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These technologies not only lower the barriers to entry into banking, but have also opened the door to non-traditional players ranging from small startups to giant technology companies. The question is: How much of the disruption witnessed in other traditional consumer businesses — book and music stores, video rentals, hotels, taxis — will be seen in the financial sector? And what will happen to the incumbents?

The question is: How much of the disruption witnessed in other traditional consumer businesses — book and music stores, video rentals, hotels, taxis — will be seen in the financial sector? And what will happen to the incumbent financial services companies?

As a country, you would think Canada should be well-positioned to benefit from the fintech tsunami due to our leading financial services sector, our highly educated workforce, our diverse and spread-out population and our pool of talented entrepreneurs and investors. But rather than leading, Canada is being held back by a lack of a national strategy and the absence of a fintech champion.

What should Canada be doing? Let’s look at Australia. Like in Canada, the Australian banking sector came through the financial crisis largely unscathed, owing to the same prudent policies, conservative risk-taking and strong leadership. But when it comes to the fintech tsunami hitting our economies, the similarities end there. Australia has an emergency preparedness plan, and Canada does not.

In March 2016, Australia’s treasurer published Backing Australian FinTech, a national strategy that outlined commitments and initiatives being undertaken by the government and other bodies to support and promote Australia’s fintech sector, including creating a FinTech Advisory Group; introducing funding and tax incentives; reforming insolvency laws to encourage angel investment; promoting fintech exports and partnerships; addressing data accessibility and cybersecurity issues; and encouraging government procurement of fintech. The report even has a dedicated website to track progress.