Australian fintech companies face two key challenges - acquiring customers and attracting the right talent to work in their businesses.Marketplace lending start-up MoneyPlace has conducted a "fintech census" of financial technology companies in Melbourne.MoneyPlace chief executive Stuart Stoyan said: "The biggest problem is attracting customers. Greater access to key figures in private and public enterprise would give emerging businesses a much-needed leg up."This finding echoes research published by East & Partners earlier this month, which said fintechs were doing a poor job of marketing their businesses. East & Partners found that 39 per cent of micro and SME businesses could not recall a single fintech brand. The figure increased to more than 50 per cent of corporates and almost 60 per cent of institutional businesses.Stoyan said there was a need for a dedicated fintech space in Melbourne, similar to Sydney's Stone & Chalk, where start-ups could rub shoulders with corporates and government.The other big problem is hiring the right people. One respondent said that when he was hiring he had difficulty knowing whether the people he was interviewing actually knew what they were talking about.Another said the talent was there but finding it was hard.According to the survey, 31 per cent of Melbourne's fintechs are developing products and services in the payments and billing market, 27 per cent in personal finance and asset management, 15 per cent in lending, 15 per cent in "institutional tools", six per cent in money transfer and remittance, four per cent in digital currency and two per cent in insurance.Seventy-five per cent of the companies surveyed had been operating for two years or less.After acquiring customers and staff, the next big challenge is the availability of funding. One respondent said a common complaint in the sector was that available funding was on "very strict terms that are pro-VC."