#FinTech In Victoria An Overview

## A Little About Me - I'm a recovering tax lawyer - I co-organise the Fintech Melbourne (biggest in AsiaPac) and Bitcoin Melbourne (biggest In Australia) meetups - I sit on the board of The Bitcoin Association of Australia (regulatory and legal) - I lead the digital currency and blockchain subcommittee for FinTech Australia - Working on Block+Labs: an open innovation platform for corporate and startup collaboration on blockchain projects - Also, consult and write on Bitcoin and blockchain tech

#FinTech Is Really Hot

## Software is eating the world - It’s now starting to nibble on finance. - We’re seeing a huge amount of interest in the sector from incumbents, VCs and (most importantly) consumers. - There has been a Cambrian explosion of fintech startups. - They're attacking a wide number of verticals (i.e. payments, financial advice, lending and remittance) - We’re seeing an ‘atomisation’ (or unbundling) of banking

The Unbundling Of Banking

Massive VC Investment Growth

#So What About Victoria?

###An Active Community Of Startups - One of the co-organisers of FinTech Melbourne, Stuart Stoyan of MoneyPlace, ran the FinTech Victoria Census as a way to get an idea of what the community looks like. - Overall, 52 companies completed the census. They represented over 500 people working in FinTech in Melbourne - Most startups were in payments (31%), followed by personal finance (27%), institutional tools (15%) and lending (15%)

###An Active Community Of Startups (cont.) - A majority were nascent companies with 75% having operated for 2 years or less - Around 50% were post-launch and generating revenue - Most FinTech startups are self funded with 87% being 'founder funded' - Most founders are in their 30s (50% being 30-39 years of age) - Founders noted that the biggest issue they faced was customer acquisition (31%)

### FinTech Melbourne - Our goal is to build the Melbourne FinTech community by fostering connections between industry and startups - We believe that a strong community is key to helping foster a vibrant ecosystem for everyone in the FinTech space - We mainly do this by hosting the best FinTech events

##Some Of Our Events

###Hosted a fireside chat with Shayne Elliott on FinTech and innovation in banking

###Helped launch ASIC's regulatory sandbox discussion paper

###Hosted 2 of the biggest FinTech pitch nights in Australia

##What About FinTech Nationally?

###Sydney Is The Home Of FinTech - Sydney has Tyro and Stone & Chalk as the centre of their ecosystem - Also, home to many startups in the payments and personal finance space - Also, a few high profile VCs that specialise in FinTech - e.g. H2 and Reinventure - But many are working to unite the industry to create a 'national voice'

###FinTech Australia - Fintech Australia is the national FinTech Industry Association - Founded in October 2015, the membership base comprises over 70 startups, VCs, hubs and accelerators across Australia that specialise in FinTech - The goal of the association is to support the Australian FinTech community, build awareness and trust in FinTech startups and advocate for better policy on behalf of our members - We've been working on a number of policy issues - e.g. removal of GST from bitcoin, ASIC regulatory sandbox

#Thanks ###Questions? I can be reached on Twitter (@alantsen) or by email (me@alantsen.com)