ACS CEO highlights opportunities for fintech sector

Australian businesses could reap up to $16b in benefits from a thriving Australian fintech sector, ACS CEO Andrew Johnson told Senators on Thursday.

In an appearance before the Government’s Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology, Johnson called for improved startup incentives and greater investment in Australia’s human capital to boost Australia’s competitive position in the fintech and regtech fields.

“In ACS’ submission we highlighted research finding a $16 billion efficiency opportunity in Australian finance and insurance over the next 15 years,” said Johnson.

The ACS-commissioned research was undertaken by Harbour City Labs resident Faethm, a Software as a Service (SaaS) artificial intelligence platform delivering data, analytics and insights on the impact of emerging technologies.

The research methodology looks at the technology adoption and s-curves across seventeen technology categories.

“The global competitiveness of Australia’s current and future economy is being constrained by a growing imbalance between our investment in the Fourth Industrial Revolution compared to that of other nations,” continued Johnson.

“Australia’s artificial intelligence roadmap, developed recently by CSIRO’s Data61 for the Australian Government, highlighted that 14 of the world’s most advanced economies have announced over $86 billion in focused AI programs and activities over recent times. That is our competition.”

To boost fintech investment, ACS called for a voluntary accord with superannuation funds committing up to 0.5% of their funds’ allocations to Australian high growth tech startups along with the introduction of an early stage tech investment option where individuals could choose to allocate additional superannuation contributions to the sector.

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Source: ACS CEO highlights opportunities for fintech sector | Information Age | ACS