Growth needs capital. The real question is where that capital should come from, and what it will cost you over time.

Mighty and LUNA are hosting a breakfast panel to look beyond simply raising more equity and explore the wider funding landscape, including debt, non-dilutive capital, capital structure, and disciplined growth planning. The goal is to unpack how you can extend your runway, maintain momentum, and preserve control, while making smart decisions about when to invest and how to fund your next stage of growth.

Joining the panel:

• Rob Paterson, CFO at Employment Hero

• James Johnstone, Partner at Bailador Technology Investments (ASX:BTI)

• Kal Jamshidi, Managing Director at Mighty Partners

• James Solomons, CFO, Director of Tax at LUNA (Moderator)

The morning will begin with a market update from the ASX, followed by a fireside conversation with Larry Diamond, Co-Founder of Zip and Co-Founder and CEO at Eldium.

​Larry will share the unconventional story of how Zip became a listed company, why going public turned out to be one of the best decisions the business ever made, and the unlikely acquisition that may have made Zip the only fintech in the world to buy a $30 million mining company.

​We'll explore the realities of building and funding high-growth technology businesses, the opportunities and challenges of life on the ASX, and what founders should be thinking about as private and public capital markets continue to evolve.

Most teams can tell you how much their AI is doing. Very few can tell you whether it is making money. The cloud era taught this lesson once already: we counted commits, then features shipped, and called it productivity, until it became clear that activity is not the same as value. AI is repeating the pattern with a far larger bill.

In this 30-minute session, OPTIMAZE co-CEO Ralf Capel breaks down how to measure productivity as a return, the unit economics that actually prove it, and how to avoid the vanity metrics that quietly drained the last technology cycle. The session will have OPTIMAZE curate the chat for Q&A.

What you will learn

• Why activity metrics like commits and tickets closed mislead, and what to measure instead

• The handful of unit economics that connect AI and cloud spend to revenue and cost

• How to attribute spend to a customer, product, or workflow so productivity becomes a number, not a claim

• Why the value of AI is decided in production, not in the demo

Who should attend

Finance and technology leaders who own technology spend and need to defend its return.

Is your issuing platform ready for the way customers pay today?
Across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa - new payment instruments are becoming part of everyday consumer behaviour from virtual cards and digital wallets to tokenised payments, instant issuance and emerging digital assets.

Customers expect these services to work immediately, securely and seamlessly across banking channels, while many financial institutions remain constrained by legacy card management platforms.

In response to the widening gap between consumer expectations and financial institutions technology readiness, BPC is hosting the webinar “A Modern Issuing Playbook for Modern Banking” on 21 July 2026 and invites you to join it.

During the session, Divya Baranawal, Vice President & Principal Advisor at QKS Group; Jonathan Bautista, APAC Regional Solution Director at BPC; and Hien Nguyen Ngoc, Head of Card & CRM Technology at VIB, will discuss the latest issuing trends across the regions, why legacy solutions limit speed, flexibility and customer experience, what technology features are worth to consider when modernising issuing stack in 2026 and why moving towards configurable, integrated and future-ready platforms is essential to keep the competitve edge.

Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Venue: Zoom
Webinar language: English
Time: 15:00 SGT | 17:00 AEST
Register now to secure your seat!

Australian Digital Dollar Grant Showcase: Australia's stablecoin in action

What does Australia's digital dollar look like when it moves beyond the whitepaper and is adopted in the real world?

Join Australian Digital Coin ( AUDD) supported by FinTech Australia, at Stone & Chalk Melbourne, for the AUDDapt Showcase, where we will reveal the inaugural AUDDapt Grant Program winners and celebrate more than AUD $250,000 in grant funding awarded to innovators building real-world products with AUDD – Australia’s leading stablecoin.

AUDD is Australia's digital dollar stablecoin, operated by AUDC. Running since 2022, it is the country's longest-running AUD stablecoin, with more than A$1.9B in transaction volume to date.

The AUDDapt Grant Program is AUDD's initiative to drive real-world adoption of AUDD, funding builders who integrate it into payments, settlement, treasury and programmable money use cases.

The showcase will feature emerging applications and use cases across payments, education, sport, community finance, circular-economy rewards, and AI-powered commerce – demonstrating how AUDD supports practical infrastructure for real business, real users, and real-world economic activity.

