FinTech Australia has officially launched the inaugural Fintech Data Horizons Summit. Scheduled as a one-day event on Friday, 8 May 2026, at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, the summit will bring together key leaders across the banking, energy, housing, and payments sectors.
The new summit builds directly upon the foundational success of FinTech Australia’s previous Consumer Data Right (CDR) Summit and its FinTech for Net Zero event. This evolution reflects the growing maturity of the CDR and the broader domestic fintech data landscape. According to the industry body, more than one million Australians are now actively using open banking products and services, resulting in data being shared hundreds of millions of times a year. This significant milestone points to a clear, definitive shift away from mere industry experimentation and toward concrete, everyday consumer use.
To capture this momentum, the summit will centre on four key themes: Open Banking and Open Data, Sustainability and Green Fintech, Housing and Cost of Living, and Financial Wellness and Financial Crime. Rather than relying on high-level theory or abstract policy debates, each of these critical themes will be explored through highly practical, real-world case studies.
Industry perspectives on scaling the ecosystem
Rehan D’Almeida, CEO of FinTech Australia, emphasized the importance of grounding these industry conversations in tangible outcomes. He stated that the organization is bringing the country’s open banking and data community together to discuss what is genuinely working in the real world and to set a robust agenda for exponential growth in Australia.
“We’re moving beyond theory and policy debates to look closely at how open banking is already changing the way people manage money, access credit and navigate cost-of-living pressures, and how businesses are using data to compete and innovate responsibly,” D’Almeida explained. He also noted that the event will weave in crucial sustainability themes, which are closely aligned with the overall growth and utility of Open Banking.
While the system is finally starting to scale, D’Almeida cautioned that reaching its full potential will require careful oversight and deep ecosystem collaboration. He highlighted that fintechs, traditional banks, energy retailers, regulators, and consumer advocates all have a vital role to play in this next phase. The summit aims to be the exact venue where those diverse conversations converge, backed by solid data and lessons learned from live projects spanning energy, housing, sustainability, and crime prevention.
A high-profile policy agenda
Reflecting the national economic importance of these data initiatives, this year’s program will feature an impressive lineup of senior leaders and policymakers from across the political and regulatory spectrum. Key speakers include Andrew Charlton MP, assistant minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy; Aaron Violi MP, shadow minister for the Digital Economy; Simon Kennedy MP, shadow assistant minister for Finance; and Andrew Bragg MP, shadow minister for Environment.
They will be joined by highly influential regulatory voices such as Scott Farrell, chair for Digital ID and Consumer Data Right, and Dr Ian Oppermann, commissioner at the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
Registrations for the highly anticipated 2026 event are currently open via the official summit website.
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