Preparing for DORA: What UK Fintechs Need to Know

Season 5, episode 5

Set to reshape how financial entities across Europe and beyond approach digital resilience, DORA is more than just another compliance requirement, it’s a game-changer for fintechs, financial institutions, and third-party service providers.

What does this mean for UK fintechs, particularly in a post Brexit landscape? How can firms prepare, adapt, and turn compliance into a competitive advantage?

In this podcast we break down everything UK fintechs need to know about DORA, from key requirements to practical implementation strategies.

Participant-Rob Mossop – Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at Sword Group

-Luke Scanlon – Head of Fintech Propositions, Legal Director, Pinsent Masons

-Mick O’Connor – Founder and CEO at Haelo

BLK’s £50 Million Funding, a Turning Point for Digital Commodities Trading

The commodities trading industry, historically reliant on traditional methods, has recently seen a surge of digital innovation. At the forefront of this digital revolution is Scottish fintech BLK, a pioneering UK-based online commodities marketplace, which has just secured an impressive £50 million equity investment from Panama-based Nimbus Capital. This substantial funding signals a shift toward technology-driven solutions within an industry ripe for transformation.

Commodities trading, involving everything from metals and energy to agricultural goods, has long suffered from inefficiencies and lack of transparency. Traders frequently navigate complex logistics, opaque pricing structures, and cumbersome administrative processes. BLK’s mission has been clear from the start, to disrupt these traditional trading barriers using advanced technology like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). With Nimbus Capital’s backing, BLK is now in an even stronger position to realise this vision.

Blockchain technology, well-known for its application in cryptocurrencies, holds immense potential for commodities trading. It enables unprecedented transparency by securely recording each transaction on an immutable ledger. This reduces the risk of fraud and error and fosters greater trust between buyers and sellers. With AI, BLK is further streamlining trade by optimising logistics, forecasting market trends more accurately, and significantly reducing operational costs. These technological advancements will reshape how commodities markets function, offering substantial competitive advantages to early adopters.

The £50 million investment will also directly support BLK’s operational expansion. Key plans include the strategic acquisition of new shipping vessels, which is crucial for expanding BLK’s logistics capabilities. Enhancing logistics will ensure BLK can efficiently meet rising demand, reduce shipping times, and improve the overall reliability of commodity supply chains.

The investment is a clear indication of BLK’s long-term strategy and market ambition. BLK has announced plans to list publicly via an IPO in 2025, a major milestone that will open new avenues for growth, visibility, and investor engagement.

The Cashless Society: Are We Ready for a Digital-Only Payment World

Season 5, episode 4

Listen to the full episode here.

The global shift towards digital payments is accelerating, with cash usage declining year after year.

From contactless transactions to mobile wallets and cryptocurrency, digital payments are reshaping the financial landscape.

Are businesses and consumers fully prepared for a digital-only economy? What are the risks of excluding those who rely on cash? With 1.2 million people in the UK still reliant on cash, concerns around financial inclusion, cybersecurity, anddigital resilience remain.

In this episode, we examine the implications of a cashless future, hear expert insights on the opportunities and challenges, and discuss whether the world is truly ready toleave physical money behind.

Guests:

Craig Forsythe – CEO and Founder at Giftround
Chris Elsden – Chancellor’s Fellow in Service Design at Institute for Design Informatics & Edinburgh Futures Institute
Neil Collman – Design Director at Nile

Lloyds Banking Group’s 2025 Launch Innovation Programme

Lloyds Banking Group is bringing back its Launch Innovation programme for 2025. Applications are now open for this initiative which offers a great opportunity for tech innovators from any industry to collaborate with one of the UK’s largest financial institutions.

The 12-week programme will provide expert mentorship from Lloyds’ senior management and industry specialists and enable selected participants to run a commercial proof of concept with the financial group. This initiative is designed to support ambitious entrepreneurs and innovative businesses looking to make an impact in sectors ranging from finance and technology to health, travel, and beyond.

Why start-ups should apply

The Launch Innovation programme presents a real opportunity for start-ups to gain exposure and validation in a real-world banking environment. Past success stories like Caura, Doshi, and MyPocketSkill demonstrate the transformative potential of this initiative.

Caura, a smart motoring app, secured a £4m investment from Lloyds’ fintech investment team, demonstrating the programme’s ability to take start-ups to the next level. Similarly, Doshi’s collaboration with Lloyds has helped gamify financial education, and MyPocketSkill is leveraging behavioural science to empower young people financially.

This programme is perfect for start-ups looking to refine their business models, access mentorship, and explore potential funding opportunities.