More than a showcase, this is a glimpse into the next phase of Australia’s digital economy – powered by builders creating tangible utility with stablecoin technology today.

The finalists will present and the winners will be revealed live at the event.

The Finnies is back in 2026! The annual Finnies is the most recognised fintech business awards that celebrates the success of the Australian fintech industry.

The Finnies helps surface the achievements of modest founders with unsung innovation in our sector.

Award Entries Deadline are extended until March 22, 10pm AEDT. Submit your applications today and get your work recognised.

*Our previous website thefinnies.org.au is no longer active. Please visit thefinnies.com.au.

As AI-assisted buying behaviour combines with the rise of embedded insurance, how products
are surfaced and recommended is shifting. Insurance can become a natural extension of the
customer journey, unlocking revenue without increasing acquisition costs.

What the session will cover:

1. What is agentic AI changing about distribution? Platforms with embedded insurance at the right moment will have a structural advantage. Those without risk being bypassed entirely.

2. How does embedded insurance work for a non-insurance business? What the platform handles, what the insurer handles, and what the orchestration layer manages including compliance, underwriting, and lifecycle controls.

3. Who is accountable when AI influences a purchasing decision? Questions of accountability, platform exposure, and regulatory obligation are growing more complex.

4. How can platforms position for long-term control of the customer relationship?

The panel
● Jamie Smith, Fractional CIO and former Group CITO at Hollard Insurance
● Marcello Negro, Actuary, Principal and Head of Product at Finity Consulting; and
● Lisa Mather, Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance at Australian insurtech - Fetch.
● Moderated by Nigel Fellowes-Freeman, CEO and founder of Kanopi.

How Non-Bank Lenders Balance Risk, Growth and Customer Experience at Scale

AML, fraud and onboarding trade-offs, discussed by the operators who  actually make the calls. Most non-bank lenders redesign their onboarding process at least once before they hit scale.

The ones who get it right learn to make better trade-offs, between conversion and  compliance, between speed and control, between what regulators actually care about and what teams over-engineer.

This session brings together senior leaders from across non-bank lending to talk about how those decisions get made in practice. Not in theory. Not through a product lens. Through the choices that happen under real operational pressure.

Join us for the inaugural Fintech Data Horizons Summit, happening on May 8 at Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour.

The summit is a one-day event, evolving from the CDR Summit and Fintech for Net Zero.

The Summit will focus on 4 content pillars which are Open Banking & Open Data, Sustainability & Green Fintech, Housing & Cost of Living, and Financial Wellness & FinCrime

Financial crime risks are evolving faster than ever, with expanding sanctions regimes, shadow fleet activity, and increasingly sophisticated illicit networks. For financial institutions, this creates growing challenges in identifying hidden exposure across customers, transactions, and complex financial relationships.

In this session, we’ll explore how financial crime risks are evolving in 2026, the emerging patterns institutions should watch for, and practical steps compliance teams can take to strengthen screening, monitoring, and risk management across customer onboarding, transaction screening and monitoring, and trade finance.

How can a bank protect its channels against modern fraud? Banks across all over the world from Asia-Pacific, the Middle East to Africa are experiencing the same pattern: rapid growth in digital payments, rise in transactions, rise in fraud attacks. The playbook has changed, and modern institutions need to embrace it.

 In response to the widening gap between transaction growth and fraud readiness, BPC brings the online Fraud Management session "A Modern Fraud Management Playbook for a Modern Financial Institution", on 21th April 2026 and invites you to join it.

 During the session, our panelists Maxim Kuzin (BPC), Ali Imran Khan (Meezan Bank), Anandh Ramaswamy (QKS Group) will discuss how to swiftly apply a modern fraud management playbook, introduce AI-powered defenses, and strengthen detection, decisioning, and response using internationally proven approaches across multiple markets and payment ecosystems. Why seamless integration and adaptable, API-driven architecture for fast deployment is important and unified cross-channel coverage is essential in 2026 to enable accurate real-time decisions and high-quality fraud prevention.

Date: Thursday, 21 April 2026
Time: 13:00 SGT (Singapore Time) - 14:00 SGT (Singapore Time) or 3 - 4pm AEST
Venue: Zoom

A deep dive into 'Zepto Validate', Zepto's enhanced Confirmation of Payee solution designed to help businesses verify account details before funds move, reduce risk, and build greater confidence into every payment.

We’ll be joined by Josh Cameron from Tanda.

