FinTech Alliance partners with FinTech Scotland to boost global engagement and investment funding opportunities for innovative FinTech firms.

London/Edinburgh, 8.00am, Tuesday 25 February 2020 ”“ FinTech Alliance partners with FinTech Scotland to boost global engagement and investment funding opportunities for innovative FinTech firms. 

• Through the partnership, FinTech Scotland’s community and cluster activities will be promoted across the FinTech Alliance platform, which aims to bring access to market, talent and capital to the firms across the UK FinTech space.

• The collaboration is part of FinTech Alliance’s mission to bring together the strengths of the global FinTech ecosystem in one destination, fostering collaboration and supporting the growth of the firms and sector as a whole.

• The partnership will build on Scotland’s recent recognition as a FinTech cluster centre of excellence, reflecting the progress made by FinTech Scotland since its formation in early 2018.

• Since its launch in mid-2019, a number of high-profile companies have signed up to the FinTech Alliance platform including Revolut, Level39, OakNorth and Virgin Money, as well as leading Scottish FinTech firms including Direct ID and Modulr.

FinTech Alliance, an innovative digital platform uniting both the UK and the global financial technology sectors, announces a partnership with FinTech Scotland, the independent body established to develop the FinTech community and cluster in Scotland.

The partnership is part of the FinTech Alliance mission to bring together the strengths of the UK’s FinTech ecosystem on one all-encompassing platform, and to support the continued growth of the sector.

The Scottish FinTech community is innovative, collaborative and inclusive, with Scotland home to a growing number of FinTech firms spanning the full spectrum of financial technologies from payments and blockchain to open banking and RegTech.

Scotland was also home to the UK’s first MSc in FinTech, which is offered by Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde as well as the first FinTech Consumer Panel.

Recently, Scotland was recognised as a FinTech cluster centre of excellence by the European Cluster accreditation body which benchmarks the impact of innovation and collaboration across all sectors of the economy.

The partnership will involve collaborating on a number of initiatives, including global development and engagement with investors.

FinTech Alliance will also support FinTech Scotland throughout next year’s Scottish FinTech Festival in September, developing a programme of events, roundtables and discussions.

FinTech Scotland’s content and activity will appear on its FinTech Alliance microsite and will be promoted by FinTech Alliance across social media platforms and newsletters.

FinTech Alliance will aim to keep the Scottish community at the centre of the conversation each month by creating original content, sharing Scottish FinTech news and regularly profiling Scottish FinTechs on the FinTech Alliance platform.

Each and every company in the FinTech Scotland community will be able to avail of unique offers from FinTech Alliance as part of the agreement. The FinTech Alliance platform enables companies within the community to share news and insight, connect with investors and talent, and keep up to date with policy and regulation.

New features and initiatives are being added to FinTech Alliance’s platform on a regular basis, including a Diversity Hub and Mentoring Hub which seek to build a more inclusive FinTech space and offer support to those wishing to build a career in the sector.

FinTech Alliance launched on 10 June 2019 in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT). Over 1,000 individuals and companies already have signed up to the Alliance, including Revolut, Thought Machine, OakNorth and CYBG. As users continue to register from all over the UK and internationally, the collaboration between FinTechs gets stronger. The partnership with FinTech Scotland is the latest example of this.

Stephen Ingledew, CEO, FinTech Scotland, added: “This partnership is a further example of driving FinTech innovation through collaborative relationships.  We’re impressed by the progress made the Phil and the team in a short space of time and with our shared values of inclusion and diversity combined with a global mindset we aim to accelerate initiatives to support FinTech enterprises.”

Phil Vidler, CEO, FinTech Alliance, said: “It is both exciting and important to have FinTech Scotland on board. Under Stephen’s stewardship, FinTech Scotland has achieved brilliant things as a strategic enabler to some prominent FinTechs in the UK, and has become the true backbone of Scottish FinTech. This partnership cements FinTech Alliance’s commitment to, and support for, all firms across the UK. It also underlines the real spirit of collaboration we are seeing in the FinTech sector ”“ one that will help all involved grow and prosper.”

FinTech Alliance is open to both individuals and companies. While individuals can register for free, businesses are asked to pay a monthly subscription or annual fee for a presence on the platform. The profits made by the organisation will be used to drive further initiatives and support pre-existing organisations in the UK FinTech community.

To sign up and for further information, please go to www.FinTech-alliance.com.

