New research to improve affordability assessment
The University of Edinburgh, Afterbanks and Inbest are collaborating on a new research project that aims to develop new methods for affordability assessment. On the one hand, they will explore new statistical frameworks to take into account the changing nature of consumers personal circumstances, financial situation and behaviours. On the other hand, they will leverage on Open Banking to not only asses whether the credit is affordable at the point is taken out, but also throughout its whole life.
This research follows the new FCA regulation that makes mandatory for consumer credit lenders to include an affordability assessment (i.e. estimate borrower’s ability to undertake the credit commitments without incurring into financial struggles) into the wider consumer creditworthiness analysis.
Raffaella Calabrese, Associate Professor at University of Edinburgh Business School, said: “The affordability assessment is not only different between borrowers, but also changes in time for the same borrower when new relevant information is available. By introducing a dynamic time-series analysis we expect to increase the accuracy and robustness in the affordability prediction.”
David Lozano, CEO of Afterbanks, said: “Our platform provides financial data to grant over 30,000 personal loans per month in Spain, and this project is an unparallel opportunity to adapt our data platform to the UK market and regulation. We are also excited to become part of the Scottish Fintech Ecosystem, hand in hand with the University of Edinburgh and Inbest”.
Manu Peleteiro, CEO of Inbest, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with the University of Edinburgh. Our ongoing collaboration has become a source competitive advantage, and the IP we developed helped us to secure projects with large financial providers in Spain. We are also thrilled to welcome Afterbanks – one of the fastest growing Fintech companies in Spain – to the Scottish Fintech ecosystem”.
About Afterbanks
Afterbanks provides a platform to securely access banking data and initiate payments in real time. Our platform provides access to all banks in Spain and the largest banks in Portugal, Italy and Mexico. It is used by dozens of third-party applications and makes over 100.000 conections a day.
About Inbest
Inbest is a data analytics platform that automates the financial planning process by gathering and analyzing customers’ personal financial information. Inbest enables financial institutions to provide financial products and services to help their customers to manage their day-to-day finances, have the right protection coverage and plan for their life goals.
FCA news – Tips to keep up to date with the regulator
I always pause for thought as I write an update on what’s happening at the FCA, thinking about how to summarise the essence of what I’ll cover and knowing I’m only focusing on a small sample of what’s going on there.
For those of you able to make it to last week’s FCA event you’ll have heard the team talk about the size of the FCA’s role and remit. Since coming back to work after the Christmas break I’ve found myself thinking about what to cover in my regular blogs, when there could be so much to highlight. So its with that thought in mind that I’m focusing the majority of my update on a couple of ways to keep up to date with what’s going on at the FCA and ending with a specific point relating to a consultation paper on cryptoassests.
Getting updates from the FCA
There are two communications that I’ve always found helpful and even more so since staring my role at FinTech Scotland.
The first is simply a weekly email that contains a summary of that weeks FCA news. Its a great way of seeing what the Regulator has published that week. It’s no more than one page (usually) and will include links to any consultation papers, policy papers, final notices, speeches etc. Its worth signing up for – try this link.
The second is the Regulation Round Up. Its published on a monthly basis, includes information that is relevant for all firms regardless of sector, size or business model. The January Edition can be accessed here and for those interested you can also sign up to receive the Regulation Round each month – regardless of whether or not you’re involved in an authorised or regulated business. Again – my view is – its worth signing up for!
As well as covering hot topics, the Regulation Round Up provides updates on ongoing FCA work, will often contain articles outlining the FCA’s view on an topic and will include relevant links to current consultations and other FCA papers that may be relevant to your business or future plans. It will also outline any FCA events that maybe relevant or useful for your business.
The January edition highlights that the FCA intends to carry out a survey of smaller firms on how FCA regulation specifically impacts them. This work will be completed by an independent consultancy – Kantar Public. If you’re contacted please support this initiative. Your feedback will be highly valuable.
It also mentions that the FCA will be holding two events in Edinburgh in March aimed at regulated firms working in general insurance or the retail investment market. You’ll find more detail through the January Edition link above as well as information on how to register for the events.
There is much more information in the round up and the final point I’ll reflect on here is that in this months edition it also covers the important topic of Preparing for Brexit!
