Fintech leaders urge action on reform to ease cost pressures

More than 100 fintech sector leaders have called on Australian political parties to end what they describe as "policy inertia" and act on previously promised regulatory reforms that support financial technology businesses and address cost of living pressures.

The appeal, presented in a letter signed by executives from prominent organisations including Athena Home Loans, Swyftx, DAS, Hnry, Employment Hero, and Moonova, requests urgent commitments from both major parties to finalise initiatives such as digital economy frameworks, digital asset regulation, payments reform, privacy protections and responsible lending reforms.

While acknowledging recent commitments from the Coalition to tackle financial services policy within its first 90 days if elected, the signatories conveyed concerns that effective fintech reform could be subject to political contest, despite bipartisan recognition of its importance to economic productivity and the wellbeing of Australians.

The letter states: "We are writing today as an industry to urgently request your support in empowering Australia's fintech sector to address the country's pressing productivity and cost of living pressure. Numerous fintech initiatives—such as the digital economy frameworks, digital asset regulation and payments reform, privacy safeguards and responsible lending reforms —were introduced by both sides of government as key means to ease cost pressures faced by consumers and businesses and drive new efficiencies."

However, progress on finalising these policies has slowed, with delays compounded by repeated reviews into previously completed work. The signatories argue that this has created existential risks for parts of the sector.

The letter continues: "Yet progress on finalising these policy settings has stalled, with political inertia now the norm. Not only have these policies faced delays, but they've encountered further hurdles in the form of inquiries into work already completed. These unnecessary delays have become existential threats for many fintech businesses."

Highlighting the lack of progress, the authors point to the Consumer Data Right, a piece of legislation intended to enhance competition and lower costs for Australians, which remains only partially implemented after six years.

"For instance, the Consumer Data Right was passed into law with the promise of reducing utility prices and supercharging competition within Australia. Six years later, that vision remains largely unrealised, with no firm deadlines or commitments to fully implement it. This could enable Australians to save hundreds of dollars annually on energy bills and thousands on mortgage repayments through easier comparison and switching services," the letter states.

A recent survey conducted by the group painted a challenging picture for the sector. According to the letter: "In a recent survey of our members we found that: 62% of fintechs see regulatory compliance as the greatest challenge for running their business—outpacing funding issues in what is a difficult funding market. 65% report regulatory and compliance barriers are impeding their ability to grow their business, with 11% indicating these issues threaten their very survival. Beyond regulatory issues, a large portion of fintechs cited debanking and a lack of regulatory intervention in this regard as a key concern for their business. 43% of fintechs stated access to capital a key challenge and, 57% flagged grants and incentives as a priority area for government support, demonstrating the importance for guidance on the future of the Research and Development tax incentive and amendments to the Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) and Venture Capital Limited Partnership (VCLP) programs to better include and support fintech investment."

The industry leaders claim that while there is a direct alignment between the election's fundamental issues—such as the rising cost of living—and the potential for fintech businesses to offer solutions, government support is required to realise these benefits fully.

"We feel compelled to put these concerns in a letter, as there's a direct alignment between the fundamental issues of this election and the solutions the fintech industry can deliver through its growth," the letter says.

The letter further states: "These are issues we, however, as an industry cannot address without the government's immediate and clear support."

The group acknowledged opposition campaign pledges relating to fintech regulation, while urging cross-party cooperation: "While we welcome Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor's campaign promise to reform financial services policy—including key fintech initiatives—within the first 100 days of taking office, we truly believe such policies should be bipartisan as they serve the interests of all Australians."

Australia's fintech sector employs thousands of workers, and the letter notes that other countries are catching up as local policy efforts stall. The risk, the group says, is that the benefits of fintech—including increased competition and improved financial literacy—will decline.

"Australia's fintech industry employs thousands and continues to grow. We rank among the most sophisticated fintech sectors globally. However, as other nations catch up and our policy work slows, we risk falling behind, especially as technology evolves," the letter explains. "The benefits we can offer the Australian public will diminish significantly as a result of continued inaction. Built on the premise of encouraging competition and choice, the fintech industry has already put downward pressure on prices across all areas of financial services while improving financial literacy across the country."

The signatories state that fintech is well positioned to help Australia address productivity and cost of living, two prominent themes of the federal election campaign.

"More than any other sector in Australia's growing startup ecosystem, fintech is uniquely positioned to positively impact both productivity growth and cost of living—one of the greatest challenges in this election. In this letter, we've only outlined a fraction of the actions we can take to push the fintech industry forward. Additional practical recommendations on this can be found in our pre-budget submission," the letter reads.

The letter concludes with a call for immediate action: "The time for action is now. Australia cannot afford further delays to reforms that will directly address the cost of living pressures facing everyday Australians."

The open letter was signed by Rehan D'Almeida, Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Australia, as well as representatives from dozens of other fintech companies and organisations active in the Australian sector.