Finnie Awards move to Melbourne
Australia’s only industry-backed fintech awards, the Finnies, is introducing new awards to highlight collaboration in fintech and is shifting this year’s awards from Sydney to Melbourne
The annual awards give over 100 fintech startups the opportunity to be recognised by their peers for their work and innovation.
A total of 19 awards will be on offer including with several key awards returning. These include: FinTech Organisation of the Year, Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year, Female FinTech Leader of the Year, Emerging FinTech Leader of the Year and Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year.
Several new awards are being introduced to highlight collaboration, including: Deal of the year, Partnership of the year and Biggest raise of the year.
The awards will also recognise achievements in blockchain, business lending, consumer lending, insuretech, crowdfunding, wealth management and payments.
“Our ethos towards collaboration is what makes the fintech community unique, so this year we want to celebrate it,” FinTech Australia General Manager Rebecca Schot-Guppy said.
“With regards to moving the Finnies to Melbourne this year, we want to give members who couldn’t make it to the previous awards in Sydney the opportunity to celebrate our community’s success.
“No fintech can disrupt in isolation. Banks, government and other organisations play a key role in facilitating and contributing to the sector.
“We want to recognise the companies that are leveraging this ecosystem to its fullest, in addition to other standout businesses and founders who are punching above their weight.”
“I would encourage all of our members to put in an entry. Many fintech founders are modest, and there’s a lot of unsung innovation in our sector. What’s great about The Finnies is that it helps surface this to the public and the broader community.”
Brighte founder and CEO Katherine McConnell was named as 2018’s outstanding FinTech leader of the year.
Commenting on the impact of the awards she said: “The awards legitimised our position both in the eyes of the Fintech world and in the lending space. It has helped put Brighte on the radar for great candidates, which has allowed us to grow and continue to build momentum as a young business.
“The Brighte team were thrilled to be recognised at the Finnies in 2018. It was a big win for us as a company, as all that hard work was being rewarded.
Last year, AfterPay was named Fintech Organisation of the Year for the second year in a row.
Commenting on the Finnies, AfterPay Group Head David Hancock said: “Awards like these are really important both in terms of recognising Australia’s talent in the FinTech space, and encouraging and fostering future innovation.”
“Technology is now accepted as being part and parcel of our everyday lives. The continued evolution of how we use it, especially in the financial services space, can’t be undervalued.”
The awards will be held on Thursday June 6 at the Melbourne Innovation Hub. Members can register their interest for more information at https://thefinnies.org.au/
Key facts for the 2019 Finnie Awards
Entries open: March 4
Entires close: April 1
Awards night: Thursday June 6
Venue: Melbourne Innovation Hub, 710 Collins St, Docklands
Full list of awards:
FinTech Organisation of the Year
Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year
Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year
Female FinTech Leader of the Year
Emerging FinTech Leader of the Year
Excellence in Wealth Management
Excellence in Payments
Excellence in Business Lending
Excellence in Consumer Lending
Excellence in Blockchain / Distributed Ledger / Digital Currency
Excellence in Insurtech
Excellence in Crowdfunding
Excellence in Industry Collaboration and Partnerships
Excellence in Establishing Market Presence: Global
Excellence in FinTech Support Services
Best Workplace Diversity
Deal of the Year
Best Partnership of the Year
Biggest Raise of the Year
