Commercial success is the holy grail for fintech organisations, which aspire to have a major impact in the specific segment of the financial services market in which they operate. Alongside profiling the fintech sector in Australia, a key area of focus for the annual Census is on identifying the main factors that will underpin success for a fintech and the challenges potentially confronting fintech leaders.
We explored this topic from a number of angles, including ranking the main internal and external challenges. What emerged underlines the complexity inherent in launching a successful fintech, with a range of forces potentially conspiring against founders. Our findings also throw a spotlight on where those working to support the sector can focus to set in place the right infrastructure and conditions to maximise success.
Consistent with previous years, the Census underlined five key drivers of success. Importantly, these are consistent with the extensive analysis conducted by EY on the international fintech scene. Collectively, these drivers of success will create an ecosystem where the Australian fintech industry can flourish.
For each driver of success, a number of variables can impact on fintechs – either at an industry-wide level, or from an individual firm perspective.