Australian fintechs in payments, AI and regtech connected with Southeast Asian banks and investors at Singapore FinTech Festival, generating new market entry opportunities through Austrade’s Landing Pads network.
What’s happening: More than 30 Australian fintech companies attended the 2025 Singapore FinTech Festival as part of a government-backed delegation, securing over 100 business meetings with regional investors, banks and corporate innovation teams.
Why this matters: Southeast Asia’s digital economy is forecast to approach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by rising digital adoption and demand for innovative financial services.
Australian fintech companies are accelerating their push into Southeast Asia, with more than 30 firms joining a government-backed delegation to one of the world’s largest financial technology events.
The Team Australia delegation attended the 2025 Singapore FinTech Festival, where participants secured over 100 targeted business meetings with regional investors, regulators, banks and corporate innovation teams across three days, according to Austrade.
100-plus meetings secured
Delivered in partnership with Investment NSW, Global Victoria and FinTech Australia, the delegation showcased Australian strengths across payments and embedded finance, AI-enabled financial services, regtech and compliance technology, and digital lending and alternative credit platforms.
The Australian Pavilion facilitated engagements that generated new opportunities for pilot projects, partnerships and market entry exploration.
The strong engagement reflects increasing alignment between Australian fintech capability and Southeast Asia’s digital transformation priorities, with the festival drawing more than 65,000 participants from over 130 countries at last year’s event.
$1 trillion target market
Southeast Asia’s digital economy is undergoing rapid expansion, driven by strong demographics, rising digital adoption and accelerating demand for innovative financial services.
By 2030, the region’s digital economy is forecast to approach $1 trillion, presenting significant commercial opportunities for Australian fintech companies looking to expand beyond domestic markets.
The Singapore FinTech Festival has become one of the world’s most influential platforms for global fintech collaboration, with Singapore serving as a regional hub for digital finance and innovation.
Austrade’s Southeast Asia Landing Pads network, operating in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, supports export-ready Australian tech companies by identifying market pathways, refining regional value propositions, facilitating introductions to investors and partners, and providing insights into the region’s regulatory and operating environment.
At this year’s festival, the Australian fintech delegation engaged in curated meetings, side events and ecosystem visits designed to help validate commercial potential across multiple Southeast Asian markets.
New partnerships signed
The festival also saw renewed momentum in cross-border collaboration between Australian and regional firms.
Australia’s Cognitivo and Singapore’s ST Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop AI-powered solutions for financial institutions in both markets. The collaboration will leverage complementary strengths in AI knowledge platforms and enterprise-scale AI orchestration.
Austrade also renewed its collaboration with Fintech Alliance.Ph, reinforcing government-to-industry engagement between Australian and Philippines fintech ecosystems.
These initiatives highlight the festival’s role as a catalyst for deepening bilateral cooperation and driving regional innovation, with formal partnerships emerging alongside exploratory commercial discussions.
Landing Pads support expansion
Australian companies looking to expand into Southeast Asia can connect with Austrade to explore market pathways, understand regulatory settings and identify commercial partners.
Support is available through the Southeast Asia Landing Pads and the Go Global Toolkit, which offers advisory services, practical tools and export-readiness resources for firms assessing regional expansion opportunities.
The government agency said it looks forward to supporting more Australian innovators as they pursue growth across Southeast Asia, with the fintech sector representing a key priority area for trade development in the region’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
Information in this article is sourced from Austrade’s official announcement.
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