FinTech Voice, September 26, 2024

Written By Katrina Angelika

Hi FinTech Community,

As we recover from the high of Intersekt 2024 last week, I wanted to thank you all for your participation, support and engagement. Impact can only be showcased when we come together as a community to participate in the important candid discussions with the industry, government and regulators. I do believe we achieved what we set out but now we take these learnings to help with setting the agenda for the organisation in the coming months. Your feedback is always appreciated.

  • You can find photos from the event here

  • The second edition of the Banking Reverse Pitch featuring Citi & Westpac is here. Submit your solutions by 18 October 2024.

  • Your participation and engagement is a key contributor to the success of the event. If you'd like to get involved for Intersekt 2025, please reach out to the team.

The Australian Open Banking Ecosystem Map and Report is making its way to Aotearoa New Zealand. Please take this 5-minutes survey to help Open Finance ANZ learn more about NZ’s open banking ecosystem and the participants, roles and use cases that exist ➡️ Complete by 4 October 2024. 

If you run digital technology business in Victoria, the Victorian Government wants to hear about your challenges and opportunities for the future ➡️ Complete the Survey by 16 October 2024

If you're interested in joining our international delegates program to Singapore, please submit your EOI here by Friday, 27 September 2024. Please reach out to Brandon if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Rehan D’Almeida,

Chief Executive Officer,

FinTech Australia

Policy Update

RBA announces strategic commitment to wholesale CBDC work

At our Intersekt Fintech Conference in Melbourne last week, the RBA revealed its strategic focus on advancing wholesale digital money and infrastructure, prioritising a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) over a retail CBDC. This initiative builds on the RBA's successful CBDC pilot in 2023, aimed at harnessing the potential efficiency gains of tokenised assets and markets for the Australian economy.

ASIC looking at a wider crypto licensing net 

ASIC is preparing an update to Information Paper 225, expected by November, to clarify the regulatory treatment of particular crypto tokens and products. The regulator expects that a large number of crypto-asset firms will likely need a licence under the current law, as told by ASIC Commissioner Kirkland to the AFR Crypto and Digital Assets summit. Separately, the AFR has reported that the Albanese Government is currently drafting legislation to require crypto exchanges to hold financial services licenses and create rules for custody of digital assets, though it's unclear whether the Bill will be released before the Federal election. 

Privacy Act Reform Bill  

After a range of reports, inquiries and reviews, the Attorney-General has introduced the long-anticipated Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 into Parliament. The Bill implements some of the recommendations of the Privacy Act Review Report, but many of the more significant proposed changes (such as the proposed removal of the small business exemption) have been left for future tranches, making the future direction of further privacy reforms uncertain. Some of the Bill's key items include:

  • requirements to include details of automated decision-making in privacy policies;

  • a statutory tort for series invasions of privacy;

  • a tiered penalty regime for contraventions of the Privacy Act; and 

  • two new anti-doxxing offences.

AML and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024

The Australian Government has introduced the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 into Parliament. This follows two rounds of industry consultation held in April 2023 and May 2024. The Bill aims to comprehensively overhaul Australia's AML/CTF regime by:

  • Expanding the AML/CTF regime to include “tranche 2” entities, such as lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents.

  • Updating regulations for virtual assets and payments technology.

  • Simplifying the regime to increase flexibility, reduce compliance burdens, and support businesses in preventing financial crime.

These changes will affect all AUSTRAC reporting entities, DCEs, new VASPs, and tranche 2 professions. Impacted businesses should prepare now to implement the necessary systems and processes for smooth compliance under the new regime.

We are working on the following submissions

We recently made submissions on:

  1. CDR Rules: Consent and Operational Enhancement Amendments Consultation

  2. Reforming Australia’s AML and CTF Regime

  3. Review of Australia’s Credit Reporting Framework

  4. Credit Reporting Code variations consultation

  5. Buy Now Pay Later regulatory reforms

  6. NSW Innovation Blueprint

  7. ACCC Designated Complaints determination

  8. Inquiry into Payments Systems (Regulation) Act amendments

  9. Payments System Modernisation (Regulation of Payment Service Providers) consultation paper

  10. 2024–25 Pre-Budget submission

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.

Lastly, thank you for the warm welcome from our community members as I step into the new role. I'm looking forward to meeting with many of you at Intersekt, but please feel free to reach out to me directly anytime for support.

Kind regards,

Katie Wilson,

Head of Policy,

FinTech Australia

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Get excited for events and opportunities from FinTech Australia and the community!

Opportunities to not miss

For more events from the community, see here.

Community Updates

Don’t miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.

  • MONEYME's FY24 Results: Market Cap eclipses $100m with strong loan book performance, profit, and growth outlook. Read More.

  • Entsia Expands Leadership Team with Two New Hires. Read More.

  • Aryza increases presence in Asia Pacific with the acquisition of Axcess Consulting. Read More.

  • Understanding APRA's Prudential Standard CPS 230 and the role of Software Escrow. Read More.

  • TRAction and Pinnacle Investment Management Ltd implement transaction reporting partnership. Read More.

  • Monoova celebrates 5th-year anniversary with brand refresh. Read More.

  • Upworth releases its free AI powered budgeting and cash flow management tool leveraging Open Banking. Read More.

  • It’s retirement literacy, not financial literacy that’s a global problem, says GBST. Read More.

  • CoinJar is the First Australian Crypto Exchange to Offer Multichain Transactions. Read More.

  • Australian crypto ownership falls as millions await regulation. Read More.

  • DoxAI Drives Digital Solutions for Federal and State Government Agencies through Strategic Partnership with Eccoi Pty Limited. Read More.

  • SWYFTX ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS. Read More.

  • Managing risk: Is your AML/CTF compliance up to scratch?. Read More.

  • Laboratories Credit Union and Moroku Join Forces to Revolutionise Digital Identity Services. Read More.

  • Easy Crypto reveals $2.7m returned to fraud victims. Read More.

For more news from the community, please see here.

Industry News

News & Opportunities from the fintech industry you don't want to miss!

  • The RegTech Association have opened their Industry Perspectives Survey to collect data on the wider RegTech Industry. This survey is essential in helping us benchmark the industry and track progress across the ecosystem.

FinTech Australia's Podcast

Listen to the challenges, opportunities, and stories from our community faces across the fintech industry in Australia! 🇦🇺

Katrina Angelika
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Easy Crypto reveals $2.7m returned to fraud victims