Getting insight from the FCA
To help focus its work, the FCA has divided the financial system into seven sectors that it monitors on a continual basis. It develops a set of sector views that provide a way to bring its collective intelligence together and considers a wide range of factors that drive change across the financial system.
The sector views are published and made available on the FCA website and will also be used as the FCA shapes and develops its business plan – due later this year.
The latest set of sector views were published in January and can be accessed here
Consultation paper – Guidance on Cryptoassets
The FCA is consulting on Guidance on crypto assets. This work is to help businesses understand whether their crypto asset activities fall under regulation.
This consultation has the potential to apply to a wide range of businesses. If crypto assets is currently or may potentially to be part of your business in the future, or if you’re engaging or talking to consumers on this topic or marketing this type of product, please review this consultation and offer your feedback. Comments are required by Friday 5th of April and can be emailed to fcacrypto@fca.org.uk
As I sign out for now, a final reminder that the FCA’s project Innovate team is hosting an event in Edinburgh on the 31st of January. I look forward to seeing you there. Please come and say hello especially if we’ve not met yet.
All the best
Nicola
Challenges of Doing Business with Large Corporations: A Masterclass with GlobalScot John Fox
The prospect of working with a large organisation can be a somewhat daunting prospect. It brings a whole new set of questions, paperwork, considerations and regulations. It’s also an exciting opportunity for your company to grow and develop in both existing and potentially new markets.
This masterclass on the Challenges of Doing Business with Large Corporations’ draws on John’s insight of the culture of large US headquartered corporations from the perspective of the insider. If you are interested in ideas of how to differentiate your offering to US based business or how to navigate large corporate culture please join us on Wednesday 6th February at 10am at the Scottish Enterprise offices in Edinburgh. For more details or to register for the event please using this link.
John recently retired after a long successful career of 39 years with Johnson & Johnson; a multi-national corporation that in 2017 had a revenue of $74.65bn, ranked No. 37 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and has over 130,000 employees worldwide. As Vice President of the Global Payroll for the entire group and in his previous role as Group CIO for Pharmaceuticals, John was responsible for administrative functions such as IT, finance and back office, including the payroll operations across 80 countries.
GlobalScots are members of a worldwide network of professionals who have built their reputations in the highest echelons of the international marketplace. Since 2001, they have been giving back to Scotland by donating their time and expertise for the benefit of Scotland’s future prosperity.
LendingCrowd in top 30 fast-growing tech startups – Interview with CEO Stuart Lunn
Stuart, well done on being named among the top 30 fast-growing tech startups to watch by Tech Nation. What do you think is the main thing that led to this recognition?
“Thank you! I think the Upscale team have recognised the progress we’ve made since we launched in late 2014, and potential we have to really take this business to the next level. It’s also great to see that 20% of the Upscale 4.0 cohort are fintech businesses.”
What does joining the 2019 cohort of Tech Nation’s Upscale 4.0 programme mean for LendingCrowd?
“This is further validation of our work in building a sustainable business capable of being scaled in a high-growth sector. We founded LendingCrowd to help bridge the funding gap facing so many small businesses, and the experience gained through Upscale and working with Tech Nation will be invaluable. We are proud to be based in Scotland, so it was pleasing to be selected as the only Scottish company to join this year’s Upscale programme. We hope this paves the way for more great Scottish businesses to be recognised.”
How is your firm transforming from being a start-up to being a scale-up business?
“Since our launch, we’ve always been focused on creating robust in-house infrastructure that can scale and underpin growth. This business is built on solid foundations of technology, financial services and regulatory experience, and we’ve proven the benefits of our business model in terms of enabling hundreds of SMEs to access the finance they need to grow. As we continue to bring in larger funds, we’re able to deliver higher levels of funding ”“ helping our borrowers create more jobs and generating real knock-on benefits for the economy.”
You on-boarded some very high profile collaborators last year on your board and in your marketing team. Are you planning on growing significantly more in 2019?
“We announced the appointment of Sir Sandy Crombie as our Chairman in November, and the following month Darren Cairns joined us as CMO. We hope to announce some more additions to the senior management team as we scale this year. In January alone, we’re advertising for seven roles on our careers page. Our team currently numbers 25 and I expect that figure will be close to 40 by the end of this year.”
What are your plans and objectives for 2019?
