Up Bank, AirWallex and Afterpay are among the biggest winners of the 2019 FinTech Australia Finnie awards, with another 12 businesses earning accolades on the night.
Up Bank and AfterPay took home two awards each. AirWallex won three awards, including Biggest Raise of The Year for its $141 million raise in March 2019.
Afterpay was named Fintech Organisation of The Year for the third year in a row.
“I want to offer my congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Finnie Awards, this group of companies represent the best of our ecosystem and our achievements to date,” FinTech Australia General Manager Rebecca Schot-Guppy.
“This year we set out to acknowledge collaboration across the fintech industry and we believe this cohort of winners truly represent this crucial theme and key point of difference for our ecosystem.”
“AirWallex, Up Bank’s and Afterpay achievement also can’t be understated, given the calibre of all of the entries.”
Held at the Victorian Innovation Hub in Docklands, Schot-Guppy said this awards night broke new ground for the event.
“We had a record number of entries, up 30 per cent from last year. Tickets to the event also sold out within a fortnight. For the first time in the Finnies three-year history, we had a waiting list for further ticket sales.
“It all ties into the unprecedented growth we’ve seen in the fintech sector in the past year.
“We saw the emergence of our first fintech unicorns in AirWallex and Afterpay. Meanwhile, collaboration between fintechs and banks has deepened and the aftermath of the Hayne’s Royal Banking Commissions has only reinforced the need for that relationship and for partnerships that benefit both the banks and their customers which was demonstrated in the quality of the finalists in the partnership awards.
“Over the next 12 months we will see the continued rise of neobanking in Australia, the launch of Open Banking and perhaps another of our winners will achieve unicorn status.
“All of this remarkable innovation and the pace of change showed in the calibre of this year’s entries. We can’t stress enough how tough it was to select the finalists and how proud companies should be for even making it into shortlist.”
Winners of the FinTech Australia 2019 Finnie Awards:
FinTech Organisation of the Year — Sponsored by Liberty
Afterpay
Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year — Sponsored by AfterPay Touch
Athena Home Loans
Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year — Sponsored by Stone & Chalk
Jack Zhang, AirWallex
Emerging FinTech Leader of the Year (under 35) — Sponsored by Reinventure Group
Jessica Ellerm, Zuper
Female FinTech Leader of the Year — Sponsored by Seed Space Capital
Van Le, Xinja
Best Partnership of the Year — Sponsored by FirstMac
Up (Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and Ferocia)
Biggest Raise of the Year — Sponsored by Primary Markets
AirWallex
Deal of the Year — Sponsored by Cornwalls
MoneyPlace
Best Workplace Diversity — Sponsored by Liberty
Identitii
Excellence in Blockchain/Distributed Ledger & Digital Currencies/Wallets/Exchanges
Enosi Australia
Excellence in Business Lending
Trade Ledger
Excellence In Consumer Lending
Wisr
Excellence in Crowdfunding
Equitise
Excellence in Establishing Market Presence: Global — Sponsored by Austrade
Airwallex
Excellence in FinTech Support Services
Reinventure Group
Excellence in Industry Collaborations & Partnerships — Sponsored by StartUp Daily
Up (Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and Ferocia)
Excellence in Insurtech
Huddle Insurance
Excellence in Payments — Sponsored by The State of Victoria – Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions
Afterpay
Excellence in Wealth Management
Myprosperity
