Small business banking, accounting & tax solution provider, Thriday, has upped the ante in the sector by rolling out an 'us against our peers' comparison feature. Up to 30 so-called competitors are bench-marked against Thriday across metrics including features, cost & support.Without any experience of using Thriday, nor any affiliation with them, I find this approach interesting, bold and intriguing, and wonder if it may set a precedent for further such differentiation pieces to aid the vendor-selection process in FinTech.You can run your own comparison here: https://www.thriday.com.au/compare

Celebrity chef Manu Fiedel has teamed up with leading equity-crowding platform Equitise to tap into the 'wisdom of the crowd' to bolster awareness for his 'By Manu' range of freshly-made, home cooking sauces.Exasperated by a lack of fresh, ingredient-led options in the supermarket, Manu has created a range of sauces that are now stocked in over 500 Woolworths stores nationwide.A quick scan of the ingredients on the back of the packet reveal a distinct absence of artificial or man-made flavourings and a number of bars & pubs are now embracing the sauces for large-scale catering.https://equitise.com/offer/by-manu

Reports of the demise of the Fintech sector may be somewhat premature, based on the optimistic mood prevailing at last week's Intersekt Festival, hosted by Fintech Australia.Despite many (or most) Fintechs doing it tough, there was still much to share and celebrate across a program covering the latest Fintech innovations.Fintech Editor, Ben Ford, appeared on the Fintech Chatter podcast discussing the hot topics arising from the two-day conference, as well as some of the other major talking points (beginning at 11 minutes).https://tieronepeople.com/2022/09/13/intersekt-review-2022/

Despite encountering some choppy waters of late, the Australian Fintech ecosystem is still strong & weathering the storm well.Last night's Fintech Awards saw 22 gongs handed out with Dom Pym of Up and Josh Vernon of Wagestream repeating their victories at the Fintech Australia 'Finnies' Awards last month.Zepto, Basiq, WeMoney and Cache were amongst the other big winners on the night.The full list of winners is here: https://australianfintech.com.au/the-winners-of-the-7th-annual-fintech-awards-2022-have-been-announced/

Open Banking FinTech Frollo's latest consumer report suggests two thirds of consumers would consider changing banks if the process was easier and friction was removed.The report surveyed consumers from a range of backgrounds, and not just those who already use FinTech products, supporting the hypothesis that if banks offers products & services that have hitherto been offered only by FinTechs, consumer appetite would be high.Recent changes to the Open Banking accreditation process have seen a flurry of activity outside the banking section, offering further vindication and traction of the CDR (consumer data right) regime.https://www.frollo.com.au/blog/two-thirds-of-australians-want-to-use-open-banking-to-switch-banks/

As the Australian Open Banking regime starts to gather some much-needed momentum, part of the discussion circles back around to the thorny issue of Electronic Data Capture (aka screen-scraping).Screen-scraping is universally loathed by banks as it involves the sharing of online banking log-in credentials which, banks say, breaches their T&Cs.However, in the absence of any other mechanisms for consumers to share their data to achieve "better" financial outcomes, screen-scraping has become ubiquitous in the Fintech space.Can Open Banking and screen-scraping coalesce in harmony? Ben 'Fintech' Ford weights up the pros and cons.https://www.fintechbusiness.com/blogs/2245-screen-scraping-and-the-future-of-open-finance-in-australia