Founded in 2012, Tanda is an all-in-one Payroll, HR and Workforce Management system trusted by thousands of Australian businesses, and an early adopter of Zepto Validate.

Josh will share how Tanda has embedded Zepto Validate into new employee onboarding flows to strengthen security, meet compliance requirements, and protect its customers at scale.

Whether you work in payments, risk or operations, you’ll walk away with actionable insights on how Zepto Validate can help reduce losses, improve trust and safety, and future-proof your processes.

Digital identity is moving fast - and most businesses aren't sure what to believe.

MDLs, verifiable credentials, biometrics, digital wallets. The terminology is everywhere but the clarity isn't.

This free 60-minute panel brings together voices from across the digital identity ecosystem, from government to infrastructure to the private sector, to cut through the noise and answer the questions your team is actually asking.

What you'll walk away with:

• A plain-English understanding of how digital identity works and what the landscape looks like in Australia right now

• Clarity on where digital credentials fit alongside KYC, fraud controls, and compliance

• A realistic view of what good early adoption looks like, and what to avoid

• Enough confidence to explain digital identity to internal stakeholders, even if you're not ready to act yet

This isn't a product demo. It's a straight conversation about what's real, what's ready, and what to do next.

Australia’s financial crime and AML landscape is entering a pivotal period of change. Regulatory reform is underway, Tranche 2 expansion is approaching, geopolitical risk continues to rise, and fraud and financial crime are increasingly converging. Together, these forces are placing new expectations on reporting entities across banking, payments, fintech, and designated non-financial businesses.

Risk Ready, hosted by LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, brings together senior leaders from across the financial crime ecosystem to explore how organisations can move beyond reactive compliance and build a more proactive, intelligence-led approach to prevention.

This half day executive forum will examine the global financial crime trends shaping Australia, the impact of geopolitics and sanctions on financial crime risk, and what upcoming AML reforms mean in practice. Through insights from LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, external specialists, client perspectives, and a senior level panel discussion, attendees will gain practical guidance on strengthening AML frameworks, enhancing customer due diligence, improving transparency, and preparing their organisations for 2026 and beyond.

Designed for decision makers, Risk Ready offers a trusted environment for peer discussion, shared learning, and meaningful engagement across the financial crime community.

To power progress for Australia’s digital economy, the need for collective effort has never been greater. 

As a nation, we’re on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation shift across payments and identity, highlighting the critical role we all play in strengthening our ecosystem. 

At BT26, we’ll cut through the hype to explore how our industry can overcome the hurdles of today and drive the next wave of progress. 

Join us to explore how we turn big ideas into real delivery, and power Australia’s progress together.​

Tickets now available for the Australian Payments Plus (AP+) annual summit - Beyond Tomorrow - on 25 March 2026 at the Pyrmont Theatre, ICC Sydney.  

Join us for the launch of FinTech Australia's Landmark Report on Wednesday, 18 March 2026!

The report covers the economic contribution, innovation landscape and policy settings shaping Australia’s fintech sector, quantifying the sector’s impact on jobs and GDP, maps emerging capability (from open banking to AI and regtech), and outlines practical policy reforms to unlock further economic and social benefits.

Event attendees will:
✅ Get the first look at headline metrics and sector outlook
✅ Understand policy recommendations and what they mean for your business
✅ Connect with industry leaders

Join India's Premier Fintech Cohort

inFINity is an zero-equity, fintech-focused accelerator program and launchpad for India’s next fintech innovators, created by PayU to support early-stage fintech startups building for India and emerging markets. The program is designed for founders who have moved beyond ideation and are now navigating the harder problems of scale, distribution, compliance, infrastructure, and capital formation. inFINity is a build-with-us program, anchored in real fintech operations.

A full-day Growth Summit in Melbourne on February 25, bringing together founders, business owners, and investors for practical, no-fluff insights on scaling, fundraising, hiring, and navigating what’s next for startups and SMEs.

Learn real-world insights from experienced founders, investors, and operators on what’s working right now across funding, technology, leadership, and strategy.

