Financial Services & Fintech: 2025 Year in Review

As we approach the conclusion of yet another busy year, our national Financial Services & Fintech team reflects on 2025’s accomplishments, developments, and industry trends, and predicts what the coming year ahead may have in store.

‘Regulatory change has remained a constant throughout 2025, and there’s more on the horizon for 2026. It’s pleasing to know that ASIC has implemented a simplification project, and has started to do some of the things that are within its power to do, such as consolidating legislative instruments. But it’s disappointing that there’s still no sign of the government taking any meaningful steps to simplify the complex regulatory regime with which the financial services sector, in particular, is burdened. The very sensible recommendations of Australian Law Reform Commission appear to be fading from memory and gathering dust. In the meantime, the trend towards consolidation in the banking sector has continued, and dealing with regulatory complexity is one of the drivers of that. Our team looks forward to continuing to help our clients to successfully navigate the complexity, and thrive, in 2026.’

Shannon Adams – Practice Team leader

Industry insights 

Financial services sector participants have continued to grapple with waves of regulatory change, although some changes have been welcomed, such as the changes to the AML/CTF Act that affect those participants which were already providing designated services.

It’s disappointing that changes which have been made to the Privacy Act to this point, in response to the recommendations made following the review of the Act, have been very limited. The review identified that the Act is, in many respects, no longer fit for purpose, because it has not kept up with evolving technology and practices. The Government has indicated that further changes to the Act, and perhaps other Acts such as the Spam Act, are intended. Hopefully we’ll get to see some specific proposals in 2026.

In 2025, the government moved forward with comprehensive reforms affecting the digital asset sector publishing draft legislation for digital asset and tokenised custody facilities. The government also published draft payments legislation which will see a number of new financial products and services introduced, including specific authorisations for tokenised stored value facilities (commonly known as stablecoins). The industry is also grappling with new guidance from ASIC and relief in certain areas which is intended to ease the transition into the regulated sector.

The new mandatory merger regime comes into effect on 1 January 2026, and so sector participants proposing mergers (including transfers of business) and significant acquisitions will need to consider whether they are required to notify the ACCC. If they do, there will be additional costs. It is likely that notification will now be required in relation to a number of mergers which involve larger mutual financial institutions.

Consolidation in the mutual ADI sector continued in 2025 and no doubt will continue into 2026. We assisted with the successful finalisation of a number of transfers of business during the year, and there are others in the pipeline.

The continuing growth of the sovereign citizen’ movement has become more of a problem for financial services sector participants, and the Courts, in 2025. Significant resources can be taken up in dealing with all manner of misguided, quasi-legal complaints, demands, and defences.

Team movements 

Our Financial Services and Fintech practice welcomed two new additions to our team Monica Kostadinoski (Associate) and Will Deeb (Associate) strengthening our resources and capability.

Significant matters 

Throughout the year, we continued to act for our clients in a number of transactions and developments, including:

Bank Australia

Piper Alderman assisted Bank Australia with both its acquisition of the banking business of Australian Unity Bank and the transfer to it of the business of Qudos bank.

Various clients – dealing with sovereign citizens

We assisted a number of clients in dealing with demands and complaints by so-called sovereign citizens, and have acted for several, successfully, in litigation involving such persons. We’ve also provided clients with staff training on how to deal with relevant demands and complaints.

Various clients – material supplier contracts

We assisted many clients to negotiate and document new or varied material supplier contracts, particularly in relation to the provision of payments services and other major tech services, and to ensure compliance, by our ADI clients, with CPS230 and other standards.

Various clients – transformation projects

We’ve been busy all year assisting a number of our ADI clients with significant transformation projects.  These have included significant changes to technology and delivery channels, product migrations, significant changes to product offerings and product terms and conditions, and brand changes. Some of these projects have been related to post-merger integrations while others have not been merger-related.

Recognition 

Across our national Financial Services & FinTech practice team, we have received a number of individual and team accolades this year. We thank our clients and colleagues for their ongoing support.

The Legal 500, Asia-Pacific

In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Piper Alderman was recognised across 15 areas of law including Band 3 in Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory. The Partners in our team who were highlighted within this category included:

• Shannon Adams
• Andrea Beatty
• Steven Pettigrove (ranked as a ‘Next Generation Partner’)

The team was regarded for its “deep technical skills in all things fintech”, with clients commenting:

“They have deep technical skills in all things Fintech and financials services—both from a traditional finance perspective and Web3 perspective. They are a cost-effective, deeply trusted business advisor.”

“The team has the ability to distil complex or novel concepts in an easy, digestible manner.”

“Piper Alderman are the go-to when it comes to assistance with cutting-edge technology and assisting with regulation. The team has a combination of industry knowledge, creativity, and professionalism.”

“Steven Pettigrove is a very commercial lawyer. We have found Piper Alderman to be a good return on investment.”