“To keep growing our investor and borrower base. We’ve now helped more than 570 businesses access over £50 million in funding, including more than £12 million in Scotland. As we attract more investors looking to make their money work harder, we’ll continue making a positive impact for our vital community of SMEs. We want to be the go-to company for Scottish SMEs that are being failed by traditional lenders.”
What’s your view on the future of P2P lending?
“We’ll see increasing levels of institutional money flowing in as the sector matures. Individual investors remain an important part of the mix, and I believe that financial advisers will increasingly recommend this market to their clients as an alternative to traditional savings and investments.”
Fortnightly FinTech Fuse ”“ Energised by FinTech Intimacy!
The intimacy of the fintech community and participants across Scotland has certainly given me an energised start to the year after the festive holiday.
Over the this first two weeks of 2019, the opportunity to engage and collaborate with the many people driving fintech innovation has enabled me to hit the ground running.
Coffee Shop Fintech Intimacy
And the many welcoming coffee shops across the country have been the venue of choice for the numerous meetings with inspiring fintech entrepreneurs during the last fortnight.
For example, this week it was brilliant to catch up with serial innovator Ross Laurie to hear about his new venture to reinvent part of the way financial services operates.
Scotland is the ideal home for launching Ross’s exciting initiative leveraging the open banking environment before taking to the rest of the financial world.
Open banking and data science are also being capitalized on by the engaging Adrian James (AJ) and his innovative Shoppa enterprise and we had much to talk through when we met last week.
In a short space of time AJ has developed a unique proposition that is going to have a positive impact on customer engagement financial services and beyond.
This will also be the case with Women’s Coin, a truly brilliant innovation which is going to have a world-wide impact in so many ways.
Wonderful to see the dynamic duo, Christine Bamford and Dr Jane Lewis, last week at one of our favourite coffee shops, Nomad.
We are delighted they are looking to develop their enterprise here in Scotland and become part of the diverse fintech community.
Then it was a late afternoon coffee with the magical MoneyMatiX team a few days ago, with the amazing Tynah Matembe and Helene Rodger.
Fantastic to see how their financial engagement prototype is developing and talk through the various take to market strategies.
This is just four examples amongst many others over this last two weeks of meetings at four very different types of coffee shops with Scotland’s diverse fintech enterprises.
Earlier this week the fintech intimacy moved away from the coffee shops to the offices of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for an engagement session with the fintech community.
It was great to having a very diverse group of the fintech community at the meeting and a massive thank you to Nicola Anderson, who is on a year long secondment from the FCA to FinTech Scotland, for putting on such an engaging event.
Many thanks also to Maggie Craig, Alan Drainer and Steven McWhirter for sharing their valuable regulatory insights and experiences.
I know there will be as much interest in the FCA Project Innovate event In Edinburgh on 31stJanuary.
This opportunity to have an intimate constructive engagement with the fintech community is something I am also looking forward to developing with the Scottish Government team leading on digital transformation.
Great to further develop these plans with Clare Mills and Carron Macnab from the Digital team this week along with Paul Gaffney from Hanya.
I’m really looking forward to the next stage of this initiative as it will demonstrate how the fintech community can play a constructive mutually beneficial role with a large organization such as the Government.
Big and Small FinTech Intimacy
This big and small fintech intimacy was the focus of the discussions with the very progressive and forward thinking team at Baillie Gifford.
It was great to meet up with Richard McGrail, Evan Delaney and Anurag Agrawal from Baillie Gifford to further develop how they can play an active role in shaping the fintech innovations being developed in Scotland.
This was also the theme of the discussion with Jackie Leiper of Lloyds Banking Group earlier this week as we explored the numerous ways in which to connect into the fintech community and innovative people developing the ideas for the future.
Derek Smith is leading some amazing initiatives at Lloyds demonstrating that big and small can develop a fintech intimacy.
This was even more apparent whilst in the Port Hamilton HQ as we bumped into the brilliant Manu Peleteiro, founder of the Inbest enterprise, which is helping make financial management accessible and inclusive to all.
Consumer inclusion was a key part of my update to the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) meeting on the second day back after the holidays last Tuesday
This was an opportunity for me to demonstrate how the growing fintech community can play a significant positive role from both a social perspective as well as economic outcomes.
Thank you to Scottish Government Ministers, Derek Mackay and Kate Forbes along with Jim Pettigrew of CYBG and Graeme Jones of the SFE for allowing me to celebrate FinTech Scotland first anniversary at the Board meeting.
