'Bias to yes' missing from Aussie fintech landscape

Australia’s financial regulators should display a ‘bias to yes’ when dealing with fintechs and the new and innovative business models they bring, an industry advisory group has said.

The recommendation is one of 15 made by the ‘Australia as a financial and technology centre advisory group’ (AFTCAG) report – also known as the Low report – that aims to drive opportunites in the fintech sector.

The report calls on regulators to take a positive – rather than negative – approach to dealing with fintechs, in part by adopting a ‘bias to yes’ guiding principle when regulating financial technologies.

A ‘bias to yes’ – essentially an openness to the pursuit and approval of new ideas – has previously been credited as an essential part of what made Macquarie Group’s business transformation under former CEO Nicholas Moore a success.

“The natural (and understandable) inclination of regulators is to err on the side of being over-cautious,” the report states.

“It is important for a country trying to encourage dynamic and innovative activity in new parts of the technology sector that a clear ‘bias to yes’ and culture of quick decision-making is established as a counterweight to this tendency.

“A slow and cumbersome approach to regulation will result in companies (both local and foreign) avoiding Australia”.

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Source: ‘Bias to yes’ missing from Aussie fintech landscape – Finance – Strategy – iTnews