“I appreciate Steven Pettigrove for being practical and solutions-focused. They are very commercial, and they have a lot of connections.”

“’Steven Pettigrove gives you access to lots of current and upcoming relevant information, thanks to his proactive involvement in the Fintech industry. The level of experience and knowledge he has of the industry is second to none. Those foundations are exactly what you need to operate in uncharted territory with confidence.”

Doyle’s Guide

Piper Alderman was also ranked as the only law firm to achieve ‘First Tier’ status for Leading Banking & Finance Lawyers in South Australia for 2025. In addition, four of our partners were individually recognised:

• Mark Gordon (Preeminent)
• Joshua Annese (Leading)
• Shannon Adams (Recommended), and
• Martin Lovell (Recommended)

The Best Lawyers in Australia

In the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia, 57 of our lawyers have been named a ‘Best Lawyer’ and 17 of our senior lawyers have been named in the ‘Ones to Watch’ list, including the following partners in our Financial Services & Fintech team:

• Shannon Adams – Banking and Finance Law, Corporate / Governance Practice
• Andrea Beatty – Financial Institutions, Privacy and Data Security Law, Regulatory Practice, Commercial Law
• Mark Gordon – Banking and Finance Law, Commercial Law, Corporate Law

Chambers & Partners

Piper Alderman was ranked in the Asia-Pacific 2025 Financial Services Regulation section for the second year running, recognising our growing bench strength in this industry. Andrea Beatty also maintained her individual Band 3 in Financial Services Regulation.

The team was described by the researchers as being “well reputed for its expertise and experience advising on licensing and compliance in the fintech, regtech and digital currency spaces”, with clients commenting:

“They are highly communicative and clear. They are thorough and, most importantly, in addition to providing thoughtful advice, they are very deeply practical.”

“They understood our end-to-end customer experience and advised on very technical points as required.”

Additionally, Piper Alderman was ranked Band 2 in the Global FinTech Legal Guide 2025, along with Steven Pettigrove also individually being ranked in Band 2. The team was described by the researchers as “highly regarded for its expertise in blockchain and cryptocurrency”, with clients commenting:

“Piper Alderman provides detailed advice. The team thinks through all the issues and responds in a timely manner.”

“The Piper Alderman team are always very pragmatic. They look to solve problems. The firm’s lawyers always help me with very practical, commercial and very strong legal advice.”

“Piper Alderman understand our business and understand the problems. And they know the technology incredibly well.”

“Steven is a great guy. He is very, very approachable and always willing to take a call at short notice to help us solve problems.

“Steven Pettigrove has a good knowledge of the intersection of blockchain and traditional securities law.”

“Steven is a remarkably collegial practitioner. He is somebody who is very practical, thoughtful, engaged, attentive and deeply expert in what he does.”

We are delighted to have retained our Chambers rankings across Financial Services Regulatory and Fintech in the 2026 Guides released this month.

Insights and education

Our Financial Services & Fintech team played a pivotal role in advancing industry knowledge throughout 2025. We presented at conferences, seminars, webinars and workshops. Some highlights:

• The AML/CTF Forum on significant regulatory changes introducing a comprehensive VASP regime for virtual assets in Australia
• The Global Digital Asset Regulatory Summit 2025, moderating a pan-European panel unpacking lessons learned for Australia’s future digital assets regime
• The Master’s program at Swinburne University; and
• The Australian Law Forum, discussing the impact of technology on lawyers and law firms as we enter an AI era.

We also published numerous insights and thought leadership pieces to support education and upskilling across the sector. Below is an overview of some of our most prominent and highly regarded contributions this year.

Launch of Law of Code: Blockchain and the law in Australia
In June 2025, we launched Law of Code: Blockchain and the Law in Australia, authored by Steven Pettigrove and Michael Bacina and published by LexisNexis. This textbook was the first of its kind in Australia to comprehensively explore the intersection of blockchain technology and the law. To celebrate, Piper Alderman hosted launch events in Melbourne and Sydney, where the authors discussed the current state of cryptocurrency regulation in Australia, as well as insights into the key themes of the book. The book was also presented at the Digital Economy Conference 2025 on the Gold Coast. The publication has been well received and was named a finalist for Excellence in Education at The Blockies, Australia’s leading blockchain industry awards.

Blockchain Bites
Our weekly publication, Blockchain Bites, continued throughout 2025, with Steven Pettigrove and his team delivering insights into the blockchain and cryptoassets space. This regular, reliable series has enabled our clients to stay informed and take advantage of emerging opportunities. This publication also won Mondaq awards in Spring and Autumn 2025 for thought leadership, recognising the most read publications per author.

Chambers and Partners Annual Global Blockchain Guide
Our Blockchain team authored the Australian chapters of Chambers and Partners’ Annual Global Guide on Blockchain for 2025. This guide offers the latest legal perspectives on the evolution of the blockchain market, digital assets, smart contracts, regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, sustainability and ESG considerations, and data privacy and protection.