The Australian FinTech industry has grown tremendously over the past few years and the minister in charge of the sector expects this to continue past the current crisis.
Jane Hume, the Australian assistant minister for superannuation, financial services and financial technology has said that FinTech has a big role to play in the new economy that will emerge after the coronavirus, InvestorDaily reported.
Speaking at a webinar hosted by Stone & Chalk, the innovation hub, she also acknowledged that there will be difficult times ahead and “that the ecosystem is feeling the pressure acutely”.
To help them, Hume said that some FinTech companies will be able to tap into the Australian government’s JobKeeper €130bn package.
Hume also said that the government would be looking overseas for inspiration about the best way to support the FinTech industry moving forward, saying, “I would keep an eye out for the October budget.”
The government has already taken steps to ensure the endurance of the country’s market. For instance, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) made it easier in March for listed companies to raise capital quickly. ASIC’s initiative meant that companies could be given temporary relief for certain ‘low doc’ offers such as rights offers as well as placements and share purchase plans even if they did not meet all the normal requirements.
At the tail end of 2019, the Aussie government launched a special probe into FinTech and RegTech to see what challenges and obstacles these sectors faced. The idea was that knowing that, the government could then take steps to remove some of the hurdles in their path to success.
The FinTech and RegTech industries in Australia has attracted record levels of investment over the past five years. In 2015, the industry saw $224m injected into it. That figure skyrocketed over the next few years to reach $1.45bn in 2019, according to FinTech Global’s research.
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