A Unique Opportunity for Start-ups Across All Sectors

Lloyds Banking Group’s commitment to innovation goes beyond financial services. The programme is open to start-ups across a diverse range of industries, including technology, health, sustainability, and consumer services. Lloyds Banking Group aims to provide customers with the best-in-class services and enhanced user experiences.

Participants will benefit from:

Hands-on mentorship from senior industry experts
Opportunities to develop and test innovative solutions
Insights into scaling and commercialising their products
Potential partnerships and investment opportunities with Lloyds Banking Group

For more informations and to apply click here

Equifax UK and CienDos Partner to Revolutionise Financed Emissions Reporting

FinTech Scotland’s strategic partner Equifax UK has partnered with Scottish fintech CienDos to launch the Financed Emissions Calculator™, a game-changing solution designed to streamline sustainability reporting and help financial institutions track their carbon footprint with greater precision.

Transforming financed emissions calculations

The Financed Emissions Calculator™ is the first-to-market solution that automates the traditionally manual and error-prone processes of measuring financed emissions. Built on Equifax’s fully cloud-native infrastructure, this innovative tool combines Equifax’s commercial credit insights with CienDos’ advanced emissions data methodologies. The result? A powerful platform that provides lenders with robust, auditable, and transparent carbon values based on sector-specific emission factors.

Financial institutions can now:

Enhance accuracy in emissions reporting
Improve traceability of carbon data across portfolios
Align with regulatory compliance under frameworks like IFRS S2
Make informed lending and investment decisions to support net-zero targets

Why financed emissions matter

Financed emissions are the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions indirectly attributed to financial institutions through their lending and investment activities. Unlike direct emissions, which stem from an organisation’s own operations, financed emissions come from the projects and businesses that banks, insurers, and asset managers fund. In many cases, financed emissions make up up to 95% of a financial institution’s total carbon footprint, forming a crucial part of Scope 3.15 reporting requirements.

Until now, many institutions have relied on high-level estimations and manual spreadsheets, making it difficult to track real-time emissions or project future climate impact scenarios. The Financed Emissions Calculator™ changes this landscape by offering an automated, data-driven solution that enhances transparency and enables more effective decision-making.

Equifax UK’s ESG Product Manager, Brad Davies, emphasised the critical role of financial institutions in tackling climate change:

“The role of financial institutions in helping to combat climate change is gaining significant attention, but indirect financed emissions associated with loans and other credit lines are among the most complex to track. By integrating environmental data with leading financial risk assessments, the Financed Emissions Calculator™ empowers UK lenders to measure and mitigate their climate impact. We’re excited to partner with CienDos to fill the knowledge gaps for clients with this first-to-market solution.”

CienDos Chief Executive Julia Salmond highlighted the collaboration’s impact on simplifying sustainability reporting:

“Equifax and CienDos have a shared vision to simplify the complex reporting requirements around financial firms’ carbon footprints. As a critical player at the heart of the UK financial ecosystem, Equifax’s extensive commercial credit data successfully combines with our own market-leading emissions data technology to help transform the management of portfolio emissions for firms, delivering greater accuracy and precision for their financed emissions reporting needs.”

FinTech companies awarded £250,000 to accelerate new developments that drive good consumer outcomes

Five fintech firms have each been awarded £50,000 to propel developments that support financial inclusion, accelerate financial resilience and deepen consumer engagement in financial services.

FinTech Scotland, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow, announced the outcome of the latest Consumer Duty Innovation Call from its Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), an Innovation Accelerator project funded by Innovate UK.

Backed by 14 leading financial institutions, the initiative connected 20 global fintech businesses with industry leaders to develop data-driven solutions that enhance consumer outcomes in financial services. Participating fintechs worked closely with senior representatives from PwC, NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group, Equifax, Barclays, Tesco Bank, TSB, Advance Credit Union, Secure Trust Bank, and Dudley Building Society.

The fintech entrepreneurs showcased their solutions in a pitching event at PwC’s Glasgow offices in January. The results saw five fintech firms awarded £50,000 each to develop solutions further and drive real-world impact:

Docstribute – Deepening consumer engagement and improving customer understanding of complex documents.

Ask Silver – Building consumer confidence through an easy to access tool that identifies and reports scams for vulnerable consumers.
NestEgg AI – Driving financial inclusion by enabling easier access to affordable credit and responsible lenders.

MyArk – Deepening financial resilience through enhanced data insights to identify indicators of future financial distress, enabling quicker appropriate interventions.

Profylr – AI-driven risk and compliance insights for financial institutions enabling improved decision making and outcome tracking.

These fintech businesses will continue the collaboration with the industry leaders in the FRIL programme, refining the solutions to ensure real consumer impact while driving the evolution of financial services.

This Innovation Call expanded its reach through a collaboration with SuperTech West Midlands, which enabled credit unions, building societies and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like Moneyline to engage in the programme.

