FinTech Voice September 15, 2022

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Intersekt 2022 was a resounding success. Thank you to all who participated. Highlights, videos, recordings, and more information will be shared in a few days. Until then, here are the pictures from the two days.One of the biggest value drivers this year was the roundtables we held with key regulators. Roundtable participants were some of the first to engage directly with Treasury and regulators on the Government's recent policy announcements, including:

  • Crypto asset token mapping;
  • A strategic plan for the payments ecosystem;
  • CDR action initiation legislation;
  • The RBA's central bank digital currency use cases project; and
  • The Board of Tax's consultation on the tax treatment of crypto assets and transactions.

We had a record number of policy-makers and regulators lead sessions this year, including the ACCC, ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC, DISR, RBA, Treasury and the Board of Tax. Every session was at capacity and packed with free-flowing discussion and tough questions.Minister Stephen Jones, Federal Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, also gave a video address to the conference where he emphasised the importance of the ongoing rollout of the Consumer Data Right and the benefits it will bring for consumers and small businesses.FinTech Australia looks forward to continuing the conversation with policy-makers, regulators and the Minister on these important policy issues for the fintech community. Please reach out if you wish to participate in future conversations with regulators and if you have any specific challenges where we can support.The EY Census has closed and we aim to present our findings in late October. Thank you to all fintechs who participated. We will share more details with you soon.Some big announcements this week. Congratulations to MYOB on the recent acquisition of Flare. CBA’s Payto rollout is the beginning of an exciting phase for Payto.In partnership with the other key industry bodies, we are organising the next Tech Industry Collective meetup in Sydney on Tuesday October 25. Register here.As a global fintech that invests growth capital in innovative businesses in Australia, Canada, and the UK, Fundsquire is excited to be a part of Intersekt as a sponsor and panel speaker. Fundsquire aims to continue empowering the Australian startup ecosystem by helping game-changing businesses accelerate through funding and resources.For any queries and support, please reach out to us.Regards,Rehan D’Almeida,General Manager,FinTech Australia

Government Progresses Digital & Tech Tax Incentives

The Government has released legislation that will implement the Technology Investment Boost and the Skills and Training Boost tax incentives that were included in the March 2022 Budget.The Technology Investment Boost will support digital adoption by small businesses (with aggregated annual turnover less than $50 million) by providing a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction for eligible expenditure incurred on expenses and depreciating assets that support digital operations.The incentives will be backdated to apply from 29 March 2022, with an annual cap applying so that expenditure up to $100,000 will be eligible for the Technology Investment Boost, with the bonus deduction capped at $20,000 per year.

Treasury consults on proposals to improve quality of financial advice

Treasury has released a consultation paper on proposals for reform to improve the quality of financial advice.Most relevant to FinTech Australia members is the inclusion of proposals to make it easier for digital advice providers to provide advice to consumers.Notably, the proposals include:

  • Replacing the best interests duty, the appropriate advice duty, the duty to warn the client and the duty of priority in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act with a new duty to provide ‘good advice’ (i.e. advice that would be reasonably likely to benefit the client);
  • Simplifying disclosure document requirements to make it easier to provide digital advice; and
  • Removing existing obligations applying to the provision of ‘general advice’ and broadening the current definition of ‘personal advice’ so that it is clear it applies whenever a recommendation or opinion is provided to a client about a financial product.

The proposals paper is the latest stage in an iterative review process which started with the setting of Terms of Reference in March by the previous Government. A final report will be provided to Government by the end of this year.Current ConsultationsFinTech Australia is currently developing submissions to consultations on:

We will be working with our members to draft these submissions.

📇King & Wood Mallesons CRYPTO ASSET CONSULTATION ON AUSTRALIA’S HORIZON. Australia’s Treasury Ministers announced consultation on a framework for regulation of the crypto asset sector for industry and regulators. For more, visit here💭Think & Grow are working on the most in-demand nationwide research project - the fourth iteration of the Australian Startup Salary Guide 2022/2023. Click here to participate in the survey.💁🏻Lift Women are funding women and girls who are passionate about their business dreams, want to make a difference and be a CHANGEMAKER! The Female Founder Grant Challenge 2022 is NOW OPEN. You can win 1 of 3 business funding grants, valued at over $15,000 EACH. To apply, simply start a project on Lift Women to be part of the challenge. Or book your free consultation call.
🔍 AusIndustry is hosting a a free information session to learn more about the Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&DTI). This hour long session will introduce you to the R&DTI and guide you through key eligibility requirements. Oct-Nov 2022. For more info, click here🇭🇰 Hong Kong Fintech Week 2022 is here - one of the largest conferences on the calendar, attracting more than 12,000 senior executives and featuring over 250 of the world's top speakers including FinTech founders, investors, regulators, and academics. 31 Oct - 4 Nov. Book your pass nowTech Collective- Registration Link and Collateral The Tech Industry and Collective event has a registration limit of 210. Each association will be able to register 30 attendees including staff members. Here is the link, don’t forget to use the code CollectiveFTA to be added to book. 25 Oct, 5pm.Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2022 Singapore welcomes you in-person to the 7th edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF). Brings together the global FinTech community. 2-4, Nov, Singapore EXPO. Register nowForward Festival 2022 Silicon Coast is incredibly excited to have FinTech Australia and FinTech QLD as a partner. 26-30, Sept. 50% Community discounted tickets here
Don’t miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.
  • Bridgit Non-bank lender Bridgit this week announced that it hit $1 billion in loan applications and is looking to grow its broker offering and network
  • Shift launches equipment line revolving credit facility
  • Blossom partners with Azupay to bring real-time account-to-account payments via PayID to a new generation of investors.
  • Australian Payment Plus major milestone for the Australian industry’s adoption of digital identity
  • Airwallex Australian business growth index continue growing globally
  • Joust new build stall
  • Weel rebrands to become “Weel” to drive bigger clients and international expansion
  • Terrapay Zai and Terrapay partner to accelerate cross-border payments globally
  • Adatree launches Open X use case report
  • Fluency has put together a helpful eBook to assist SMEs in reducing FX impact on their bottom line during these tough times.

 

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