Inbest and MaPS launch New benefits calculator
In collaboration with Scottish fintech firm Inbest, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has introduced a benefits calculator.
The tool, which is free of charge, will be integrated into the MoneyHelper website of MaPS to assist individuals in determining the benefits and social tariffs for which they may be eligible.
Entitledto.co.uk claims that there may be billions of pounds in unclaimed benefits across the United Kingdom. By entering their basic information, users will be able to conduct a quick search and receive results in less than a minute.
The calculator will then request that they complete a more detailed search to verify their eligibility for any potential claims. MaPS emphasizes the importance of identifying other sources of income and any available assistance to help individuals manage their money and pensions, given the rising cost of living.
This initiative was launched after MaPS launched a new campaign in the previous month to increase awareness of the free help and advice available.
Michael Royce, Senior Policy and Propositions Manager at the Money and Pensions Service, said:
“The most common reasons why so much goes unclaimed in benefits is that people are unaware of what they’re entitled to or assume that they aren’t eligible.
“We look forward to working closely with Inbest and hope that making their benefits calculator available through our MoneyHelper website helps millions of households who are currently missing out to maximise their income.”
Manu Peleteiro, founder and CEO at Inbest, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with MaPS and power their MoneyHelper benefits calculator. Working with MaPS colleagues is a fantastic learning experience, and their input is crucial to continuously improve our calculator and shape our product roadmap.
“We are looking forward to working with MaPS and contributing to the delivery of the UK’s Strategy for Financial Wellbeing by helping people access the benefits, grants and social tariffs they are eligible for.”
€9m Investment by Ingka into Scottish fintech DirectID
DirectID, one of the leading fintech in Scotland, that specialises in credit risk assessment, risk analytics and predictive modelling, has announced that it has received a minority investment of €9m from Ingka Investments, the investment division of Ingka Group.
DirectID’s main objective is to promote financial inclusion worldwide through its global credit risk score, by providing advanced data to optimise credit and risk decisions in an increasing number of countries. The company provides risk managers with a real-time dataset that can drive efficiency, improve decisions and lifetime value across the credit lifecycle. DirectID’s insights enable decision makers to assess risk better, regardless of age, location, and past credit performance.
James Varga, CEOand Founder of DirectID, said:
“We’re proud to join Ingka Investments’ portfolio of market-leading firms. We are excited to be shaping a new global standard in credit scoring that enhances people’s lives by enabling access to products they need in an affordable way. Our coverage, advanced insights and predictive models provide a unique opportunity to achieve this by creating the world’s first real-time, inclusive, credit score based on open finance data.”
The funding received will help expedite the launch of DirectID’s most advanced predictive models for credit and risk, built from open banking data. Additionally, the company plans to expand its credit risk offering into new markets and accelerate the development of models for each stage of the credit lifecycle, from originations through portfolio management to collections.
Peter van der Poel, Managing Director of Ingka Investments, said:
“We are pleased to have made this investment in DirectID and are confident of their continued growth in the open banking market. They have developed an innovative solution with the potential to complement and disrupt the traditional credit and risk market and help drive financial inclusion for more people. Open Banking-enabled credit and risk insights is an area we believe can add value to Ingka’s financial services proposition in the future.”
This investment is just the latest in a series of investments made by Ingka Investments, which aims to strengthen Ingka Group’s core retail business by investing in innovative companies in areas such as digitalisation, customer fulfilment, fintech and sustainability. These investments support the ongoing transformation of Ingka Group to become more affordable, accessible, and sustainable.
Fintech and payroll, disrupting how people get paid
Season 3, episode 3
Listen to the full episode here.
When thinking about payroll generally most people would assume that it is something that works well. You work, you get paid. However, payroll is being disrupted like never before.
According to software company Intuit, one in four workers say they have had paycheque errors. And cloud company Kronos found almost half of workers who have had two or more paycheque errors will look for a new job.
Society is changing fast (even more so after COVID). In this podcast we’ll explore how those changes are impacting the way people work, get paid, pay taxes and how new fintech solutions are developing to make this possible.
