FinTech Indonesia and FinTech Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in a move designed to propel the mutual development of Fintech in both jurisdictions. FinTech Australia is the leading voice of the emerging Fintech industry in Australia. The group is actively engaged with both public sector participants and the Australian government to help promote innovations in finance. FinTech Indonesia is a national association that strives to bring together companies and institutions of financial services sector actors who use technological advances in running their business. The MOU was described as a “landmark agreement” as both parties seek to exchange talent, expertise while aiding Fintech company expansion in each country.
“The signing of this agreement is an exciting event which illustrates the growing fintech bonds between our two countries,” said FinTech Australia Vice Chair Stuart Stoyan.
The agreement was witnessed by Fithri Hadi, the Director of Financial Innovation from Indonesian Financial Service Authority (OJK) and Dan Thomas, Vice Chair of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The agreement commits both parties to work towards establishing:
- A pathway to allow the Australian fintech community, including Indonesians currently working in Australia, to build partnerships and solve various challenges in Indonesia.
- Internships and work opportunities for Indonesian developers in Australia
- The sharing of knowledge, data and information particularly in the fields of risk management, cyber security, data infrastructure, artificial intelligence and regtech to help support both ecosystems.
- An environment where fintech hubs are the focal points of contact in each country, in particular to promote increased capital flows between the countries.
- Exchanging member directory information across both jurisdictions to facilitate fintech businesses finding suitable partners across both markets.
Secretary General of FinTech Indonesia and Co-Founder of PT. Bareksa Portal Investasi, Karaniya Dharmasaputra, welcomed the agreement calling it a timely initiative to extend the Fintech industry;
“This is particularly the case because Indonesia has a fast growing start-up and Fintech ecosystem, and is looking to rapidly establish robust and secure financial infrastructure in order to better serve and include the estimated 80 million Indonesians and 49 million small businesses who are currently unbanked,” said Dharmasaputra. “Australia has shown a strong commitment over the last two decades towards supporting Indonesia’s interests in promoting financial inclusion, financial system stability and a balanced approach to further cross-regional innovation.”
In April this year, Australia’s financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) signed a cooperation agreement to to promote greater regional engagement and innovation in financial services in their respective markets.
“We are pleased to see a continuation of the strong regional dialogue between Indonesia and Australia on increased market interoperability, fintech innovation and fintech regulation,” added Stoyan.
FinTech Australia will be taking part in the Indonesia-Australia Digital Forum in Jakarta in February 2018, as the next major fintech event aimed at further cultivating Australia-Indonesia relations. Hosted by Indonesian Minister for Communications and Informatics Rudiantara, the conference will aim to build new areas of cooperation and drive momentum in Australia’s commercial links with Indonesia’s vibrant digital economy.
