How we can help leverage the Fintech opportunity in New Zealand?

Dear readers,

It has been a great few weeks with topics like Brexit, Green Fintech, Singapore Fintech and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) being discussed. We’re also thrilled to release our Regulatory Roundtable discussion paper off the back of the very successful September regulation session, thanks again to everyone involved.

The Department of International Trade (DIT) led a delegation to the UK with FinTechNZ and FinTech Australia. We met with a number of amazing companies and spent time with the UK government to discuss the FTA and what we think would benefit both countries. We delved into the new agreement between Singapore and New Zealand and how this could be a gateway for UK companies to test, learn and invest in New Zealand, then potentially use that to springboard into new markets.

With such a big focus on climate change a number of people still struggle to understand how Fintech can help to tackle it. Well, think about green financing, green energy, green homes. They all require investment therefore we can control how and where we invest, to create a more sustainable environment a more stable financial services sector and most importantly we can start to tackle financial inclusion and financial literacy.

A number of the companies we met shared their journey and how it was much harder than they thought it would be, a lesson for all. Some of the innovation coming out of VISA is really forward thinking and really did project our thinking into the future. We have been speaking with the Royal Bank of Scotland over the last couple of years so it was great to finally meet up with their innovation team and see what they are doing as a company, for their customers and the wider ecosystem. They created a framework all of the banks accepted and the British Standards Institute agreed to, which sets out clear parameters for rules of engagement between small and large complex organisations. This is a huge step forward, I have shared this with our ecosystem and look forward to discussing how we can implement a similar framework here in New Zealand.

This month has been busy with speaking engagements and it was great to speak at a variety of events covering topics across the wider Fintech ecosystem, wealth, insurtech, diversity, funding, the need for more collaboration, regulation and market anxiety, phew.

Before we get to the end of the year I will be attending the Hong Kong FinTech Week festival courtesy of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and the team who are keen to support New Zealand entering into the Asian market. I am excited to see the likes of Delta Insurance and Verify Union attending with a number of other New Zealand companies. Hong Kong made a significant investment in Fintech however we will have to see how it all plays out with the current situation.

You will have seen that we had four board seats up for election and I know that we have had a good number of potential new board members, so I am really looking forward to seeing who will be on our new board going into 2020. 

Members please ensure you join FinTechNZ for our Annual Meeting being held at 3pm on Thursday 21 November 2019 via Zoom video conference.

FinTechNZ Chair Mitchell Pham will share an update on FinTechNZ’s strategy and plans for the coming year and the new members of the FinTechNZ Executive Council will be announced.

Please register here for the event to ensure that you will receive the Zoom meeting details which will be sent via email. You must be a FinTechNZ Member to attend.

Are you going to the TIN100 Report launch? Greg and the team have done an amazing job for the last 14 years and I for one am eagerly awaiting what’s in the report this year, the trends, the up and coming and if Fintech is still the fastest growing part of the tech sector, trying to don the kilt so see you there.

Finnotec 2019 is just around the corner and if you haven’t got your ticket, get in quick Binu continues to do a great job and it just keeps getting better, the longest running Fintech conference in New Zealand and now with the backing of companies like Harmoney, XERO, Westpac and Paymark it really is putting its mark on the map and getting international recognition.

We will be finishing the year with a bang, two joints events with AI, and the final InsurTechNZ and WealthTech events following on from the great success we have had all year. We are in the process of planning the 2020 events calendars and will be able to share this shortly so if you want to be on a panel, speak at an event or become a host then please do let us know.

Two things I am keen to explore are how we engage with you better, through surveys or other methods, so if you have a tool you use or you are building and you want to test it on the Fintech community then please do get in touch.

Second is this newsletter, can you please distribute this within your business and on LinkedIn, we are keen to get more people involved in these conversations so please help us to reach a wider and more importantly diverse audience.

I look forward to having breakfast with the Prime Minister in a week’s time and I am looking forward to hearing how the Government aim to tackle the future of work and economic challenges. I am sure Fintech will be high on the agenda.

James Brown
General Manager
FinTechNZ

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Update from the Chair, Jason Roberts

As always there has been a lot happening in the InsurTechNZ space. The last series of events include the collaboration with FSC on their Wellbeing focused conference, the AA Insurance hosted ClaimsTech event, the Centrality hosted, Blockchain event and international delegations supported by FinTechNZ. 

InsuTech is changing rapidly, to hear more about my views on this read my latest blog InsurTech is creating an evolution – get involved. Speaking of getting involved, congratulations to one of our most involved member JRNY who are celebrating ‘a myriad of awards’. 

Coming up we have additional opportunities for the Singapore FinTechNZ conferences, the combined FinTechNZ/AI/InsurTech events in late November in Auckland and Wellington with more information coming soon. Followed by a delegation going to Sydney for the annual ANZIIF InsurTech event, and more.

Come along – be surprised!

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Update from the Chair, Rachel Strevens

WealthTechNZ is pursuing a number of initiatives based on our purpose of promoting innovation and supporting the digitalisation of wealth and investment services for improved customer outcomes. Current initiatives include the standardisation of Term Deposits, online AML, digital advice, and addressing the funding gap. If you’d like to know more or get involved with any of these initiatives please get in touch. Our next networking and connect event for WealthTech is on November 20th in Auckland, and will be focused around digital/robo advice, full details and event invitations will be out soon. 

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Member News

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