Australian fintech use set to rise

In a report titled The future of finance: how technology is democratizing the financial services sector, TransferWise suggests that by 2020, 47 per cent of Australians expect to use technology companies for half of their banking needs.

Chief executive of TransferWise Taavet Hinrikus says this makes Australia one of the most ‘fintech ready’ countries in the world.

In comparison, 31 per cent of German consumers and 26 per cent of consumers in the UK are expected to use fintech to such an extent by 2020, the report found.

“In five years time, the financial services sector will look completely different with a host of new providers and innovative new services," Mr Hinrikus said.

“In ten years, it will be transformed; the main shift will be in our expectations and behaviour as consumers," he said.

Mr Hinrikus added that in five years’ time, non-banks would control some parts of the finance sector “almost universally”, with other parts being controlled by a mix of technology services and banks.

Technology companies which provide day-to-day financial services such as savings accounts and credit cards are seeing a higher rate of uptake than companies offering ‘bigger’ financial services such as mortgages, the company noted.