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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Investment in Australia's fintech sector has accelerated in the first half of 2020, reaching US$376.5 million, a more than 150 percent increase on the corresponding period in 2019 ($149.05 million). The total number of deals was 15.

However, a fall in M&A and PE activity caused total investment in Australian fintech to fall from $1.3 billion in the first half of 2019 to $548 million this year, according to the latest KPMG Pulse of Fintech report.

According to the report, the biggest Australian fintech transactions recorded by the report in the first half of the year were Airwallex and Judo Bank, raising $160 million in VC investment and $146.6 million from PE investors respectively.

Another area of Australian fintech that continues to gain investor and funding support is the 'buy now, pay later' or installment finance sector, with Zip acquiring US-based QuadPay and China-based mega-giant Tencent buying shares in Afterpay.

Through COVID-19, more merchants are looking to enhance their e-commerce/POS options for their customers who have shifted their purchasing their activities to online/mobile, it said.

"Australia is showing itself to be a strong fintech hub globally, with solid investments in H1'20 despite rising pandemic concerns. As fintechs in Australia aggressively work to scale and maturity, they are expected to drive increasing investment in the space. Additional offshore acquisitions are also expected as fintechs target in......................

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