WeMoney & women leaders shine at 2025 Finnie Awards in Sydney
The winners of the 2025 Finnie Awards, run by FinTech Australia, have been announced in Sydney, with WeMoney, Primary, Monoova, and several women within the fintech sector among those receiving key accolades.
Key honours
WeMoney collected three awards, including the prominent FinTech Organisation of the Year distinction. This is the first time WeMoney has claimed the top prize, after having secured three separate Finnies in the preceding year. Primary, a finance management platform, was awarded the title Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year.
Two women, Gaby Rosenberg of Blossom App and Anna Hawter from Lumi, received the awards for Emerging FinTech Leader and Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year, respectively. Caroline Tran of Hello Clever was named Female FinTech Leader of the Year, continuing a trend towards recognising diversity within the industry. This year's awards follow the 2021 results, when three women—Katherine McConnell, Simone Joyce, and Jill Berry—claimed top individual accolades.
Award changes and new categories
The 2025 Finnie Awards introduced several new categories and consolidated some existing ones. RedOwl was announced as the first winner of the Most Innovative Application of AI in Finance Award, while PathZero received recognition for Excellence in Green FinTech and Sustainability Initiatives. Awards were distributed across a range of companies, highlighting a broad and competitive field.
Other notable winners included Monoova, which collected prizes for Excellence in Industry Collaborations & Partnerships alongside Carsales, and Excellence in Payments jointly with Sniip. Upcover was awarded Best Workplace Diversity, and Block Earner received honours for Excellence in WEBe (Blockchain and Crypto).
Judging and selection
The winners were chosen from a pool of 348 entries submitted across 21 categories. The judging process involved two rounds, with a new panel introduced in the second round to cross-check submissions and select category winners. This structure was designed to ensure rigour and maintain high standards in the selection process.
Rehan D'Almeida, CEO of FinTech Australia said: "The Finnies play an important role in reflecting progress and achievement within Australia's fintech industry, and this year we've seen just that. To see WeMoney pick up multiple awards last year and now go on to win the top prize is reflective of the company's broader growth journey over the past 12 months, and sets a path for other fintechs in the industry to follow."
"We launched the Female Fintech Leader of the Year Award several years ago to champion equality and representation in our sector. Then in 2021, we saw three women — Katherine McConnell, Simone Joyce, and Jill Berry — take home top prizes, really driving this shift home. To see this trend continue, with both Gaby and Anna surpassing all other entries in these highly competitive categories, is another key milestone for the industry and its broader push for diversity."
"While we tweak the awards every year to ensure they are reflecting the ecosystem, this is the first year where we've had a much bolder overhaul -- combining categories and launching new ones. The diverse list of companies tonight receiving a Finnie is a positive sign for these changes -- also demonstrating just how tough it is to win a Finnie. This makes getting onto the finalist list a significant achievement in and of itself."
"So I'd also like to extend my congratulations to those companies who made it onto the shortlist. I'd also like to congratulate all of our winners for the 2025 awards. It's a fantastic milestone for your company and a hard won achievement amid the current funding and regulatory environment. We're marking ten years of operation at FinTech Australia this year, and we're thrilled to be able to continue to support the broader ecosystem and our members as we grow our local and global footprint."
Wider spread of achievements
In addition to WeMoney and Monoova, other companies such as Assurance Lab, JustFund, DAS (Digital Agriculture Services), FrankieOne, Fortiro, and Stone & Chalk received recognition for their achievements in areas including market presence, lending, insurtech, regtech, innovation, and sector support.
The Finnie Awards' expansion to include new categories, such as AI and sustainability, was seen as a reflection of shifting industry priorities and advancing technology, alongside a continued focus on workplace diversity and industry collaboration.
The awards night provided recognition to companies and individuals working across the fintech sector, with the shortlist regarded as a significant accomplishment given the level of competition in 2025.