Australia poised to sign fintech deal with the UK Treasury

Australia is poised to sign a fintech deal with the UK to boost crosstalk in one of Britain’s fastest-growing industries, City A.M. can reveal.

The Treasury is working on an agreement to aid co-operation on fintech between the regulatory authorities in the UK and Australia.

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Speaking at City & Financial Global’s trade conference yesterday, Alexander Downer, the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, said the two sides were “in the process of concluding negotiations”.

Fintech is a key growth sector in the UK; in 2017, startups in the industry attracted a record amount of investment.

In October, more than $1bn (£760m) had been invested in fintech firms, more than double the amount that had been ploughed into the industry at the same point last year.

Downer said that, after Brexit, Australia wanted to improve its trading relationship with the UK, and that “doomsayer” stories about leaving the EU assumed third countries were “lining up to have a shot at” Britain.

“Well I can speak for just about all of them, other than North Korea…and the truth is we are all looking to maintain or improve the arrangements we have,” he said. “You are welcome to have access to our market for your services and we would like to enhance our mutual recognition arrangements we already have with the UK.”