Category Archives: Online Economy

A big year in #FinTech

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Looking back over the past year, it’s easy to see that 2015 has seen a giant leap forward for #FinTech in the Melbourne #startup scene. Much of this progress can be attributed to the efforts of the FinTech Melbourne Meetup Group, which, in little over a year, has established itself as one of the leading local startup groups, culminating in its first pitch night last month.
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There have been some significant business developments this year, including the launch and expansion of new P2P lending providers, payment platforms, digital currency solutions and robo-advice services. And while Melbourne does not yet have an equivalent to Sydney’s Stone & Chalk (a dedicated FinTech hub), there is enough momentum across the network of co-working spaces and the startup ecosystem of founders, advisors, incubators and accelerator programs to ensure that the city is building on its status as a financial centre.

For myself, the year in FinTech really got going with the inaugural FinTech Startup Weekend, which for me was a steep learning curve. I not only learned how to survive a hackathon, but I also gained a much deeper understanding of FinTech itself. I had become increasingly aware of the topic, via other meetup events, business networking and through reading (and writing for) specialist trade publications.* But until you actually see some of the innovative and practical ideas on new technical solutions for financial services, FinTech can seem like a lot of vaporware.

Emerging Winners

At the recent FinTech Melbourne Pitch Night, five local startups presented to a panel of distinguished judges in front of a packed audience at Melbourne Town Hall. Representing core fintech sectors (and the key messages from their pitches) were:

  • Fuzo – mobile payments platform: “2.5bn people don’t have a bank account”
  • CoinJar – a Bitcoin exchange: “targeting digital nomads”
  • StockLight – investment research: “24% of investors want help with analysis”
  • Moula – SME lending: “not a lender of last resort”
  • Timelio – cashflow finance: “factoring has missed the internet generation”

In what is traditionally a bank-dominated area of trade finance, Timelio is challenging the usual models for invoice discounting, while offering a new asset class for selected investors. I’ve featured Moula in this blog before, but this time around, I felt the presentation was quite low-key, and rather coy about the business model and the financials – maybe that’s because things are moving very quickly, and Moula is in the process of building significant traction via key commercial partnerships. The Fuzo pitch was quite complex (and probably too much technical information to present given the format), but the SIM card-based technology looks very interesting. StockLight‘s proposition is quite simple, and with access to quality content and a range of commercial models, could be one to watch as every financial institution is having to rethink wealth management and personal advice. However, on the night, CoinJar took out the first prize, and not for the first time, demonstrated how a simple concept can actually make the complex more straightforward: if nothing else, it proves that “Bitcoin can be done”.

Backlash

Some comments in the specialist trade publications have been quite scathing about FinTech, in particular those few startups that have embarked on public listings and IPOs. Much of this backlash relates to governance, disclosure and transparency; fair enough, they are important issues. But these criticisms should not be used to undermine the innovative technology, new business models and strategic partnerships that FinTech startups are bringing to the market.

Going mainstream

When otherwise conservative institutions such as industry superannuation funds start to embrace FinTech (e.g., Equip’s tie-up with Clover), or if the ASX decides to deploy blockchain technology to replace the CHESS clearing and settlement platform, it means that FinTech is definitely on the map, and can’t be written off or even ignored as some sort of irritating, disruptive upstart.

Next Steps?

In the wake of announcing the Victorian Government’s $60m LaunchVic startup initiative, the minister for small business, innovation and trade, Philip Dalidakis has been on a flurry of highly visible public speaking engagements, networking events and social media posts. Keen to get the message out there that his government intends to make Victoria a startup success, the minister is certainly generating considerable goodwill in the community.

I’m yet to understand fully the actual remit and stated goals of this new Quango. For example, what does “investing in core infrastructure” mean? Do we really need another bureaucratic body? Couldn’t the initiative have been better structured as a peak body to represent and support the private sector activities already underway?

If the minister is going to be true to his introductory remarks at the recent #hscodefest hackathon, the government needs to create the right environment for startups to flourish, not try to pick winners – leave that to the investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts. As an example, run a FinTech-themed hackathon to improve the Myki system…..

The Last Word…

Finally, for anyone needing an overview on crypto-currency and the future of money, I highly recommend Torsten Hoffmann‘s award-winning 2015 documentary, “Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It”, which received its Melbourne premiere last week at Collective Campus.

FOOTNOTE:

* I can’t claim any credit, but a few months after my Trade Finance blog, ICICI and Alibaba announced a new partnership – in part proving my theory that collaboration soon follows in the wake of disruption…

Next week: Crate-digging in Japan

Finding Careers in #FinTech

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Through the many meetup events I attend around Melbourne, people often ask me for career advice on which FinTech startup to join or follow. In response, I try to summarise where I see the current state of the sector, and clarify where they see a role for themselves – information I am happy to share here. I should preface my remarks by stating upfront that I am not a qualified career adviser (but I can refer you to people who are).

First, in choosing to make a career move to FinTech (or any other startup venture), it’s important to know whether you are looking for a similar role within a new business, or making a move into a new area such as product management, UX, content development or coding. Assuming you have acquired the necessary technical skills to transition into a new role, you still need to work out what your personal fit will be in a startup environment. Alternatively, you must demonstrate an ability to apply your knowledge and experience to the benefit of the new business, and a willingness to learn on the job (and perhaps even in your own time, and at your own expense). Accountants who can write code might be rare, but someone with a finance background and who is proficient in writing spreadsheet macros may have a better chance of transitioning into coding if they can build on this core expertise (e.g., helping to develop algorithms for decision-making tools such as stock-screening applications).