What to expect:
- Hear from Leigh Jasper (Aconex, Firmable) who'll be sharing an insider perspective on Australia's new era of innovation and the forces shaping the startup ecosystem
- VC perspectives from Antler, Rampersand, Square Peg, and Giant Leap
- Brand-building lessons from leaders at Up , Vinmofo, and Willow & Blake
- Founder-to-founder discussion with Doug English (Culture Amp) and Jeanette Cheah 💁🏻‍♀️ (Hex) on scaling teams and culture, and Janey Martino on leadership and supporting mental health in growing organisations
- Four top founders from 2025 pitch nights compete live, presenting their startups to a panel of expert judges

Tickets are selling fast - an unmissable event for anyone serious about growth.

Exclusive $50 discount for the FinTech Australia community! Use code PARTNERFINTECH2026 at checkout via the Growth Summit website

Austrade, in partnership with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Cammisa Markel, invites you to join us for a webinar for Australian companies entering and/or expanding to New York.

The session will provide a practical overview of:

·         Opportunities for Australian businesses in New York

·         Key immigration considerations for companies as they enter and grow in the United States.

·         On-the-ground resources in New York to support business growth and market entry.

The webinar will feature insights from:

·         Rachel Howard, Trade and Investment Commissioner to New York, Austrade

·         Anne-Sophie Mahle, Director of International Partnerships, NYCEDC

·         Zjantelle Cammisa Markel, Founder & Principal Attorney, Cammisa Markel PLLC

Gain market insights, join trade missions and grow your business overseas. Applications open on 27 November 2025 and close on 1 February 2026. 

Join information session on 11 December, 3:30pm AEDT. Register here.

Applications are open

Applications are now open for eligible businesses to participate in Digital Technology to the Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates (UAE). The program will run from March to April 2026.

The program will consist of: 

• A bespoke 6-8 week market preparation program with a targeted educational curriculum.

• A market entry mission to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to facilitate business introductions and meetings with potential partners and identify export opportunities.

• Ongoing engagement and support with Investment NSW onshore and international network. 

Forget the noise; learn what questions you should be asking of your providers, and what payday super really requires of Australian employers - and how payroll providers and employers can meet these obligations without adding operational or administrative strain.

In this webinar, you’ll hear from two organisations that have partnered to deliver something the market hasn’t seen before: a fully orchestrated, end-to-end Payday Super solution that fixes the actual root causes of contribution failures, not just the symptoms.

SuperAPI will break down how real-time Tax File Number, bank account validation, and Super Membership validation enables orchestration that eliminates payroll errors before they happen.
Monoova will unpack the payment infrastructure and rail optimisation behind reliable, secure, near-real-time settlement.

In 60 minutes, we’ll cover:
• What Payday Super really requires under the new rules
• Why the Employers should demand that their Payroll and Superannuation contributions happen in the one place...inside payroll!
• How data orchestration + intelligent routing closes the compliance gap
• How this combined solution removes the need for employers to manage payroll and super in different systems

Expect a practical, candid session focused on exactly what you need to know — and what you need to prepare — ahead of the changes.

Investment NSW is delivering support for the Going Global Export Program Net Zero & Energy Transition to the UK. 

This program will lead a delegation of NSW Net Zero businesses to the UK market in May 2026. With a focus on attending All Energy Glasgow, the program will also deliver business matching and site visits to connect participants with commercial opportunities. 

Location – click join session now

Date – Wednesday 17 December 2025

Time – 5:30pm - 6:15pm (AEDT).

Hear from Investment NSW on:

• Going Global Export Program – Net Zero & Energy Transition to the UK

  • NSW Government support for exporters and program overview 

    Rory McAlester – Senior Export Adviser, Investment NSW 

  • Market Insights and All Energy Glasgow 2026 NSW mission details  

  Alex Green, Associate Director, Investment NSW, UK  

• Q&A

The event is FREE and brought to you by Investment NSW.

Expressions of interest open on 17 November 2025 and close on 14 December 2025 at 11:59PM AEDT. 

Web Summit is recognised as the world's premier technology conference connecting CEOs, founders and investors, serving as a critical platform for networking, buyer and supplier exposure, and securing investment. Gain insights from industry, government, and innovators into Vancouver’s technology sector (a major North American technology hub) and develop a broader understanding of Canada’s technology landscape. 

The Web Summit Vancouver will run over 4 days from 11 – 14 May 2026. 

The Vancouver event typically attracts over 20,000 attendees, more than 700 investors and participation from over 1,500 start-ups. The trade mission will give participants direct engagements with global investors, innovation departments and key decision makers from Canada, North America and worldwide. 

These engagements will be supported through tailored business matching and exclusive networking opportunities.