Double Boost for Scotland’s Global Fintech Ambitions

FinTech Scotland welcomes two significant developments which will support its ambition to become a globally recognised fintech centre.

First, as announced by Scottish Government today, Scotland’s fintech cluster has been formally recognised for its excellence by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) which benchmarks economic clusters across the Europe.

The ESCA undertook a benchmarking analysis, based on 36 economic indicators, of the work led by FinTech Scotland resulting in the award of the cluster excellence accreditation.

Scotland becomes the first fintech cluster in the UK to be recognised for the cluster excellence award and one of only three fintech clusters in Europe to achieve this accreditation. 

Second, the cluster award has been achieved as the two-year old FinTech Scotland confirms an increase in the number of strategic partners supporting the next stage of its strategy. 

The strategic partners include: financial institutions, global technology and professional services firms, two of leading international universities developing fintech skills; the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde, as well as Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government.

In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority continues support with the full-time secondment of a senior regulator to the FinTech Scotland team.

The broad range of FinTech Scotland strategic partners, illustrated below, will participate in a range of innovation and collaboration initiatives to drive further the development of the fintech cluster.

Commenting, Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland said: “We are very proud of this centre of excellence cluster recognition which will further contribute to being recognised as a global fintech centre. 

Achieving cluster accreditation recognises the progressive innovation, collaboration and inclusion initiatives across Scotland over the past two years and will shape the economic and social priorities for 2020 and beyond.

To progress this, we’re delighted to partner with a broad range of forward thinking and innovative strategic enterprises in developing the fintech cluster, all who have recognised the economic, social and international value of our collaborative and inclusive model”

Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy, Kate Forbes said: “The global financial services sector is being transformed by technology which is providing a range of benefits such as speeding up transactions, making payments more secure and helping avoid problem debt. 

“Scotland is already at the forefront of these developments and the fintech cluster is ensuring the benefits are spread across the country.  This accreditation will further increase our international profile and is another step towards the goal of being ranked among the world’s top five fintech cluster nations.”

Linda Hanna, Managing Director, Scottish Economic Development at Scottish Enterprise, said: “A huge amount of credit is due to FinTech Scotland for its leadership in securing this accreditation in such a short space of time. 

“It sees FinTech Scotland join the country’s existing family of accredited cluster management organisations alongside ScotlandIS and Technology Scotland, underlining Scotland’s international standing as a nation of innovators. 

“We look forward to working with Stephen and his team, plus their new and existing strategic partners, as they continue to nurture and encourage the growth of Scotland’s fintech ecosystem.”

Chief Executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, Graeme Jones commented “To be identified as the first fintech cluster in the UK is further recognition of Scotland’s position as a thriving, forward-thinking, international centre and is a landmark moment for Scotland.  This will present new opportunities to deliver even more economic and social benefits to Scotland and the UK”

Jane Morrison-Ross, Chief Executive of ScotlandIS said,’ We are delighted that FinTech Scotland have achieved this award. This is a huge boost to the developing cluster economy in Scotland. We are very excited by the potential of the Scottish clusters and the opportunity to further collaborate with FinTech Scotland. ‘

The number of fintech enterprises continues to grow as FinTech Scotland reaches its second birthday

FinTech Scotland has confirmed that the number of innovative fintech SMEs based in Scotland has grown by over 60% from 72 to 119 over the last twelve months.

The announcement comes on the second anniversary since the formation of FinTech Scotland, a joint initiative by a number of financial services firms, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.

The growth in the new fintech enterprises focused on reinventing financial services has been driven by new start-ups such as Visible Capital, SecureTheFile, Open Banking Research, Contract2Pay, Digital Future Capital, Guiide amongst many others over the year.

In addition, the growth in numbers has been fuelled by fintech firms moving to Scotland from other parts of the world such Gobbill (Australia), Polydigi (Hong Kong), EedenBull (Norway), QWallets (USA)  who are now part of the Scottish fintech community along with other global fintech firms, bringing their expertise and energy with them. Furthermore, there have been a number of innovative fintech enterprises from the UK who have now set up operations in Scotland such as Xpand, Mudano, Infinity Works, BePayd and become part of the vibrant fintech community.

Since its inception in early 2018, 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 partners and stakeholders.

