Startupbootcamp Australia launches fintech accelerator program in Melbourne

Startupbootcamp is expanding its Australian presence, launching a fintech accelerator program in Melbourne.

To kick off from Melbourne coworking community YBF in June, the program’s theme is financial health and wellbeing, with a focus on the intersection between open banking, insurance, superannuation, wealth management, and the consumer data right.

It will run with support from financial services partners including National Australia Bank (NAB), Bupa, and Deloitte, and tech partners Capgemini, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Cisco.

Jonathan Davey, NAB executive general manager digital and innovation, said the bank is excited to help Startupbootcamp establish its first fintech accelerator in Melbourne.

“Our support further demonstrates NAB’s commitment to the development of Australia’s fintech industry and our approach to partnering with fintechs with the aim of improving services and experiences for our customers,” he said.

“Specifically, through this accelerator program, we hope to work with early stage startups to test and trial new personal financial management experiences for our customers.”

For Joel Lipman, partner at Deloitte Digital, the accelerator comes at a crucial time, with recent research from Deloitte Access Economics finding that only 27 percent of Australians currently meet the threshold of basic financial consciousness.

“There is a real need to help Australians improve their financial health. With the significant changes resulting from the Consumer Data Right, along with emerging technologies, new and exciting ways to do this will become possible,” he said.

It is also crucial for financial services businesses to embrace technology.

“‘Ecosystem’ is a word on the lips of most CEOs today and we know that the Financial Services industry in particular must embrace open data, new partnerships and new business models to shape its future,” Lipman said.

It comes as the big four banks prepare to launch beta testing of the new open banking system on 1 July. The banks must have all product data for credit and debit cards, deposit accounts, and transaction accounts available.

This is the latest initiative from Startupbootcamp Australia, which was cofounded by Richard Celm and Trevor Townsend.

As well as various challenges and hackathons, the organisation also runs a smart energy program from Melbourne in conjunction with industry partners EnergyAustralia, Spotless, and DiUS. The latest Energy Australia program kicks off on Monday.

Applications for the fintech program are now open and close on 2 April.

Want to know more about innovation in fintech? We sat down to chat with Melissa Widner, general partner at NAB Ventures, the venture capital arm of NAB, for a recent episode of the Startup meet Corporate podcast.

Image: Trevor Townsend and Richard Celm. Source: Supplied.