Sydney fintech hub to open in May

Sydney's fintech hub should be up and running by May, following the appointment yesterday of DEXUS Property Group as the property partner and former AMP chief executive Craig Dunn as the body's chair.

DEXUS will fit out 1230 square metres of "agile" office space in the Sydney CBD, where entrepreneurs and corporates will be able to hold meetings, run seminars, mentor, "drop in" and "co-create".

The hub, which will be called Stone and Chalk, has New South Wales Government and corporate funding support. Its purpose is to "attract international fintech talent to Sydney, develop and support local industry and increase financial services exports."

The Fintech Hub Working Group also announced the hub's corporate partners, which have pitched in A$2 million of funding. They include law firm Allens, Amazon, American Express, AMP, ANZ, Capital Markets CRC, the Centre for International Finance and Regulation, Finsia, Finzsoft, HSBC Bank Australia, IAG, Intel, KPMG, Macquarie Group, Oracle, Suncorp Bank, Veda, Westpac and Woolworths.

Dunn was most recently a member of the Financial System Inquiry, which had a strong focus on digital innovation in the industry. He said his vision for the hub was to support start-ups so they could "compete, thrive and lead on the world stage."