Well it continues to be a busy start to the year with lots of discussion around General Elections, Brexit, Trade Wars, slowing down of the Global economy and clearly the CoronaVirus.
These are all things that are and can affect New Zealand’s own economy that’s why we need to continue to look at emerging markets and what the opportunity for New Zealand companies is. The General Election is an opportunity for Government, Regulators and Industry to turn their attention to high growth markets such as tech and especially fintech which is estimated to be valued at some $320T come 2022.
History shows us that New Zealand can clearly compete on a global scale. We just need to create the right framework to make that possible so with that in mind we are involved in a number of key projects:
The Global Fintech Index
FinTechNZ has joined the Global Fintech Index which exists to collect, assemble and sort the world’s fintech data using the latest technology, to make it easier for any organisation in the fintech ecosystem to compare, benchmark and analyse fintech markets, categories, companies and products. This will also help put New Zealand companies on the map and introduce them to other fintech hubs around the world who can help them enter new markets.
Two Day Seminar for Start-Up/SME tech firms
We are bringing a new two day workshop/seminar to Auckland in conjunction with AUT on the 15th and 16th of July to help support Start-Up/SME tech firms. We will cover themes like Regulation both here and overseas, Funding how and where to find it, International markets and how to break into them and Partnerships, what does good look like when small tech companies engage with large incumbents? I have asked one of the banks to use the Royal Bank of Scotland framework that fellow Kiwi Ross McEwan introduced to the UK, lastly covering Governance and how to set that up from day one. We have space for 150 people and are looking for program partners to help support and shape the program, so keep those dates in your dairy free, or if you want to see the partnership proposal then please do get in touch. We’re hoping to have significant representation from Parliament attending, watch this space.
This initiative will provide pro bono support to one fintech related start-up per quarter. It will prepare them for the scale-up journey from MVP to Commercial, this is a partner program which we are launching on the 1st of April so get ready to submit your application. This is an awesome opportunity and I would like to thank Tim Packer for driving this forward, so register now, I look forward to seeing you there and good luck to everyone!
Strengthening the Fintech Opportunities for New Zealand and the UK
In September 2019 we were part of a joint delegation to the UK with the support from The Department of International Trade. Although the focal point was around the SIBOS and lendit conference, our agenda was to compile a report indicating both opportunities and barriers that would impact the free flow of talent, capital and financial solutions between both countries. The report will be released shortly and the key findings will be shared at a launch event on the 23rd of March which will be opened by Laura Clarke, British High Commissioner to New Zealand. We will also hear from William Russell the Lord Mayor of London, on how we can capitalise on the chance to influence the content of the Free Trade Agreement between our nations.
Don’t miss the opportunity to run an event during Techweek, we have regional coordinators to help pull events together. We also have two opportunities to run a Techweek TV session. One I can MC and you can be on the panel, or you can sponsor the session and control the content, so please do get in touch as this is a great opportunity to showcase to both local and overseas partners what New Zealand is all about.
This week I continued my journey with Government and met with MBIE. The main subject was the need for standards across the Financial services industry and how can we work together, we also talked about our desire to complete a detailed piece of research around the baseline and opportunities for fintech in New Zealand. This was part of the discussion we had with all the regulators and Minister Faafoi on the “Future of Financial Services in New Zealand” we will be having our next meeting in mid April in Wellington. This is the forum to discuss what needs to change in order to drive economic growth through innovation.
As Australia draws closer to a launch date for Open Banking I want us as an industry to start talking about Open X which is where players will leverage data and create a shared marketplace, this will help New Zealand leapfrog what the UK have done and what Australia is about to embark on. I still maintain that an industry led initiative would be best with government support, for this to happen we need to be clear on what we are trying to achieve and that all projects and resource are pulled together to give this momentum. If not I fear we will be regulated to undertake the changes that I don’t believe will deliver the outcomes the original concept was trying to address.
As always we have the InsurTech and WealthTech sub groups working hard however support is always welcome and we are looking at other themes around Cyber and Health insurance, together we can make a difference.
On Wednesday we held a joint event with BlockchainNZ and it was a fantastic affair. Thanks to Deloitte for hosting us and Chris Linton, Saj Nair, Brendan McEnroe and Paul Quickenden for being on the panel and sharing some insights into the practical uses of this new technology, as well as discussing the potential negative to using blockchain around speed, once it is on there it cannot be removed. We will be looking for speakers and panelists for upcoming events, if you want to be involved please do get in touch.