Each of the FinTechs participating in the process offers a solution which enables financial services to be more inclusive, accessible and consumer focused. Utilising emerging technologies and advanced data insights continues to drive meaningful impact, shaping a fairer and more transparent financial future.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, commented:

“This latest Customer focused Innovation Call highlights the power of collaboration in driving better outcomes for individuals. By bringing together ambitious fintech firms and leading financial institutions, not only enhances good consumer outcomes—it accelerates development of inclusive digital financial services and supports the evolution of the future digital economy.”

Hillary Allen Smyth, Exec Director Supertech, said:

“We’re so proud to have been the first region to collaborate with the FRIL programme and the team at FinTech Scotland. All of our West Midlands partners have gained enormously throughout the innovation call and these grant awards will undoubtedly help to better serve consumers. But they are only a small part of the wider programme impact and through this collaboration, it’s an impact that will be felt far beyond Glasgow’s borders.”

Fraser Wilson, Financial Services Regional Leader, PwC, said:

“Each of these companies are tackling real challenges with fresh thinking and practical solutions and it’s clear that their work has the potential to improve how the financial services sector delivers for consumers. As a business that puts technology at heart of our strategy, hosting the event at our Glasgow offices and seeing these ideas, and the passion from these innovators, was fantastic. It’s this kind of collaboration that pushes forward real progress for the industry and consumers alike.”

Robert McKechnie, Director, Consumer and ID Fraud Products said:

“Equifax is proud to support the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab and its grant award winners of its most recent Consumer Duty Innovation Call in which we sponsored a Use Case. Innovation in financial regulation is key to a more secure and inclusive ecosystem, and we look forward to seeing the potential impact these innovators solutions may have on the industry.”

Scottish Building Society and Legado to Enhance Member Communication

The Scottish Building Society is partnering with Scottish fintech Legado to improve the digital experience for members while aligning with the Society’s broader sustainability objectives.

A Digital-First Approach to Member Engagement

Scottish Building Society has long provided savings accounts and mortgage services and continues to evolve by embracing digital transformation. This latest partnership with Legado introduces an advanced communication platform designed to provide a seamless, secure, and user-friendly experience.

Legado, headquartered in Edinburgh, supports financial services brands across the UK, including FNZ, Moneyhub, and Co-op Legal Services. The company specialises in digital solutions that enhance customer engagement by offering a more structured and intuitive way to manage financial interactions.

Supporting Sustainability Through Paperless Processes

One of the key benefits of this partnership is the move towards paperless communication. By reducing the reliance on physical documents, the Society aims to lower printing and postage costs and reinforce its commitment to net zero targets. This initiative supports both operational efficiency and environmental responsibility, reflecting the broader trends within the financial services industry towards digital-first strategies.

Paul Denton, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Society, said.

“Our members are at the heart of everything we do, and we are always looking at ways to improve their experience with us and to ease the journey for new members. Legado’s technology enables us to do exactly that, while allowing us to progress towards our net zero goals”.

A Commitment to Innovation and Service Excellence

The collaboration between the Society and Legado is a reflection of changing member expectations. Consumers increasingly seek more streamlined, personalised interactions with financial institutions. Scottish Building Society will be able to offer an improved digital journey for its members, strengthening communication channels and enhancing overall service delivery.

Josif Grace, CEO and Founder of Legado, highlighted the value of the partnership:

“Scottish Building Society will now be able to deliver a more streamlined, secure, and effective communication experience for its valued members. While we work with financial services brands across the UK, it’s great to be working with their team here in Edinburgh where we’re also headquartered.”

Regulatory Horizon Scanning Reinvented by HAELO

According to Thomson Reuters, a new regulatory update is issued every seven minutes. Compliance is critical and relies on manual monitoring methods which is simply no longer viable. That’s why HAELO has launched REGENESIS, a cutting-edge regulatory horizon scanning solution designed to revolutionise how financial institutions navigate compliance challenges.

The Journey to Innovation

HAELO’s journey towards REGENESIS began with a bold step into the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s (FRIL) first innovation call in 2024. This led to a transformative twelve-week collaboration with industry mentor Joanne Seagrave, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Tesco Bank, and her team. The partnership allowed HAELO to refine its vision, tailor a real-world use case, and build a proof of concept that directly addresses the increasing regulatory burden faced by financial institutions worldwide.

REGENESIS

Regulatory change is more than a compliance issue, it’s a business risk and operational challenge. Financial services firms must not only track, interpret, and implement new regulations but do so at scale and speed. REGENESIS cuts through the noise by combining expert curation, automation, and advanced data analytics, transforming regulatory monitoring from a labour-intensive process into a strategic advantage.