Guests:
Ian Hogg – Chairman of The Work Tech Group that owns fastPAYE
Hayley Strachan – Director – Global Employer Services at Deloitte
Richard Tooth – Tax & Legal consultant at Deloitte LLP
Eira Hammond – Executive Director Global Payroll at Hi55 Ventures
New government initiative to promote women in STEM
The UK Government is launching a new initiative to encourage women to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Currently, only 29% of the STEM workforce is made up women. This new initiative will benefit from £150,000 of Government funding and will be used by Women Returners and STEM Returners to target women who have taken career breaks and promote core skills in an attempt to plug the STEM skills gap.
Joanna Kori, Head of People for fintech firm Encompass Corporation, commented:
“I am glad to see the Government promoting and providing tangible support to women looking to get into, or return to, STEM careers through investment and skills training. STEM careers are hugely rewarding, yet, as recent figures show, too few women are involved in the sector, and that needs to change. Women are poised to play a crucial role in resolving the skills gap, and it is vital that organisations provide the opportunities and training to empower women and encourage them to pursue a career in STEM. At Encompass, we work hard in this area, providing the balance of both autonomy and support to allow our talented female employees to thrive and be at the centre of the company’s growth.”
Nicola Pickering, VP of Customer Success & Delivery at Encompass Corporation, said:
“The opportunities and avenues available in STEM are vast and, with initiatives like this, will only increase. It is encouraging to see how far we have come in schools, in terms of expanding opportunities, and instilling in girls to have no limits in what they pursue. There is so much possibility to achieve in the tech industry and, with the evolution of flexible working, inclusion for women is greater than ever before, meaning they can fulfil exciting career ambitions while maintaining the positive work-life balance that many look for.”
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Carbon Markets: How can fintech avoid green washing?
Season 3, episode 2
Listen to the full episode here.
The FinTech Scotland Research and Innovation Roadmap highlighted the growing focus on climate considerations for the financial services sector.
Whilst this is in part driven by consumers, demanding better transparency for the products they invest in, this is the launch of new regulations that is accelerating the move to a more sustainable financial sector.
Financial services providers are facing growing challenges around ESG reporting due to the difficulties around the availability of trustworthy data. This has led to mounting concerns around greenwashing.
In a bid to clamp down on greenwashing, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing a package of new measures including investment product sustainability labels and restrictions on how terms like ‘ESG’, ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ can be used.
In this podcast we discuss how to best avoid greenwashing moving forward.
Guests:
Colin Carmichael – Sustainability Director at PwC
Jules Salmond – Founder at Ciendos
Matthew Brander – Senior Lecturer in Carbon Accounting at The University of Edinburgh Business School
Boost for Scottish fintech cluster as Morgan Stanley enters collaboration with FinTech Scotland
FinTech Scotland, the cluster management body, has announced a new strategic partnership with Morgan Stanley, further strengthening the growth of the financial technology innovation and excellence across Scotland and accelerating the fast-growing sector’s global connectivity.
Morgan Stanley joins FinTech Scotland’s existing strategic partners including financial services firms, academia, technology solution providers and public sector organisations, to further enhance the development of Scotland’s fintech cluster through the support of strategic initiatives and the harnessing cross-regional collaboration.
For Morgan Stanley, a significant technology participant in Scotland, partnering with FinTech Scotland opens up new engagement opportunities with cutting-edge technology providers, a key part of Morgan Stanley’s fintech innovation strategy.
The collaboration will also support the firm’s Multicultural Innovation Lab and accelerator programme, that promotes financial inclusion and provides access to capital and expertise for early-stage technology and technology-enabled start-ups led by entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.
This partnership demonstrates Morgan Stanley’s continued commitment to Glasgow and broadens its support of the Scottish technology ecosystem. The firm has a workforce in excess of 2,000 in Glasgow and recently announced further investment in local talent, providing career opportunities to over 200 young people as part of its largest graduate recruitment programme to date.
The investment bank will get involved in the collaborations that continue to progress the FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap, driving innovation in Financial Regulation, Climate, Open Finance and Payment & Transactions.
Commenting on this new partnership, Khalid Rafiq, Glasgow Head of Technology at Morgan Stanley said:
“We are thrilled to deepen our ties with the Scottish fintech community and to help foster the growing start-up ecosystem. Playing an active role within the Fintech Scotland cluster not only ensures we are fully supporting our local community, it gives us the chance to share our expertise and deepens our commitment to foster technology talent and diversity so as to drive innovation and business value in the buoyant Scottish marketplace.”
Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland said:
“We’re looking forward to working with Morgan Stanley, building even more global connectivity as we continue to build, grow, and advance the FinTech Scotland Cluster. Plans for the year ahead will see more fintech innovation in capital markets and further support to enable greater diversity in fintech innovation. Morgan Stanley’s strategic engagement will enable further fintech innovation and opportunities in Glasgow which continues to see fintech growth, building Scotland’s national reputation for fintech innovation.”
Smart Data Foundry’s inaugural board announced
Smart Data Foundry just announced its inaugural board in order to accelerate its mission to solve societal issues though the use of financial data.
Member of the board are:
- Zachery Anderson, Chief Data Officer, NatWest Group
- Professor Kim Graham, Provost, University of Edinburgh
- Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chair, FinTech Scotland
- Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor, the Promise
- Professor Chris Speed, Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute
They join Chair Dame Julia Unwin and Chief Executive Officer Frank Gauld.
Founded in 2020, the not-for-profit organisation, has delivered a number of groundbreaking data projects in collaboration with financial institutions including research into the impact of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis on the over-50s.
Dame Julia Unwin commented:
“Our mission to unlock the power of data has struck a chord with leading figures in academia and Financial Services so much so they have been motivated to join us and bring about change. We have demonstrated that we can work collaboratively to create clarity through data which can inform policies and decision-making. We want to inspire financial innovation and with this team, I am confident this ambition can be realised.”
Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chair, FinTech Scotland adds
“Scotland has one of the fastest growing Fintech clusters in the UK, if not the world. Essential to financial innovation is the ability to access and share data, and the groundbreaking work that Smart Data Foundry is leading to create synthetic data unlocks the huge opportunities to inspire financial innovation that will benefit so many consumers and businesses.”
Zachery Anderson Chief Data Officer, NatWest Group said:
“NatWest Group were the first UK bank to partner with Smart Data Foundry and safely share data. Data helps us make better decisions and power research into areas that complement the wider NatWest purpose to champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive.”
Frank Gauld says:
“This marks an important milestone in our history. As a young and growing business, to have the ability to attract such a talented board tells me we’re on the right track. 2022 was a year characterised by delivery for Smart Data Foundry.
“Our ground-breaking work with the FCA to generate and supply synthetic data to support their work to tackle the growing problem of Approved Push Payment (APP) Fraud is a great example of how we’re inspiring innovation in Financial Services. And we continued to support UK Government with a regularly updated COVID Economic Dashboard, creating an enduring record of how consumers saved, spent and earned before, during and after a pandemic. This level of insight is critical for policymakers to make decisions based on large-scale empirical data, no longer having to depend on survey data.”
Mistakes to avoid when scaling a fintech
Season 3, episode 1
Listen to the full episode here.
The fintech sector is growing at pace with more and more entrepreneurs launching their own innovative firm. Whilst starting a new company can be difficult, scaling one to the next stage isn’t any easier and comes with its own challenges. What makes a start-up different is its size, allowing it to be more nimble, faster and more agile which in turns allows for faster innovation. As it grows, employs more people, develops new operating models and uses more technologies, the danger is slowing down, increasing costs to deliver and less innovation. In this podcast we learn about those mistakes and pitfalls scaling fintechs can avoid. What are things to think about and when should you start planning? Guests: James Varga – CEO and Founder at DirectID David Spencer – Head of Analytics Sales, Merkle UK
Encompass’ new white paper unveils key regtech trends
Scotland-based fintech Encompass just published a landmark whitepaper authored by Dr. Henry Balani, Global Head of Industry and Regulatory Affairs at Encompass,
The document shows regulatory pressure concentrated on areas such as Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) and also an increase in fines against firms for non-compliance, especially crypto exchanges, brokers, asset managers and securities firms, and in the UK and Asia.
Interestingly the white paper also looks at the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the volatile and complex systems of sanctions this has created. These international issues are being exacerbated by internal factors, such as outdated technologies exposing firms to greater risk of non-compliance leading to failure to effectively identify suspicious customers. Internal inefficiencies are also impacting the speed at which regulated firms are reacting to change.