Second, FinTech within Australia is still largely based on P2P lending (including SME), payment solutions, banking apps and price comparison platforms, with some developments in financial planning (“robo advice”, stock tracking, portfolio management). Oh, and cryptocurrency, although since CoinJar relocated to London, this seems to have gone quiet…. While there are some B2B FinTech startups (e.g., Moula, Bluedot), they are still in the minority, so the current opportunities are mainly going to be within B2C solutions, or those playing in two-sided markets. This dynamic will also influence your decision.

Thirdly, everything we are seeing points to exponential growth in mobile banking, payments and financial services, but each vertical is taking a different approach because of their respective regulatory frameworks, transaction models tied to technology platforms and commercial processes, and the underlying lack of a true “single view” of customers. For example, within the next 10 years, 80% of new superannuation accounts will come via mobile engagement – which is why we are seeing a growing number of industry funds targeting a younger audience, aligning with “lifestyle” choices, and bundling financial planning and advice services. Rather than “big data” dumps, these super funds need demographic and psychographic data to support their digital engagement strategies.

Fourthly, FinTech is obviously important, but it can no longer simply play on disruption – technology is the enabler, and partnering is the way forward. If you have a track record in bringing parties together to collaborate, to form joint ventures, or to engage in any sort of co-branding exercise, then you will find opportunities emerging all the time. As discussed at a recent FinTech event, even large banks are realising the need to partner and collaborate on new technology, especially when it’s not part of the bank’s core expertise. However, as one superannuation fund director told me, it’s also challenging for large organisations to outsource part of their technology to smaller companies because they are giving someone else custody of their brand.

Finally, it’s difficult to predict what the FinTech jobs of the future will be (just as 10-15 years ago, roles in content marketing, social media and SEO hadn’t been thought of). A simple principle that has helped me navigate a zig-zag career path (to transition from the public sector into large corporations, and from full-time roles into a portfolio career) has been knowing my transferable skills at all times, and being aware of the need to replace and refresh them as required.

Next week: What I did on my holidays…

#FinTech: The 8 things I want from mobile banking apps

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As we await the launch of ApplePay in Australia, and in light of the plethora of mobile banking tools, here is my wish list against which all such apps should be assessed:

  • TRUST – is my money safe?
  • CONVENIENCE – can I do multiple transactions from within the same app?
  • SECURITY – is my personal data secure?
  • RELIABILITY – will it always be there when I need to use it?
  • FLEXIBILITY – can I access and transact with all my accounts, brands and products from a single app?
  • COST – can I expect lower transaction, service and account fees if I use it?
  • SPEED – is it real-time?
  • EASE OF USE – is it intuitive?

Next week: Finding a career in #FinTech

Do we need a #FinTech safe harbour?

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As part of the recent FinTech Melbourne Meet Up, there was some discussion on the regulatory challenges startups face when trying to validate an early-stage concept. The notion of a safe harbour or “regulatory sandbox” has gained some momentum, with ASIC’s Innovation Hub, and a commentary by Deborah Ralston, of the Australian Centre for Financial Services, who is also inaugural Chair of ASIC’s Digital Finance Advisory Committee.

If we assume that the main purposes of financial regulation are: system stability, minimum professional standards, consumer confidence, investor protection, market transparency and risk mitigation, then I doubt anyone can deny the benefit of a formal and robust compliance regime. However, technology and innovation are combining to challenge and disrupt the inherent inefficiencies that can accrue within a static regulatory environment (especially one that is reactive, rather than pro-active), which is largely designed to monitor legacy frameworks and incumbant institutions.

While the ASIC initiative is not the same as obtaining an ATO private tax ruling, it does at least show that the regulator is keen to be more consultative in helping startups test new ideas. But the reality is the cost of initial compliance and licensing can be a barrier to a new venture, before the concept has even been market-tested. So perhaps there is an opportunity to ring-fence emergent FinTech ventures, so they can explore real-world applications, but limited by market scope, number of participants, transaction values and timeframes. (Such a model already exists for private equity offerings….)

As it stands, in the case of P2P lending platforms, a startup might find itself having to be licensed and regulated as a financial services provider, an approved consumer credit provider, an authorised depository institute and possibly a licensed financial planner as well. That’s a lot of compliance for a new business that might not even have a single customer.

From my own experience, what constitutes “financial advice” is subject to very wide interpretation. Several years ago, I was responsible for introducing a new financial product to the local market – a bond pricing information service. The service was aimed only at institutional investors (not retail customers), based on collated and published data supplied by existing market participants. Nor was it a real-time data feed; rather, it delivered intraday and end of day prices calculated on actual traded bonds. Yet the regulator determined this constituted “financial advice”, even though no trading recommendation or investment decision was inherent in the data. It was also designed to offer a more transparent and objective process for pricing portfolios of less liquid or rarely traded securities, where mark-to-market solutions are unavailable or inappropriate – thereby providing some clarity to market participants.

Meanwhile, the responses to shady advice and other malfeasance inflicted upon retail investors by “established” financial institutions and “traditional” financial planners usually take years to work their way through the legal and regulatory processes of investigation, mediation, settlement and prosecution. (And if anyone wants to understand what actually caused the GFC, well before the term FinTech had been coined, check out John Lanchester’s book “Whoops!”)

Next week: What I want from a mobile banking app.