Examples of FinTech Scotland’s strategic enabling leadership role over the last twelve months have included:

• The formation of the FinTech Scotland Consumer and Citizen Panel, a first for UK and Europe, launched to encourage the development of new solutions to tackle societal and inclusion challenges
• International trade missions of fintech firms to meet the Scottish community including from Canada, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Singapore and USA to name a few
• Scotland’s Fintech Festival over three weeks in September with 60+ events across the country with international fintech guests attending from over twenty nations
• Collaboration with UK fintech organisations to form the Fintech National Network to support investment, innovation and inclusion initiatives
• Founding member of the European Fintech Discovery Programme with eight leading fintech hubs across the continent to offer greater access to innovation across nations
• Ongoing close collaboration with the financial regulator, the FCA, including the extention of the of the secondment of a senior regulators to FinTech Scotland
• Developed financial inclusion and diversity initiatives working with consumer groups, social enterprises and charities such as Money Advice Scotland
• Facilitated cross sector fintech innovation, for example, with ScotlandIS, Law Society of Scotland and as well as Scottish Government Digital Team
• Partnership agreement with University of Strathclyde in developing the Glasgow fintech cluster as part of the City’s Innovation District

“It is a privilege 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.

There is still much to do but with the support of a range of stakeholders from private sector, Government and academia actively participating we can achieve the top ranking global fintech status. I am excited about a number of new initiatives planned for early 2020 which will enable us to build on the momentum throughout Scotland.“

Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive of Fintech Scotland

“Congratulations to FinTech Scotland for an another immensely successful year.  Under Stephen Ingledew’s leadership at FinTech Scotland has galvanised collaboration between Scotland’s innovative SMEs, universities, financial industry and public sector. Together, we are building Scotland’s reputation as a major global FinTech centre and commend FinTech Scotland team for their collaborative leadership over the last year and their vision for the future.”

Digital Economy Minister, Kate Forbes

“Scotland’s rich heritage in financial services coupled with its reputation as a country of innovators means it’s ideally placed to become one of the world’s leading fintech ecosystems. This is evident in both the number of new Scottish fintech companies and those international businesses that are relocating their operations to take advantage of Scotland’s experience and expertise in the sector.

“The fintech movement in Scotland has been determinedly driven forward by FinTech Scotland over the past two years. Stephen and his team deserve great credit for keeping the momentum going ”“ here’s to another successful year.”

Linda Hanna, Managing Director, Scottish Enterprise

The second anniversary was recognised on Tuesday the 8^th of January at the joint quarterly Government and financial industry meeting, the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB), chaired by Scottish Government ministers and the Chairman of Scottish Financial Enterprise who is Philip Grant of Lloyds Banking Group, one of the founding partners of FinTech Scotland, and attended by executives from across the financial sector.

KPMG is searching for Scotland’s top tech pioneers

Scotland’s start-up community is flourishing. Amid a climate of political and economic uncertainty, it’s sometimes a challenge to find glimmers of light and optimism, but our country’s tech-focused entrepreneurs are exactly that. 

Last year, research from KPMG revealed that more than £100m of Venture Capital (VC) had been injected into start-ups. As we head towards December, we’re on-course to smash that figure. As of Q3, the figure was over £95m. For some time now, the world’s investors have been paying attention to Scotland’s tech hub cities, and there’s no sign of that enthusiasm draining anytime soon. 

But, despite the outstanding achievements of the innovations and disruptors, speak to many start-up founders and they’ll tell you getting in front of the right people at the right time can be their biggest obstacle to growth. 

That’s part of the motivation behind KPMG’s Best British Tech Pioneer competition. Now in its sixth year, it was set up to spot talent and facilitate those golden opportunities. This year, our search is even bigger. Throughout January, we’ll be inviting entrepreneurs to pitch to a panel of experts at informal events in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The lucky ones will then be invited to our semi-final pitches in London in February where they’ll have the chance to pitch for a place at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona later that month.

Previous competition finalists have included Babylon Health, What3Words Echo and SafeToNet, and more than £100 million has been raised to date.

The application process is open now and companies can apply via our website. To qualify, you’ll need to own a registered UK company that’s been operating for less than five years, with revenue generated of between £1m and £10m, or you should have raised at least £500k in equity. 

Does that sound like you? If so, apply now. The deadline is December 1^st. Our Best British Tech Pioneer competition is about finding talent and providing the opportunity to immediately access a global audience. Get involved and let us help you unlock your international growth potential. 

