Well who would have thought we would be in this situation AGAIN. Now we look on with envy at other countries around the world that are “just living with COVID”.
Uncertainty is not good for anyone especially one’s mental health and wellbeing so look after yourself and look after your family and wider community.
That being said, we have lots of events going from physical to digital and others being postponed to a later date, the world is shifting below our feet and we need to adapt, quickly. In the world of FinTech we are used to that. The sector continues to grow, new entrants, collaborative projects and “pivoting” not a fan of that one. So, I am excited that the joint project with TIN is nearly across the line, however we have a couple of partner spots left, if you want your business to be part of the first FinTech focused report that will be shared across all of Government and used as a tool to promote the FinTech sector in New Zealand then get in touch fast.
A couple of trends to be aware of, IPO’s will be a main feature going forward which follows the success we have seen in the US, evolution of payment methods continue to be a key priority, embedded finance will rise as the new north star and we will see more activity around M&A. Closer to home you will have seen InsurTechNZ has now established itself as a standalone association. It has been great to see the growth and leadership from Jason Roberts who has been instrumental in its development, he has now handed over the baton to Blair Turnbull from Tower and Dale Smith from JAVLN, so watch out for more news in this space.
The WealthTechNZ team of Bill Cheney and Leeanna Kohn-Hardy continue to build the program, messaging and engagement plan, to shift the dial on all things in the wealthtech ecosystem.
This October, AWS is collaborating with four leading banks from across the globe – NAB (Australia), ITAU (Brazil), NatWest (UK) and CIBC (Canada) – to run a hackathon that explores the future of finance in the Global Open Finance Challenge. We see this as an outstanding opportunity for FInTechNZ members to get exposure to four of the largest banks in the world.
Our 2022 event calendar is really taking shape and most of our connect events will be held on the last Thursday of the month. If you want to speak or feel like being generous and host, or have a topic or market insights that you want to share, then please do get in touch. We will also be looking at hosting another FinTech HUI based on the fantastic feedback we got from the event in Queenstown, thanks again for the support from our program partner Huddle.
Prior to COVID if you wanted to launch into a new market you would jump on a plane, meet lots of people and glean lots of market information, with most countries still restricting travel, that has become much harder, so we are looking at options about how we help share those market insights and intelligence in a cohesive manner. Any ideas or suggestions are most welcome. One thing I would stress is making sure your digital narrative tells the story of your business, not everyone gets this right.
I presented at the National Party Political Conference a couple of weeks ago and I was very impressed by the level of understanding and engagement, so much so that I will be hosting a panel discussion at the National Party Technology Conference subject to COVID restrictions. Judith Collins understands that the future growth of the New Zealand economy comes from Technology especially the fastest growing sub segment FinTech, how it will increase productivity, streamline mundane processes, create jobs, drive economic growth, tackle financial and digital literacy, create more financial inclusion across Maori and Pasifika and tackle climate change, which is refreshing.
In summary FinTechNZ is in a great position, our membership continues to grow even during COVID (if you feel someone should be a member please connect me), the feedback from our events has been really positive and I am looking forward to the remaining events as we close out the year. Our AGM will take place in November and a number of seats will be up for grabs so if you want the opportunity to shape the discussion then please put yourself forward.
Keep safe, be kind, say hi to your neighbours and remember to stay connected.
James Brown
General Manager
For further information contact James Brown on 021 982247 or NZTech’s media specialist, Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188
