Australian Treasurer praises fintech sector

Scott Morrisons is proud of Australian fintech

Australia's high placing on EY's index draws praise from Treasurer. And how meaningful is the China comparison?

Aussie Treasurer Scott Morrison has congratulated Australian fintech for its strong showing on the international stage.

Reacting to the Ernst and Young fintech adoption index released last week, which found that Australia was one of the quickest countries to adapt to fintech, the Treasurer said he welcomed the result.

“FinTech adoption is good for the economy and good for Australian consumers. It also helps reduce tax avoidance and criminal activity, which levels the playing field for everyone,” Mr Morrison said.

“[Our] plan to make Australia a global FinTech centre is working.”

Australia houses almost 400 fintech companies, the majority of which provide services to other businesses.

While the EY report found China leads the fintech pack and is far ahead of Australia, the comparison is not necessarily meaningful.  

Australian fintech is concentrated in lending and wealth management, where tech disrupters try to displace banking staff making loan decisions and traditional wealth managers. Chinese fintech, by contrast, focusses on payments, where fintechs try and offset China’s weak infrastructure and help the Communist Party’s maintain oversight of how money is spent.