Thanks also Shery for producing such a wonderful birthday cake to celebrate the occasion!
Our first anniversary has been well received in the global media over the last few days noting the various developments in Scotland over the last twelve months
Of course, on the ground, fintech innovation will only flourish if the big scale infrastructure is developed for the longer term
There is no one more inspiring to explain this than Keith O’Donnell of Morgan Stanley and it is hugely impressive to listen to Keith on this last week.
On a broader level, it was great to meet up with James King, the founder of Host in Scotland, and the always insightful Polly Purvis of Scotland IS and David Smith of Scottish Enterprise with John Trower and Graeme Malcolm to discuss the importance of data infrastructure for future innovations.
The role of data skills in driving fintech innovation was the focus of the conversation with Katriona Cunningham, Richard Matthews and Gordon Ritchie of Aviva last week as well.
It was great to have Michael Young and Rob Huggins of MBN Solutions with us to talk through their experiences of developing the data talent for the future.
University Fintech Intimacy
The fintech intimacy with the Universities across Scotland is something which has enormous potential in so many ways beyond the pure development of new young talent and skilled people.
This was reinforced to me this week in catching up with the fabulous Ellie Mackay from the Entrepreneurial Network team at the University of Strathclyde.
Very impressed on how Ellie and the team are engaging a diverse range of students on potential innovations as part of the fintech cluster development at the University.
Similarly, the potential development of new fintech enterprises through an accelerator programme at the University of Edinburgh with Gordon Donald and John Lonsdale of the Edinburgh Innovations team along Myron Hrycyk and Colin Carmichael of Sopra Steria.
Such an initiative will form an important part of the Edinburgh Futures Institute and it was good to catch up with Lesley McAra and Damien Mcgarrigle last week to discuss how fintech intimacy can have a very big role to play with new collaborations.
The fintech intimacy with the public sector opportunities and working with the CivTech programme is going to be key over the coming months.
This was also the discussion with the inspiring Glasgow School of Arts team, Irene McAra-Williams and Gordon Hush, this week as we considered how to progress the consumer inclusion initiatives further.
Later in the day we met up with Yvonne MacDermid and David at Money Advice Scotland to share the progress we are making and agree next steps in developing the intimacy with the range of fintech innovations to support their work.
The potential powerful impact that fintech could have on peoples lives was further recognized when catching up with Ewan Aitkin, the inspiring chief executive at the Cyrenians who deliver such amazing work.
Ewan and I first met over 35 years ago at university where we were both trying to positively change the world to be more progressive, a mission which we remain true to today albeit our tactics have changed slightly!
Enabling FinTech Intimacy
One of the exciting aspects about the fintech intimacy across Scotland is the numerous and diverse participants enabling innovation to flourish.
For example, it is great working with Mark Roger and his Vivolution team as the FinTech Scotland Network Integrator on a range of initiatives.
Developing the access and options for funding fintech enterprises is one such important area and this will be a key focus for our activity in 2019.
Furthermore, working alongside Graeme Rennison and the team at Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Investment Bank is valuable to ensure the fintech community can best leverage the range of product and services available.
There are many other active enabling participants, for example, on Monday in Glasgow it was really useful to catch up with Evelyn McDonald and Steven Hamill, who lead the Scottish Edge team, to discuss collaboration opportunities
We also enjoyed catching up with FinTech Scotland board member Yvonne Dunn, from our strategic partner Pinsent Mason, to discuss plans for the year and build on their fantastic fintech engagement last year.
A very full day in Glasgow finished off with a fascinating and constructive conversation with Nick Cousins, Mark Roger and Doug Morwood on enabling great fintech intimacy with large banks . Thanks Nick for progressing the opportunities on this.
I am hoping to leverage this Scotland strength of enabling fintech intimacy on a global scale in 2019
The first opportunity for this will be next week when I join Pat Kunz on SDI in Switzerland for a fintech trade mission along with Gavin Littlejohn and leaders from a number of market leading fintech firms.
Thank you to Manuela Andaloro for the catch up this week and guiding me through the presentations we will be giving next week in Zurich. More on this in the next Fuse blog in a fortnight.
Running Intimacy
I am hoping some of the Scottish fintech leaders joining me in Switzerland next week will join me on a few runs around the beautiful city of Zurich along the Limmat River and a full circuit of Lake Zurich!
