Australia’s regulator for securities files an appeal after losing in the Finder Wallet case.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed an appeal against its recent court loss to Finder Wallet, a sister company of Australian fintech firm Finder.com. The court had ruled that Finder Wallet’s “Earn” product was compliant with Australia’s financial laws. ASIC had previously argued that the product operated without the necessary license or authorization. However, the court dismissed the case, stating that ASIC failed to prove that the product constituted a “debenture” under the Corporations Act. In its appeal, ASIC claims that the court made an error in its ruling, as there was no depositing of money or loan involved in the product. ASIC is concerned that the product was offered without the appropriate license or authorization and without important consumer protections. The appeal will be heard by the Full Federal Court at a later date. Finder expressed disappointment with ASIC’s decision but is prepared to defend its product in court. The Finder Earn product allowed users to convert Australian dollars into TrueAUD (TAUD) and receive a yield of 4-6%. ASIC filed the lawsuit against Finder Wallet in December 2022, alleging that it was an unlicensed financial product. Despite the court victory, Finder has stated that it does not intend to relaunch the product.