James Brown
General Manager
InsurTechNZ Update
2020 has started with me taking on the additional role of Co-Chair of Insurtech NZ. The pay’s lousy but the environment is exciting and I love the passion to create the best possible insurance customer outcomes! I look forward to doing what I can to make a difference.
Insurtech has now been well evangelised and I think we are on a threshold where it’s time to focus even more on specific use cases and how insurtech is being applied to specific customer problems or underwriting and claims challenges that are commonplace within the industry. This is one of my personal observations from the 2020 ANZIIF Insurtech Conference in Sydney. Only then will we see the next level of engagement and collaboration between insurtech providers and the established industry players that we all want to see in our mission to change insurance for good.
I have summarised the ANZIIF Conference for you all in the event that you weren’t able to attend in person.
You can read the latest InsurTechNZ newsletter here, if you don’t already receive a copy make sure you sign up.
Kai Dwyer
Co-Chair, InsurTechNZ
WealthTechNZ Update
The wealthtech sector in New Zealand continues to gather momentum, and it’s exciting to see the number of new products and technology enabled offerings coming to the market, particularly in the ETF, managed funds and KiwiSaver space.
As we head into a new regulatory era, it’s encouraging to hear the FMA’s feedback that the majority of financial advisers across NZ seem to be well prepared for the upcoming regulatory changes. Within WealthTechNZ, this is one of the areas we will be spending time on this year, looking at how technology can assist financial advisers to streamline internal compliance processes to more effectively and efficiently comply with regulatory requirements moving forward.
Our first networking event for the year is coming up on Thursday 2nd April, which will include a broader conversation about how technology can best serve the wealth and investment management industry under FSLAA, and what are some of the challenges we need to overcome. If you operate within the wealth/investment industry, I’d encourage you to come along and join us for drinks and networking! Please make sure you RSVP, full event details can be found here.
From this initial, broader event in April, we’ll then take a deeper dive over the course of the year to address more specifically the different types of businesses across the wealth and investment sector, and how technology is being used within these specific sub-groups within the industry and highlight some best case examples.
We also potentially have an opportunity for members to be part of a FinTechNZ/WealthTechNZ delegation attending the Global WealthTech Summit being held in London in November this year, if this may be of interest to you please get in contact with Rachel over the coming month so we can start gauging interest levels.
If you’d like to get involved with WealthTechNZ or join in our events, please just get in contact!
Rachel Strevens
Chair, WealthTechNZ
Events
Entries close for the 2020 NZ Hi-Tech Awards on Monday 2 March at 5pm sharp.
Join us at InsurTechNZ’s event Funding and Business Development, 25 March, Auckland.
Attend Future Government 2020. Serving New Zealand through a digital public service, 25 March, Wellington.
Attend one of Asia’s largest Insurance events InsurTech Connect, Singapore 2-4 June 2020, speak to James or Jason about being part of the Delegation.
Have you checked out Innovfest Unbound, 3-4 June Singapore.
Book now for Global WealthTech Summit, 11 November, London.
News
Breaking news Digital experts to provide advice on technological change in New Zealand.
The End Of Insurance As We Know It…. a rundown of the latest and greatest ANZIIF Conference 2020.
New revenue streams are always a popular idea in business but Should you commercialise your data? Here are 5 questions to ask first from FinTechNZ member Datamine.
NZ tech companies forecast to rapidly expand in 2020. “The economy is benefitting from NZ fintech businesses who are working in collaboration with financial institutions and regulators as well as policy makers. “From banking to insurance, finance, investment and wealth management, Kiwi fintech businesses are well positioned to make their impact on financial inclusion.
We are always looking for news directly from our members. If you have any stories or information to share, please get in touch.
The new wave of finance. How can international standards play a role in your business?
Have you ever thought about how international standards could help or hinder your business?
Did you know that as the world moves towards faster payments, there are a raft of standards that encourage fewer cross-border hurdles and improve the flow of money?
Standards New Zealand (Standards NZ) are New Zealand’s gateway into international standards bodies such as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
This means that commercial businesses, agencies, and regulators work with Standards NZ to participate in, or observe, any new standards development in their area of interest.
The latest ISO Focus magazine is focussed on all things financial and is worth a read here. If you want to learn more about getting involved in standards development, contact Standards New Zealand’s Engagement Lead, Natalie Bowie.