Just now I’m up to running 50 miles a week and I need to keep the mileage high with the first marathon in early March fast approaching.
Ive been boosted by my first race of the year, a half marathon at Strathclyde Country Park on the first Sunday of January, which saw me take third place overall and a new trophy for the cabinet.
And yes, there were more than three people running the race!
Whilst I am keeping my feet on the ground, this is my best start to a running year in over four years and I am hoping to defy the physical challenges of getting older with a year of personal bests!
Of course, also planning for the best year yet’ in fintech too! Until next time
Call for European fintechs to take part in Argentinian Accelerator
FinTech hub Red Link by Innsomnia is the first collaborative FinTech accelerator in Argentina.
Red Link, a network that provides financial support to more than 40 banks in Latin America, is now looking for Startups in Europe that can digitalise their services and processes.
The Fintech ecosystem in Argentina has increased by more than 80% in the past 18 months and positions itself as the fourth largest ecosystem in Latin America, shortening distances with the main markets in the region.
Innsomnia, the first fintech & insurtech accelerator in Spain is currently in its fourth edition working with Bankia, a Spanish Bank which is mentoring more than 50 startups, consequently 70% of these go on to have their solutions integrated within the bank.
Innsomnia is now looking to implement the same model in Latin America and Argentina is the first stop of this international fintech program.
The program has a duration of four months, in which the startups selected will travel to Buenos Aires for one week to meet the Red Link innovation team to define the PoC that they will develop.
After this startups can work from their home countries and continue with the mentorship programme online with no need to move to Spain or Argentina.
Innsomnia works on a B2B model, creating connections between big corporates and technological startups. At the same time Innsomnia does not ask for equity from the startups, they are free to have their own private investors.
Red Link is looking for the following startup characteristics:
- Solutions for SMEs
- Customer Relationship
- Algorithmic Trading
- Banking Technology and internal bank management
- Alternative credit scoring
- Predictive models
- Artificial Intelligence ”“ Machine learning (Voice banking ”“ Chatbots)
- WealthTech & Financial Planning
- Financial Education and inclusion
- Robotization and automation of processes
- Efficiency and management savings in internal banking
This programme can provide an opportunity to expand your business internationally and to get your project validated by an international partner.
Red Link fintech hub can be your gateaway to the Latin American market.
More information and applications here.
Latest news from the FCA
Analysis of a Sector
Consultation Paper
Speech
FinTech Scotland’s first anniversary heralds a growing fintech economy across Scotland
FinTech Scotland has confirmed that the number of innovative fintech SMEs based in Scotland has grown by three times to over eighty in the last twelve months.
The announcement comes on the first anniversary since the formation of FinTech Scotland, a joint initiative by a number of financial services firms, University of Edinburgh and Scottish Government.
The growth in the new fintech enterprises focused on reinventing financial services has been driven by both new start-ups and existing fintech firms moving to Scotland.
In addition, the number has also been bolstered by early stage Scottish technology firms expanding their proposition into financial services.
Since its inception FinTech Scotland has facilitated the growing fintech innovation by fostering the connection between entrepreneurs, large financial services firms, the universities, Government and public sector as well as a range of strategic stakeholders.
Examples of FinTech Scotland’s strategic enabling role have included:
- Developed fintech access to funding and business services with the appointment of a fintech commercial partner Vivolution in conjunction with Scottish Enterprise
- Connected fintech firms with over a dozen large financial services firms and members of Scottish Financial Enterprise to develop new routes to market
- Collaborated with Scottish Development International and Deloitte to develop global connections in Far East, Europe and USA for inward investment and exporting
- Supported the development of fintech entrepreneurial networks and accelerators hubs such as the University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre
- Developed fintech skills with Scotland’s universities, colleges such as Fife Fintech Skills Academy and student groups such as Glasgow University FinTech Society
- Close collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority to support fintech firms regulatory understanding reinforced by a senior secondment to FinTech Scotland
- Grew the visibility of the Scotland’s fintech activity through the launch of new digital platformand over 80 fintech events including the FinTech Festival with Visit Scotland
- Developed financial inclusion and diversity initiatives working with consumer groups, social enterprises and bodies such as Equate Scotland
- Facilitated cross sector fintech innovation, for example, with Law Society of Scotland and Scotland IS Cyber team as well as Scottish Government and the CivTech initiative
Digital Economy Minister, Kate Forbes said: “Congratulations to FinTech Scotland for an immensely successful year. With Stephen Ingledew at the helm, FinTech Scotland has galvanised collaboration between Scotland’s universities, financial industry and public sector. Together, we are building Scotland’s reputation as a major global FinTech centre. I personally commend FinTech Scotland for their hard work last year and their vision for the future.
