International speaker line-up announced for Australia's inaugural fintech festival

The founder of two UK challenger banks, a world digital identity expert and a prominent US business leader known as the godfather of fintech are among the headline speakers confirmed today for Australias inaugural fintech festival.

FinTech Australia and Next Money, in partnership with the State Government of Victoria, today confirmed the initial tranche of international and domestic speakers for the two-day Collab/Collide summit, which forms part of the week-long Intersekt festival being held in Melbourne, Australia from 27 October to 3 November.

These are:

• Anthony Thomson, founder of the UKs Metro and Atom Banks (and the current chairman of Atom Bank). Atom Bank is regarded as the first real alternative to the UKs traditional banks.

• Ron Suber, known as the godfather of fintech due to his extensive global business network along with his commitment to help grow the fintech industry. Mr Suber recently joined the leadership team at Credible, the multi-lender marketplace for student loans, after five years leading the growth and transformation of Silicon Valley based lender Prosper Marketplace.

• Megan Caywood, chief platform officer for the UKs mobile only Starling Bank, who has delivered a range of major customer experience improvements.

• David Birch, recognised internationally as a thought leader in digital identity and digital money and author of Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin

• Van Le, who is the co-founder of Xinja, which is on track to be Australias first independent, 100% digital bank made for mobile (also known as a 'neobank' or 'digital challenger bank' in the UK)

• Lucy Liu, co-founder and chief operating officer of Melbourne-based payments company Airwallex who was this year named as one of Forbes 30 Under 30

• Emma Weston, CEO and co-founder of AgriDigital, which provides a blockchain-enabled, integrated commodity management solution for the global grains industry

Were incredibly excited about this first announcement of domestic and international speakers, and some of the names well be announcing in coming weeks, said FinTech Australia CEO Danielle Szetho.

Our initial tranche of speakers are truly fintech world leaders and bring decades of experience and insights in areas such as marketplace lending, digital challenger banks and security.

Todays announcement is just the start, but demonstrates why we think Intersekt will be one of Asia-Pacifics most influential and exciting fintech festivals.

Mr Thomson said: Im very pleased to be taking part in this timely event. The Australian fintech industry is going through a period of tremendous growth and, having visited incubators in both Sydney and Melbourne Ive been very impressed by the quality of the companies that Ive met.

Im looking forward to sharing some of my experiences in building Atom Bank (no 8 in the KPMG list of global fintech disruptors) and some thoughts on how the industry will evolve.

Mr Suber said: I am returning to Australia for a second time this year given the entrepreneurship, opportunity and excitement in fintech throughout the region"

Ms Starling said: "I'm very excited to be part of this event. There's a great appetite for innovation in technology in Australia, and this event is a great catalyst for fostering collaboration across borders - something we're very keen to do at Starling."

Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis said: I am pleased that Intersekt has already attracted some of the worlds most prominent fintech leaders and influencers.

"The Andrews Labor Government fully supports the Intersekt Festival. It is a wonderful event that showcases Victoria's outstanding credentials as a fintech and innovation hub to a global audience.

The Intersekt festival is being held in partnership with FinTech Victoria, York Butter Factory and Next Money and presented by the State Government of Victoria.

Apart from the two-day Collab/Collide summit, the Intersekt festival will also include:

• A two and a half day fintech hackathon, sponsored by NAB

• A two-day community and corporate Melbourne showcase circuit, which will include dynamic community discussions and events and highlight the citys fintech ecosystem;

• An expo, pitchfest (sponsored by VISA) and extensive networking opportunities; and

• A one-day event focussing on blockchain technology, which is transforming financial services in areas such as supply chains, smart contracts, payments and foreign exchange.

Early bird tickets to Intersekt are available now at www.intersektfestival.com

NOTE TO MEDIA: Media are invited to express interest in attending and reporting on the conference.