The findings really show how opting for KYC automation can help fight financial crime as the sophistication of perpetrators increase.
Looking at 2023, the white paper mentions likely increases in sanctions regimes and money laundering scandals which should engender new regulations with KYC becoming even more important.
Dr. Henry Balani, Global Head of Industry and Regulatory Affairs at Encompass, commented:
“It is likely that we will continue to see investigative and enforcement activity in all jurisdictions focus on the quality of systems and controls, as well as the true application of a risk-based approach to managing financial crime compliance.
“The ability for firms to demonstrate they have a robust KYC framework, with efficient and effective controls – and a well-defined and comprehensive approach to customer risk assessment – is critical to standing up to regulatory scrutiny.”
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Tech jobs amongst Scotland’s top 20 salaries increases in 2022
Every year, Hays publishes its Salary & Recruiting Trends guide. It includes over 10,000 salaries across 16 industry areas in all UK regions, including Scotland.
The guide shows that tech jobs still occupy high positions in the top 20, with cyber security analysts and software developers in third and fourth places respectively, with an increase of over 24%.
According to Hays Scotland director, Keith Mason, STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) are still highly sought after with engineering projects in Scotland likely to be a significant economic driver going forward.
A new entry at number five, events managers can now enjoy a salary of around £37,000, which is a 23% increase in 2022.
“Conferences and corporate events are huge drivers for the hospitality industry,” says Mason.
“This is a sign of organisations wishing to re-establish connections with customers post-Covid. “A good events manager will act as an effective sales person for an organisation, helping them to both boost sales and increase brand visibility in a very competitive sector.”
IT and cyber security, sales, and diversity, equality and inclusion advisors also feature highly.
The overall salary increase in Scotland in 2022 was 5.7%, compared to 5.4% across the UK.
The full list of top 20 salary increases for 2022 is:
| Job | Industry | Salary (average 2022) | % Salary increase since 2021 | ||||||||
| 1. | Fabricator/Welder | Engineering Trade (Manufacturing) | £32,000 | 28% | |||||||
| 2. | Head of Tax/Director | Taxation (In-house) | £125,000 | 25% | |||||||
| 3. | Cyber Security Analyst | Technology (Cyber) | £56,000 | 24.4% | |||||||
| 4. | Product Manager | Technology (Software Development) | £62,000 | 24% | |||||||
| 5. | Events Manager | Marketing (Events) | £37,500 | 23% | |||||||
| 6. | Talent/Resourcing Advisor | HR (Recruitment & Resourcing) | £40,000 | 21.2% | |||||||
| 7. | Marketing Analyst/CRM Analyst | Marketing (Insight) | £35,000 | 20.7% | |||||||
| 8. | Head of Business Intelligence | Technology (Leadership) | £90,000 | 20% | |||||||
| 9. | Salesforce Solution Architect | Technology (CRM) | £105,000 | 19.3% | |||||||
| 10. | Import/Export Administrator | Business Support | £25,000 | 19% | |||||||
| 11. | Financial Planning & Analysis Manager | Accountancy & Finance | £72,500 | 18.9% | |||||||
| 12. | Head of IT Security | Technology (Leadership) | £95,000 | 18.8% | |||||||
| 13. | Engineering Operative | Engineering Trade (Manufacturing) | £26,000 | 18.2% | |||||||
| 14. | Manufacturing Manager | Engineering & Manufacturing (Defence) | £65,000 | 18.2% | |||||||
| 15. | Machine Learning Scientist | Technology (Data & Advanced Analytics) | £65,000 | 18.2% | |||||||
|
16. |
Digital Manager |
Marketing (Online & Digital) |
£60,000 |
17.6% |
| 17. | Automation Engineer | Engineering & Manufacturing (Defence) | £48,000 | 17.1% | |||||||
| 18. | Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Advisor | HR (DE&I) | £35,000 | 16.7% | |||||||
| 19. | Salesforce Project Manager | Technology (CRM) | £58,000 | 16% | |||||||
| 20. | Information Security Manager | Technology (Cyber) | £75,000 | 15.4% |
https://www.hays.co.uk/scotland
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