Commenting on the first year Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive of Fintech Scotland said: “It has been a privilege over this last twelve months to lead the FinTech Scotland team and galvanise the broad range of support from across Scotland to support the growth of innovative fintech enterprises in this last year.
Our progressive, collaborative and inclusive agenda is certainly establishing Scotland as a major global fintech centre which can contribute to Scotland’s economic and social ambitions.
One year on there is still much to do but with a very supportive Board and strategic partners plus a range of stakeholders from private sector, Government and academia actively participating we can achieve the top ranking global fintech status “
Graeme Jones, Scottish Financial Enterprise Chief Executive, said: “FinTech Scotland has made a significant impact over the past 12 months by raising awareness of Scotland’s fintech capabilities and the opportunities available for new and existing businesses. Scotland’s financial services industry has always been at the forefront of innovation and I’m pleased to see this momentum continue. SFE and our members will continue to work collaboratively to support Stephen and his team as they strive to make Scotland a global fintech leader.”
The first anniversary was recognised on Tuesday the 8thof January at the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) meeting held at the University of Edinburgh, one of the founding partners of FinTech Scotland.
Picture taken at FiSAB on 8 January 2019.
Economy Secretary, Derek MacKay, Digital Economy Minister, Kate Forbes, Jim Pettigrew, FiSAB Co-Chair and Chairman of CYBG plc, Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive, FinTech Scotland.
At the FiSAB meeting, Stephen Ingledew outlined the key priorities for FinTech Scotland in 2019:
New Hire for Data Lab MSc Project
Most people tend to wind down in the lead up to the festive period, but I’m not most people! In the weeks before Christmas, I accepted a brand-new role with MBN Solutions in Glasgow.
I am the Delivery Lead for MBN Academy, responsible for leading the delivery of critical projects like The Data Lab MSc. Placement Programme. I have over 3 years’ experience within recruitment, sourcing, talent acquisition and management within the Scottish business community. Moving into a delivery lead position is a challenging new position for me, but I have been able to utilise my previous experience to enrich and improve the processalready.
I’ve joined MBN Academy at a key stage in our development as we move towards a larger, more complex delivery model. My added expertise, knowledge and drive will enable us to deliver the very best quality of service to our community.
My role is to provide guidance to students throughout the MSc. Placement Programme in addition to supporting Host Companies as they join the initiative. I have already had the opportunity to assist with the delivery of Employability training sessions at participating Universities and advising potential Host Companies on the benefits and structure of the Programme.I’m so excited to be leading the delivery of this project, working alongside world-class students and industry leaders.
Last year, 73 students were placed in an industrial placement and the bar has been raised this year, with the target now being 100 students. This is ambitious but given that we are working with 11 Universities with a range of different courses this is achievable.
The Data Lab and MBN solutions are passionate about plugging the data skills shortage in Scotland and this Programme is aimed at giving the students their first taste of industrial experience, which in turn should give them the skills they need to succeed in the future. It’s very refreshing to see so many companies eager to work towards the benefit of Scotland.
The Scottish FinTech community have previously stepped up to the plate and engaged with this Programme, including HSBC, Clydesdale, RBS and Tesco Bank. Start up and scale- up companies like The Lending Crowd have also taken part in this in this initiative with great success. The students have added great value to leading edge and creative projects in FinTech companies and are set to continue the trend this year!
Virgin Money and other challenger banks have also embraced this Programme, showing that there are no real barriers to get involved, whether you are a company with 20 folk or 2000, there is nothing to stop you taking part!
The FinTech community is a vital part of the Scottish economy, by giving these students a taster of their world, they are adding more skills to already skilled and dedicated students. Moving forward, this is invaluable to both parties and will ultimately enrich both parties.
