Business View Oceania | Volume 4, Issue 1

19 20 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 F INTECH AUSTRAL I A Members of FinTech Australia enjoy a variety of benefits across six tiers that are allocated according to member size and recognise opportunities for businesses in all stages of growth: Founding Team, Startup, Scaleup, Friend of FinTech, International, and Enterprise. Benefits of membership include but are not limited to: Voting rights and influence on policy discussion with government via policy working groups; information and resource distribution via member newsletters, whitepapers, partner reports, census access, member announcements and community posts; networking and connection opportunities via exclusive events, workshops, and social meetups; business promotion via speaking opportunities, industry newsletter features, and a place in the annual member map and Finnie awards; member discounts to association and partner conferences, events, and awards, job posting opportunities on the association website, that we rise to.” FinTech Australia identifies their core responsibilities as: Engage and Connect, Advocate and Promote, and Grow. The association has a strong policy agenda to help develop the fintech sector, create jobs and economic growth, and promote prosperity for Australian businesses and industry stakeholders. The team of five is supported by a board of 11, and works closely with the Australian government and regulators to accelerate innovation and build market demand for products and services across the fintech ecosystem. Mrs. Joyce explains, “Alongside our contributions to policy development, we have worked really hard to raise awareness of fintech as a concept. And particularly in the last year, we have seen everyone from end users of fintech products right through to investors become more aware of what fintech is and the strength of its potential for our future economy.” and access to partner resources, information, and services for business growth via FinTech Australia’s Services Directory. Chair of FinTech Australia, Simone Joyce shares her knowledge and experience surrounding the association and the industry it represents. “FinTech Australia was formed in response to the growth of our fintech sector. As more and more companies became involved in the space, they needed an advocacy body to provide them with the voice and the resources they required to grow. Our mission has not changed since 2016; we continually focus on what it is that our member companies need to thrive, whether it be advocacy in policy, network and opportunity creation, or regulation of the ecosystem, and we deliver solutions. While that may seem simple, our industry has seen a lot of change since its beginnings, so keeping up with the latest trends, issues, and innovations is an ongoing challenge FinTech Australia also runs a Corporate Partner program, which allows industry partners to feed value back into highly engaged association members as part of growing the fintech community ecosystem. Partnerships range from annual to event-specific, and can be customised to meet the requirements of a specific organisation or group. Mrs. Joyce elaborates, “Fintech is really about creating an ecosystem, because there are a lot of ingredients that go into furthering the industry’s strength. One ingredient is bringing in large corporates and companies to participate in the industry alongside our association and our members. By collaborating with these partners and having them as part of the conversation, we support our smaller or start-up members, and make sure our partners are taking advantage of the opportunities that fintech can bring them.” Participants in FinTech Australia’s Corporate Partner program are awarded the opportunity to position their brand, develop market leadership,