First FinTech National Network Symposium to take place in Glasgow

The first ever FinTech National Network Symposium, bringing together the various fintech bodies from across the UK, will take place in Glasgow on the 10^th of October 2019b hosted by FinTech Scotland.

The symposium is being held at the University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre which has played a leading global role in developing fintech skills and innovation 

The hosting of the symposium in Glasgow further recognises the development of the City as a major global fintech cluster as part of the broader Innovation District development.

The symposium builds on the announcement earlier this year by Innovate Finance, FinTech Scotland and FinTech North to establish the FinTech National Network to foster collaboration between the bodies and provide valuable connections to amplify their collective support for fintech enterprises.

Over recent months the network has expanded to include FinTech Wales, FinTech Northern Ireland and FinTech West.

The Symposium will bring together senior leaders from these fintech bodies, the Financial Conduct Authority, Scottish Development International, UK Department for International Trade, the Treasury and Fintech Alliance come together. They will be joined by leading fintech entrepreneurs.

This first symposium will focus on various key themes including global innovation opportunities, encouraging greater diversity, regulatory landscape as well as the developing of collaboration across the various bodies to support fintech growth and innovation. The meeting will also focus on setting goals for the FinTech National Network so the various bodies can work together to encourage fintech growth and innovation.

The Symposium will be followed in the day by the latest meeting between the various fintech bodies building on the very successful initial meeting and networking event held in June in Manchester hosted by FinTech North. The meeting will be focusing on the rolling programme of activities to support collaborative fintech innovation in all parts of the UK.

Commenting, Stephen Ingledew, CEO of FinTech Scotland said: “It’s a great honour to be hosting the first symposium of the FinTech National Network with the fast growing fintech community in Glasgow. We’re delighted at the prospect of showcasing the great collaboration, innovation and inclusion opportunities offered by our vibrant ecosystem”

Charlotte Crosswell, CEO of Innovate Finance said: “The UK is a world leader in FinTech, but in order to develop and grow further, it is vital that we connect hubs around the country. Innovate Finance is committed to ensuring that innovation in Financial Services is represented across the UK and not just London.” 

Chris Sier, HM Treasury FinTech Envoy & Chairman, FinTech North said: “I’m delighted to see the different regional ecosystems around the UK coming together via the FinTech National Network. A collaborative and open approach is the route to success and the national FinTech sector will be stronger thanks to this initiative.”

Sir Jim MacDonald, Principal and Vice Chancellor at the University of Strathclyde said: “Strathclyde University is delighted to host the first ever UK FinTech National Network Symposium at our Technology Innovation Centre, located in the heart of the Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID).  Strathclyde  is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the FinTech community and Glasgow is very well placed to contribute to the success of the fintech cluster given both the numbers of entrepreneurial FinTech start-ups, access to world-class research and talent, and the growing presence of large global financial services companies who are making significant investments in the city which will bring new technologies, new products, new jobs and economic growth”

Those interesting in attending the symposium can register using this link

Sopra Steria and the University of Edinburgh launch fintech collaboration programme: Chemistry for Financial Services

On August 23rd Sopra Steria and the University of Edinburgh, supported by FinTech Scotland, launched Chemistry for Financial Services, a collaboration programme aimed at encouraging co-creation initiatives between fintech firms, technology providers, academia and established financial service companies.

Companies that have been selected to join the Chemistry programme will be co-creating and taking to market new solutions which address business challenges and improve the financial wellbeing of consumers. 

With the launch, the first two challenges have now been released. Both are focused on mortgages, making them more accessible and improving the customer experience for existing mortgage holders.

Applications are now open until September 23rd, 2019. Mid-October, shortlisted applicants will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts and Sopra Steria’s clients. Companies selected by the panel, will then join a design sprint at Sopra Steria’s Digilab before presenting the output to multiple clients leading to potential commercial arrangements.   

Commenting on the launch Mingaile Vaisnoraite, Customer Experience Consultant at Sopra Steria declared: 

“Our Chemistry programme is about working with Start-Ups and SME’s with strong support from FInTech Scotland and Edinburgh University to energise change and create new, innovative solutions.  This is a really exciting opportunity where we can re-imagine how financial companies interact with customers and deliver new services and products.    There is a wealth of SME and start-up talent in the FinTech sector and with FinTech Scotland and Edinburgh University we want to help them with their ambition to grow, win new business and be successful.”

