During this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF), held from November 15 to 17, 2023, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) seized the opportunity to introduce some of Australia’s leading fintech companies to the region.
Austrade hosted its own pavilion within the event space, which was officially launched by Allaster Cox, the Australian High Commissioner to Singapore. The pavilion provided a platform for its entourage of nearly 40 companies to connect with SFF’s estimated 66,000 participants from 150 countries, according to a statement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Under Austrade’s guidance, the participating companies took the opportunity to share updates and introduce their newly launched offerings. Some of them include:
- Iotasol, a Victoria-based software development company, announced the launch of a new application targeted at improving event experiences through “voucher hunts,” engaging attendees while streamlining the networking experience with digital contact collection and sharing, eliminating the need for physical business cards.
- Beforepay, a Sydney-headquartered “pay-on-demand” service company, unveiled its next-generation platform during the event, showcasing enhanced capabilities and upgraded predictive capabilities.
- EzyRemit, an Australian remittance company, announced its new partnership with Faspay, an Indonesian payment gateway company. This collaboration is aimed at establishing a “comprehensive and seamless financial ecosystem,” harnessing Faspay’s expertise in digital payments and EzyRemit’s proficiency in international money transfers to address the changing needs of global payment and remittance markets.
This is not the first time Austrade has led an initiative of this scale to raise awareness about the qualities of Australian fintech companies. The Australian agency also participated in a similar capacity in last year’s edition of the SFF, bringing a different delegation of companies to Singapore to connect with the region’s stakeholders.
Austrade’s efforts to connect Australian fintech companies with opportunities in the region not only benefit the companies involved but also align with the country’s broader economic and trade interests, which have shifted steadily in recent years toward prioritizing international collaboration, particularly in the Asia Pacific.
This shift is underscored by several memorandum of understandings (MoUs) signed during this year’s SFF, reflecting its commitment to fostering deeper cooperative efforts within the region’s fintech space. These include a new agreement signed during the event by the Korea Fintech Industry Association (KORFIN) and FinTech Australia to strengthen the cooperation between Australia and South Korea in pursuing fintech-related opportunities.
Riding on the recent elevation of bilateral relations between Australia and the Philippines in September this year, Austrade also inked an agreement with Fintech Alliance.ph to collaboratively promote trade and investment across the Asia Pacific’s fintech sector. Under this MoU, the two entities will organize activities in both countries, creating new commercial and innovation opportunities while tightening engagement on fintech development, policy, and regulation.
“The Philippines is a dynamic and exciting market. This MoU will enhance bilateral fintech cooperation and provide fast-growing fintech companies to support the growth of our respective digital economies. Austrade is keen to advance Australia’s partnerships with the financial services sector in the Philippines to realize the full potential of our trade and investment relationship,” said Mukund Narayanamurti, general manager of Austrade in Southeast Asia.