The banking landscape of tomorrow
Blog written by Chris Herd, CEO and founder at Nexves
Today, fintech companies are innovating around existing products and services to create a better customer experience, tomorrow they will need to do far more. The first wave of challenger banks has amassed huge user numbers by doing little more than providing a more functional user interface, the next leap forward will come from enabling things which were previously impossible.
The future we imagine is akin to a Netflix of Financial services. Fintechs are on the brink of offering consumers a personalised menu of products instead of one-size-fits-all services.
As innovators and disruptors, we have a window of opportunity afforded to us by a unique confluence of circumstances.
The unlocked door to previously inaccessible data endows customers with the chance to receive insights into their spending habits which could save them a fortune.
The need to focus on the long term
Ultimately if companies like us do our job properly we’ll end up with a win-win situation. The value to the customers will be as a direct result of our ability to deliver simple products which people use and understand. The more money we keep in our users’ pockets, the higher they will value our services, the more they will trust us to deliver services which are of greater financial benefit. That won’t be achieved over night.
At Nexves, there are a number of key innovations that enable us to achieve things that no other company in the world can match. Mostly, this is through our ability to acquire a level of data which is exponentially more granular than our nearest competitors ”” enriching our intelligence and insights to an extent which was previously unimaginable.
How the world is changing
It is always essential to abreast of forthcoming technological developments and trends. They influence people and revolutionise the way we deal with finances.
Our 2018 reading list: https://hackernoon.com/a-cryptopunk-startup-founders-2018-reading-list-a52c7fb6bc0a]
- The internet as it currently exists will capitulate. The revenue model of advertising only will give way to a distributed model of digital taxation. This will take the form of metered-micropayments for all products, services or content you consume online ”” compensating creators equal to your engagement. Where industries have died, digital tokens will enable those things which acquire most attention to thrive. Cryptocurrency has been fascinating but we are currently in the replication phase ”” where people are trying to reinvent what currently exists ”” instead of doing things with blockchain and cryptocurrency which were previously impossible. We hope to imagine then deliver the latter.
- Peer to peer has been awesome for platform creators but terrible for gig economy workers. As Ubers Valuation has skyrocketed into the hundreds of Billions, rewards for drivers have plummeted. In short, the compensation for providing the service and maintaining the platforms are misaligned. This will change. Service providers will be rewarded with equity in the underlying business through new fractional ownership models. Every trip will equate to a higher stake of ownership. Drive more? Own more.
- Last mile delivery is about to explode. It’s relatively cheap to get a large volume of goods from one geographic location to another but It’s ridiculously expensive to get it from one place in that city to a large number of addresses. Look for there to be a number of VC backed players emerge in this space in the next 18 months. They will initially tie together D2C companies and their community, enabling those businesses to leverage the engagement of the crowd to let their customers benefit and lower delivery costs significantly. I guarantee a unicorn emerges in this domain by 2020.
- Crowdfunding is dead, long live crowdfunding. Investing in equity is prehistoric, consumer purchasing behaviour will become a new form of investing. Voting with your wallet will mean owning through your decisions. Buy something, own it, buy more, own more. Instead of purchasing stocks and shares, everyday consumers will accrue ownership of the futures most exciting companies through their existing purchasing behaviour. This means that the can of coke you are drinking would be a tiny fraction of equity in the business, equally the chocolate bar in your pocket or the soap in your bathroom. Wealth will be redistributed. Where in the past the only beneficiaries of our actions were the shareholders in the business which produced the things we consume ”” there will be a mass reaction against this. Technology will enable a swarm of individuals to cohesively act as one for mutual economic benefit. This will give rise to co-operatively owned brands which produce a vast number of the things we consume. People will be incentivised to act as selfishly as possible, benefitting everyone who does so as well.
New solutions needed
That is the world in which we see Nexves playing a central part. In order to participate in this cyclical economy, we need a digital passport which collects our data, protects it, lets you monetise it while enabling the payments alluded to above. We need a mechanism which enables us to hold the equity we earn through our behaviour and access markets to cash out when we desire. We layer on top of any existing bank account and will be the thing which facilitates participation
Strong opinions weakly held is the worst advice we’ve ever heard. Things that are weakly held are cheaply discarded and doing this leads to uncertainty. Instead, continuously challenging the things we believe ”” either destroying or improving them ”” is the framework we operate within. Candour is the most efficient vehicles which enable us to discover things as a startup and challenge conventionally held belief or the dogma which holds others back.