Federal government set to introduce “regulatory sandbox” to help early-stage fintechs
Treasurer Scott Morrison has outlined the government’s plans to remove regulatory hurdles for early-stage startups in a move that could further push Australia towards being a regional leader for fintech, Fintech Melbourne founder Andrew Lai says.
Morrison says a range of policy changes, including the introduction of a “regulatory sandbox”, will be released next week with the aim of helping entrepreneurs commercialise financial services technologies and cut through the red tape, as the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
It follows a meeting between government representatives and a newly formed fintech advisory council last week.
A regulatory sandbox was also one of three core policy requests from national body Fintech Australia, presented to Treasury recently.
The introduction of this concept would help grow the burgeoning Australia fintech sector, Lai says.
“A limited regulatory sandpit is a positive step towards making Australia a serious international fintech contender,” Lai tells StartupSmart.
“Our ecosystem is up against the likes of London and Silicon Valley so we need all the help we can get.”
