The Treasurer met today with the FinTech Advisory Group to progress the development of innovation in the financial services sector and key measures in the National Innovation and Science Agenda supporting Australia’s FinTech industry.
The FinTech Advisory Group, chaired by Stone & Chalk Chairman and Westpac Director Craig Dunn, includes representatives of start-ups, incubators and corporates in Australia’s banking and finance sector.
The Advisory Group has already made some real progress working with government, with the introduction of measures such as the CSIRO Data61 review of opportunities for distributed ledger technology (Blockchain), the Productivity Commission examining ways to improve data availability and use, and extending venture capital tax concessions to start-up FinTech businesses engaged in financial services, banking and insurance.
The Government has also announced its intention to stop the ‘double taxation’ of digital currencies under the GST regime.
Today the Group met to further progress the agenda on: the development of a Regulatory Sandbox; ‘Block-chain’; open financial data; robo advice; comprehensive credit reporting; crowdfunding; and, venture capital.
Financial technology – or FinTech – is transforming our financial system and potentially our entire economy.
FinTech is all about stimulating technological innovation so that financial markets and systems can become more efficient and consumer‑focused.
Innovation can help drive improvements in traditional financial services and, perhaps more importantly, promote disruption through innovative new products and services, which can offer benefits to consumers and other sectors of the economy.
The Government is working with FinTech Australia and the FinTech Advisory Group to finalise legislation for crowd‑sourced equity funding for public companies in Australia.
The FinTech Advisory Group members are: Craig Dunn (Stone & Chalk), Simon Cant (Reinventure), Matt Symons (SocietyOne), Charlotte Petris (Timelio), Claire Wivell Plater (The Fold Legal), Jonny Wilkinson (Equitise), Scott Farrell (King Wood Mallesons), Kelly Bayer Rosmarin (Commonwealth Bank), Libby Roy (PayPal), Nerida Caesar (Veda), Asher Tan (Coinjar), Jost Stollmann (Tyro), Ben Heap (H2 Ventures) and Stuart Stoyan (MoneyPlace).
The Turnbull Government will continue to work with the Australian FinTech industry to help create an environment where it can be both internationally competitive and play a central role in aiding the positive transformation of our economy.