Australia’s FinTech revolution at risk

AUSTRALIA could lose its standing at the forefront of the fintech revolution if the big banks are allowed to retain control of customer transaction data.

In it submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Data Availability and Use, Tyro warned that governments and regulators around the world are competing to redesign their policies and regulations as a reaction to market crises and digital disruption.

Tyro Co-Founder Andrew Rothwell said the UK and the EU are well-advanced with their Open Data and Open API movement, and that Australia is lagging behind.

“If Australia is late in delivering Open Data and Open API reforms in this country, the fintech revolution will take place elsewhere,” Mr Rothwell said.

“Fintech investment around the world reached an estimated US$20 billion in 2015, a jump of about seven-fold in only three years.

“Customers are currently being locked out of financial services products and solutions such as alternative lenders or comparison, advisory, financial management and payment services that are designed specifically to meet their needs by innovators who can deliver.

“Customer transaction data belongs to the customer. Banks should be forced to give their customers the right and the ability to share that data with third parties that are licensed under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority or who have an Australian Financial Services Licence or an Australian Credit Licence.

“By refusing to allow customers to make their data and accounts available to regulated third parties, banks will continue to control the snail’s pace of innovation in Australia – to the detriment of the Australian consumer.”

Mr Rothwell said that banks offering open access to data and external APIs would also benefit because it would enable them to become more of a ‘platform’ for other services.

“Once fintech innovators have been granted permission to analyse, integrate and share data as consumers see fit, they will unleash a vast wave of new products that will give consumers more choice, while increasing the value of their existing products,” he said.

“This industry is going to revolutionise how consumers and businesses interact in the future.

“If Australia is going to become the next fintech Hub of Asia, that revolution needs to happen here.”

About Tyro Payments

Tyro is Australia’s EFTPOS banking institution and is the first new entrant into the banking business in more than 18 years. Tyro holds an authority under the Banking Act to carry on a banking business as an Australian Deposit Taking Institution (ADI) and operates under the supervision of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Tyro provides credit, debit, EFTPOS card acquiring, Medicare and private health fund claiming and rebating services as well as a transaction and deposit account integrated with Xero cloud accounting. Tyro takes money on deposit and is about to launch its first lending product.

The Tyro Fintech Hub

The Tyro Fintech Hub is Australia’s first hub for financial technology entrepreneurs in Sydney. Opened in February 2015, the Tyro Fintech Hub supports fintech startups and high growth companies with co-working space, mentoring, banking access, and a program to co-develop open APIs. The Tyro Fintech Hub is also host to accelerators, conferences, hackathons, meetups and programs to build Australia’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem.

Need to know more?

For more about this news story please contact:
Monica Appleby, Head of Corporate Communications on 0466 598 946 or mappleby@tyro.com
Sophie Cotterill, Corporate Communications Manager on 0414 960 292 or scotterill@tyro.com