Digital mortgages offer great promise, says KPMG's Pollari

There’s a tech for everything these days: MedTech, EdTech, FoodTech – you name it. Which may make fintech sound like just another portmanteau.

But what makes fintech different from the other “-techs” – besides the fact it deals in money – is just how varied it is.

According to a map put out by KPMG, there are more than 11 different types of fintech companies. These include: regtech, for regulation; insurtech, for insurance; wealthtech, for asset management – and many more.

This wide definition – as well as a lot of optimism and entrepreneurial energy – has meant there are now around 600 Aussie companies that fall within the fintech tent, most of which are only a few years old.

While having this number of fintech companies sound like a happy festival, the speed at which they’ve popped up has raised questions. Some have raised the obvious point: the definition is too broad. Others have been critical, saying the sector has gotten too big too quickly.

But for Ian Pollari, a KPMG partner and fintech expert, the wide definition and shooting up of companies is no problem.

“If we look at the fintech ecosystem in Australia it’s come on in leaps and bounds over the last three years in particular, with depth in lending and payments verticals and more recently growth in horizontal categories, such as regtech and data analytics,” he says.

“We’ve had government and regulators supporting the development of the sector and we’ve seen significant increases in capital invested in it.

“Last December the Australian Securities Exchange said it will move into production of deploying distributed ledger technology to replace the CHESS trading platform – which is another world-leading initiative. Coupled with the introduction of the New Payments, Platform, we are assembling critical infrastructure to support continued fintech innovation in Australia.

“However, in our enthusiasm for embracing fintech, we must not lose focus on the outcomes we are seeking to deliver and how ultimately, the sector will be assessed. In this context, successful players, either independently or in partnership with others, will need to deliver improved customer, cost, growth or regulatory outcomes.”

Mr Pollari is one of Australia’s foremost fintech observers and the head of banking at KPMG. He’s the lead architect of ‘The Pulse of Fintech’, KPMG’s quarterly fintech report and arguably the most incisive of its kind.

As part of its report, KPMG looks out for new ideas and monitors new entrants into the fintech industry. This puts KPMG – and Mr Pollari – in a good position to see what’s new and interesting.

Asked by AltFi what he sees as most promising in Australian fintech, Mr Pollari says property tech (“proptech”) and digital mortgages are ones to watch.

To read more about digital mortgages, please click on the link below…

Source: Digital mortgages offer great promise, says KPMG’s Pollari – AustralianBroker