Ten Australian companies have been named amongst the top 100 fintechs globally, with three – Prospa, zipMoney and AfterPay Touch – landing a place inside the top 50.
The Fintech100 report, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between KPMG and fintech investment firm H2 Ventures that recognises innovative fintechs. It consists of two sub-lists – the ‘Top 50’ consists of established companies, with rank determined by innovation, capital raising activity and size, while the ‘Emerging 50’ consists of newer companies “at the forefront of innovative technologies and practices and often pursuing new business models”.
Lending and payments companies dominated the Finech100, securing 53 places, with the complete line-up raising over US$28 billion in venture capital, including US$5 billion in the last 12 months.
Small business loan provider Prospa was the highest-ranked Australian Fintech (24), followed by zipMoney (37) and AfterPay Touch (44). Meanwhile, seven companies were represented on the Emerging 50 list – Airwallex, CoverGenius, Hyper Anna, Macrovue, MoneyMe Financial Group, Tic:Toc, and Valiant.
In terms of mentions of the list, Australia was second only the US, which had 19 fintechs inside the top 100, and placed just ahead of China (9) and the UK (8); however, five of China’s nine sat inside inside the top ten, with Ant Financial, ZhongAn and Qudian (Qufenqi) claiming first, second and third place.
Australian Fintechs comprised one third of the thirty Asia pacific companies that made the Fintech100, with New Zealand accounting for 3 – Xero (16), Spotcap (32) and Pushpay (42).
Danielle Szetho, the CEO if FinTech Australia said the report underlined the growing strength, quality and maturity of Australia’s fintech ecosystem, with this year’s total building on the nine Australian fintech companies that featured in last year’s report and the seven that featured in 2015.
“The Australian fintech industry is going from strength to strength and therefore we are pleased to see that we are well-represented in this year’s report,” she said.
“The high quality and performance of our payment disruptors and innovative lenders in particular is recognised in this report.
“The truly global nature of fintech innovation means our fintech startups are increasingly looking abroad for expansion opportunities, and we congratulate H2 Ventures and KPMG on producing this report which will help our companies in this regard.
“The report is a testament to all the hard work and wonderful achievements of our FinTech Australia members as well who are advancing into the next frontier for products, services, technology and business model innovations in financial services.”
Beau Bertoli, Joint CEO and co-founder at Prospa welcomed the report, stating that awareness of fintech “is at an all time high and the sector is at a tipping point in Australia.”
He added, “We’re very proud to be leading the way for the Australian fintech sector. We’ve had a bumper year, reaching a half billion dollars in small business loans and securing over $50 million in debt and equity funding.
“The problem we’re solving is a huge one that traditional lenders haven’t been able to address, and as we continue to scale up, we’re taking a long term view on our growth plans. We’re genuinely excited about the future.”
ZipMoney CEO Larry Diamond said the growth of Australian companies, like is own, and the ability of our local fintechs to compete globally as highlighted by the report meant that Australia’s fintech landscape was well-placed for continued and rapid expansion.
“Australia’s propensity for rapid technology adoption has made us a launchpad for both Asian growth companies testing prior to entering the US market and American companies interested in using Australia as a gateway into Asia,” he said.
“With key developments such as open banking, the New Payments Platform and comprehensive credit reporting on the horizon, Australian entrepreneurs and leading fintech companies are well positioned for continued expansion into overseas markets.”
Related: Prospa’s Telstra Business Award win puts the fintech sector ‘on the map’, says co-founder, Chaotic, rewarding hyper-growth: zipMoney’s Larry Diamond on the fintech startup’s success, Airwallex’s CEO reveals how his fintech start-up earned a ‘vote of confidence’ worth US$16m and Westpac invests $40 million in startup zipMoney.
