Welcome to the new FinTechNZ Executive Council; Chris Barton from Xero, Nicola Dorward from NIB, Neil Roberts from Harmoney and Tim Larkin from Dacreed who are joining us in 2019.

Thanks to all who attended the Annual Meeting, there was a great turnout and many insights were shared by the leadership team; a highlight – the association has achieved phenomenal growth in the past 12 months, with membership doubling from 77 members to 153 members in the year to September 2018.

We’re pleased to have finalised the New Zealand FinTech ecosystem map for 2018, to help our members better understand who to collaborate with for various capabilities within the community. Thanks to MBIE and Flux for supporting FinTechNZ with this project.

The Open Ecosystem working group has now been formed with Shahid Saiyad from IBM and Kristen Lunman from KiwiWealth as Co-Chairs. Other working groups open for members include International, InsurTechNZ, Start-ups, Talent and the Investor Guide so if you’re interested please get in touch.

In other news, while the results from the review by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the Reserve bank could have been more positive, New Zealand banks have been looking at options to improve customer experience and embrace the FinTech community, which is great news for all Kiwis.

Tonight I get to talk FinTech with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern so you can be sure it will be on my list of conversation topics, along with the opportunities FinTech holds for all New Zealanders, Open Banking and the need for a Sandbox here in New Zealand.

It’s not long now until the NZ Fintech Summit, New Zealand’s premier FinTech event, on November 29. We’ll be covering a wide range of topics that relate to the sector; from Open Banking to cryptocurrencies and cashless payments; Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and last but not least, securing funding for your next innovative financial technology idea. View the exciting line-up of speakers here and the full agenda here.

Sponsor Xero will be presenting on the core principles of AI to engage customers as well as invite all early-stage FinTech startups to enter the Xero pitch competition at NZ Fintech Summit. The competition winner will receive a free desk for a year in Xero’s new Rewired community, coworking, event and meeting space for tech-focused startups.There are spaces for two more entrants; with a complimentary ticket for each. Contact Binu Paul or James Brown to enter.

Maximise your opportunity to learn from, and network with, New Zealand’s foremost FinTech professionals. Last year was a sell-out event, so register today. What a way to end what has been an exciting year for FinTechNZ and the technology sector, I look forward to seeing you there.

Regards

James Brown
General Manager

Register for the joint  FinTechNZ Summit, 29 November

Join NZTech for the launch of Digital ID

EVENTS

Attend the NZ Fintech Summit, at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland on November 29. Use member code FS18FN15 for a 15% discount.

Join NZTech to celebrate the official launch of Digital Identity NZ, in Auckland on December 3.

Make a note in your diary for the FinTechNZ and AI Forum joint events in Wellington February 14, Auckland February 21, Christchurch February 27, and get your earlybird tickets for the AI Day events in March and April.

Register for the Australian Payment Summit: Payments in the Platform Economy November 26 and 27 and find out if Australia can go Cashless?

NZTE and Callaghan Innovation are leading a Kiwi delegation to SaaStr Annual 2019, the largest gathering in the world for B2B software.

Join the international conversations happening in Europe in 2019 at the Paris FinTech Forum and the European Payments Summit.

FinTechNZ’s Chair Mitchell Pham shares his perspective on the association’s engagements with the International FinTech Sector.

Why Hayley Horan, New Zealand’s Trade Commissioner to Singapore, sees events like the Singapore FinTech Festival as key drivers of growth for New Zealand’s technology sector.

Discover highlights from FinTechNZ’s fincal Connect event in conjunction with InsurTechNZ.

FinTech Scotland member James Varga gives an outsider’s perspective on what Open Banking might mean for New Zealand.

The 2018 TIN Report reveals booming international revenue (or export) growth of 12.4%, lifting total TIN200 revenue by a record $1.1 billion.

Missed out on Blockworks 2018? Watch the Blockworks talks and panel discussions here.

General event submissions for NZTech’s Techweek19 open in January, but if you’d like to be part of the Programme Highlights apply before 14 December.

Registrations are open for 2019 Export Essentials workshops throughout New Zealand.

Download the DLA Piper global white paper on Digital Transformation in Financial Services or view the infographic of key findings . Read the Open source health check by Nick Valentine.

Read why Avani Vyas, Senior Underwriter at Delta Insurance, believes businesses need to protect their IP rights.

Tiffany Ryan, Westpac NZ Head of Financial Crime and Protective Services, shares her predictions for the future of fraud prevention in the FinTech sector.

IBM has announced the launch of its Open Banking Platform; aimed at helping banks to embrace the API economy and Open Banking.

Meet new FinTechNZ member VerifyUnion, specialists in Digital Identification and verification.

Despite increased fuel prices, spending is still up across NZ. Find out how your region did in the Paymark October regional trends release . Paymark were recently awarded the coveted ESOMAR Research Effectiveness Award.

InsurTechNZ’s Jason Roberts answers Insurance Business: Are brokers doing enough to maintain their value in a digital age?

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