraged to apply to the program that promotes financial inclusion and financial technology development with the goal of increasing the number and growth of small businesses.
Community Updates
Don’t miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.
Superhero launches in New Zealand.
Australia AI fintech, RDC, makes it in New York.
Aussie regtech, AssuranceLab, takes hold in the US.
How to manage the fintech margin squeeze? - Article Here
TreviPay partners with Mirakl to Provide Invoicing and Payment Solutions to Marketplace Businesses.
Increasing customer experience: the case for self-service banking. - Article Here
Fintech CANVAS makes financial history with first FX transaction using Australian CBDC.
Paycepaid recruits Former GoCardless Executive David Howgate.
How Microsoft's AI helps Yondr to modernise banking history - Article Here
Ascot Group and Imalia have partnered to offer a multi-combined professional indemnity insurance tailored to Australia start-ups, Findemnity.
Conquering the fiscal finish line - CreditorWatch published a paper to help businesses succeed in the new financial year.
Novatti released an article on 3 Key Data Privacy Changes every Fintech should know.
Industry News
News from the fintech industry you don't want to miss!
New Members
Let's welcome FinTech Australia's new members! 🎉
FinTech Australia's Podcast
Listen to the challenges, opportunities, and stories from our community faces across the fintech industry in Australia! 🇦🇺
Listen to our newest series "Business Spotlight", where we discuss with Rowan Wilde, co-founder of HelpPay, about their business history, journey, and future plans.
