FinTech Australia is out with a statement saying that two recent independent reports bode well for the underlying strength of Australia’s Fintech industry and further opportunities for growth.
Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia released a discussion paper on consumer payment methods. On the same day CB Insights released a report which tallied global VC Fintech investment.
The Reserve Bank paper indicated that cards have leapt ahead of cash for the first time when it comes to consumer payment methods in Australia. In 2013, cash was used in 47% of payments, compared to 43% for cards. Three years later, in 2016, this outcome has now flipped so that 52% of payments are now via card, compared to just 37% by cash. Cards are now the most commonly used payment method for all but the lowest-value transactions (ie: those of $10 or less), in Australia.
CEO of FinTech Australia Danielle Szetho says the ongoing transition in payments is to be expected;
“This outcome isn’t surprising, given the digitally savvy nature of Australian consumers and the fact that penetration of digital point-of-sale terminals and contactless card payments in Australia are among the highest in the world. Importantly, the high percentage of non-cash payments is an important ongoing platform for Fintech innovation, whether this comes from leveraging electronic payment data or creating new payment mechanisms or hardware.”
Szetho said the forthcoming New Payments Platform (NPP) will accelerate the shift as near instantaneous, 24/7 payments will become the norm.
“As a result, we encourage the Reserve Bank of Australia to ensure that there are clear, transparent and affordable access protocols for Fintechs to NPP infrastructure – unfortunately we haven’t seen these as yet. We also encourage the Australian Government to expedite its reforms to allow further customer access to their data, so that we can grow the number of innovative new fintech products and services, and provide consumers with more choice in how they pay for things.”
Commenting on the CB Insights report on global Fintech investment in the first half of 2017, FinTech Australia said Australia and Brazil were highlighted as having 9 of the largest Fintech deals outside the trio of Asia, Europa and North America.
The CB Insights report lists large Australian VC funding deals as including:
- Prospa (lending) – $19.3 million
- Society One (lending) – $19 million
- Airwallex (payments) – $13 million
- Uno (lending) – $12.3 million
- Assembly (payments) – $10 million
“We’re of the view that Australia remains an extremely attractive and sometimes under-serviced market for venture capital Fintech investment and believe this report illustrates the huge potential here,” said Szetho. “We’re pleased to see that this CB Insights report recognises that Australia’s Fintech industry is increasingly becoming a key world player.“FinTech Australia will be continuing to promote the Fintech innovation and talent on offer here in Australia to help attract international investment.”