Key Benefits of REGENESIS:

Comprehensive Global Intelligence – Aggregates insights from hundreds of regulators and millions of documents in one accessible platform.
Rapid, Actionable Insight – Provides instant clarity on regulatory changes, enabling firms to make informed decisions faster.
Future-Proof Compliance – Keeps financial institutions ahead of the curve, ensuring resilience in an unpredictable regulatory landscape.

To showcase its potential, HAELO is offering an exclusive, complimentary three-month trial of REGENESIS for financial services firms. This is an opportunity to explore how automation, expert-driven intelligence, and advanced analytics can enhance regulatory threat intelligence, improve accuracy, and reduce compliance costs.

Secure your trial today by contacting HAELO at Let’s Chat | HAELO.io

Why Graduates Should Consider a Career in Fintech

The fintech industry is growing rapidly and has been recognised as a key driver of the UK’s economic growth. With strong investment and continued innovation, now is a great time for graduates to explore career opportunities in this sector.

The Growth of Fintech in the UK

The UK is a leading fintech hub, home to around 2,500 firms and employing over 76,500 people. By 2030, employment in the sector is expected to reach 105,500. Despite a global dip in fintech investment in 2024, the UK still attracted over £3 billion, demonstrating the industry’s resilience.

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has highlighted fintech as a major contributor to the economy. The government’s focus on this sector means more opportunities for innovation, investment, and job creation.

The Skills Gap in Fintech

Although fintech is expanding, it faces a significant skills shortage. To remain competitive globally, the industry needs to attract more skilled professionals. However, a recent survey by fintech company Quotezone.co.uk found that 76% of students have never considered a career in fintech. The main reasons include:

Lack of knowledge about the sector (36%)
Pressure to follow a traditional career path (26%)
Limited access to relevant work experience (9%)

Encouraging New Talent

To bridge this gap, initiatives like the Fintech Scholarship from Quotezone.co.uk aim to raise awareness and encourage students to learn about fintech. This scholarship invites students to share their thoughts on improving recruitment in the sector, with the winner receiving a £1,000 bursary and industry work experience.

Why Graduates Should Consider Fintech

A career in fintech offers competitive salaries, strong career development, and the chance to work in an innovative environment. Fintech professionals play a role in shaping the future of banking, payments, investment, and insurance through technology.

Fintech is an attractive option for graduates looking to enter a dynamic and rewarding industry thanks to growing government support and increasing job opportunities.

Scotcoin makes its debut on the MEXC cryptocurrency exchange

Scottish fintech Scotcoin made its debut on the MEXC cryptocurrency exchange. With a combined token valuation of $250 million (£200 million) and a trading paired with Tether (USDT), the world’s most liquid stablecoin, this listing represents a major development for the ethically driven digital currency.

Scotcoin isn’t just another token on the blockchain. It’s a mission-driven movement, with a firm commitment to social good, sustainability, and financial inclusivity. Scotcoin is setting itself apart by proving that digital assets can be a force for positive change.

What This Means for Scotcoin and Its Community

Being listed on MEXC, a top 20 global exchange with an average daily trading volume of $3 billion, will provide greater accessibility, liquidity, and credibility for Scotcoin. This move paves the way for mass adoption, allowing thousands more individuals, businesses, and charities to integrate Scotcoin into everyday transactions.

The listing is also a catalyst for expansion. Funds raised will be channelled into recruiting a dedicated full-time management team for The Scotcoin Project Community Interest Company (CIC). This will supercharge efforts to expand the Scotcoin ecosystem, developing partnerships with organisations that accept Scotcoin as a form of payment for goods and services.

A Crypto With a Cause

Unlike many cryptocurrencies that focus purely on speculation, Scotcoin’s vision is linked to community impact. Since its inception, it has backed initiatives providing food, clothing, and shelter to those in need. This next chapter will see Scotcoin directly distributed, via approved agencies, to third sector groups and vulnerable communities, ensuring that blockchain technology serves real-world humanitarian needs.

With over 6,000 holders globally and a growing number of charitable partnerships, Scotcoin is proving that crypto can be about more than just profits, it can be about people.

Commenting on this milestone, Temple Melville, CEO of The Scotcoin Project, said:

“This listing is a huge step forward in our journey. It not only increases accessibility for individuals, businesses, and charities, but also allows us to build a stronger, purpose-driven ecosystem. With a dedicated team, we can now focus on expanding partnerships and—most importantly—providing greater support to those in need.”

What Existing Scotcoin Holders Need to Know

To ensure a smooth transition, existing Scotcoin holders must exchange their old tokens for new ones before trading. Full details on how to do this securely are available on the official Scotcoin website: scotcoinproject.com