Bano receives Australian financial services licence

By Leandra Monteiro

On the 19th of December, Bano Pty Ltd was issued an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) by The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

“With the AFSL, we are able to strive for our mission of facilitating a healthier relationship between our users and their finances,” said Randall Maccan, Head of Financial Markets & Treasury of Bano.

Bano was the second company in Australia that received the enhanced regulatory sandbox (ERS) exemption by the Corporations (FinTech Sandbox Australian Financial Services Exemption) in December 2020. This exemption allowed it to enter a longer testing period of up to 24 months, to operate and provide financial services. However, by securing the AFSL, the licence will replace the existing regulatory exemption.

The AFSL will not change the functionality nor practicality for customers as they will be able to continue using their Bano accounts as normal.

“Receiving an AFSL means that ASIC has now licensed us to continue providing financial services to our customers,” said Denise Taouk, Executive Compliance Manager at Bano.

Bano (trading as Bano Superapp) is a FinTech company based in Australia that aims to simplify finances for the Gen Z and Millennial Audience. By being an ecosystem of various financial services, it is essentially a superapp that allows users to conduct a multitude of services. Currently Bano’s features include card payments, split bills, requests, FX conversion, multi-currency accounts, and the patent-pending PayLink feature.

Since 2020, the company was founded, operated, and managed in Sydney, Australia. However, it plans to further its horizons and expand into other territories to become a true major player in the world of SuperApps.