Dr John Lonsdale, Head of Enterprise at Edinburgh Innovations, University of Edinburgh said:

“We are delighted to be working with Sopra Steria and Fintech Scotland to provide innovation opportunities for emerging Fintech companies. The Chemistry programme contributes towards making Edinburgh the Data Capital of Europe, encouraging company-to-University linkages, and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to work with leading financial services companies to create innovative solutions for customers.”

To read more and apply for the programme please click here.

FinTech Scotland launches its Consumer Panel

FinTech Scotland has launched a Consumer Panel to support inclusive fintech business development. It will connect consumer and citizen advocate groups into the fintech ecosystem with the emphasis on citizen financial inclusion, problem solving and innovation.  

The panel will provide ease of access to a citizen and consumer voice for fintech innovators, and build an inclusive network across consumer groups, innovation and technology. The objective is for open, practical and diverse engagement, to bring citizens and consumers directly into fintech product design. 

Recent UK research showed 24% of UK adults have little or no confidence in managing their money, with 18-24-year-olds rating themselves as the least confident. 

Scottish entrepreneurs are achieving true change. They are introducing easier and better ways to deal with money as well as new products and services that adapt to the changing needs of today’s society. Many are presenting updates during FinTech Scotland’s Festival in September. 

The Consumer Panel offers a practical way to connect fintech entrepreneurs and their growing ability to find new and innovative solutions, with real and everyday financial issues impacting customers/consumers. 

Founding members come from a range of Consumer Advocate organisations, Third and Public sector, as well as Academia.  Those participating include, Money Advice Scotland, Scottish Government, University of Strathclyde and University of Edinburgh, The Big Issue, The Money and Pensions Service, Step Change, Age Scotland, Fresh Start Edinburgh, Passion4Fusion and Mental Health and Money Advice.

Stephen Ingledew FinTech Scotland’s CEO said “This is an important aspect to the work of FinTech Scotland. Fintech provides a major opportunity to improve the way people can engage with their money and finances. The consumer panel aims to bring people directly into the conversation and increase inclusion within fintech and the financial services industry more broadly. It will give greater access to customer insights enhancing the focus for good customer outcomes which is our definition of what the fintech movement is.”

Speaking for Money Advice Scotland, CEO Yvonne MacDermid welcomes this initiative. “Working with fintech propositions will help the debt advice sector connect with more people in a range of different ways and enable consumers to gain confidence in using digital applications”

Kate Forbes MSP fully endorsed this initiative saying “The FinTech consumer panel will help drive inclusion across our society and economy as we make new technological and digital developments. This is a hugely positive and practical step that will ensure that our people are fully involved in the digitalisation of our technology and financial services”.

Join Us for Scotland’s Biggest Fintech Event

With just over one month to go, DIGIT is gearing up for its sixth annual Fintech Summit, hosted at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth on the 25th and 26th of September.

The two-day summit will explore the rapid evolution of the financial services sector; ranging from disruption within Scotland’s startup community to ongoing tech developments at established financial institutions.

DIGIT’s 2018 Fintech Summit saw more than 400 delegates in attendance over the two days, exploring and discussing current trends and developments.

Scotland’s national strategy to establish itself as a global fintech leader will also be an area of key importance at the 2019 Fintech Summit – exploring funding, collaboration and the country’s ongoing efforts to boost digital skills. 

Outside of London, Scotland boasts the UK’s most complete financial services sector with world-class capabilities in banking, investment management, asset servicing and a flourishing technology startup scene. The financial services sector also employs more than 80,000 people across Scotland.

Speaking at Fintech 18, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: “The sector is, and has always been, of huge importance for Scotland, and that will continue.

“It is an area in which we’ve got a longstanding reputation and are rightfully recognised as world leaders. That will continue in spite of the uncertainties of Brexit.”

Fintech Summit 2019 Speakers

Covering a range of topics and subject areas, this year’s Fintech Summit will see 30 speakers in total across the two-day event.

A selection of those set to feature include:

• Philip Goffin, CTO, FNZ
• Icy Zhang, CIO, Listings Ledger
• Amir Nooriala, COO, OakNorth
• Andrew McKee, CIO, Ultimate Finance
• Faith Reynolds, Consumer Representative, OBIE Steering Group 
• Clara Durodie, Author & CEO, Cognitive Finance Group
• Kristen Bennie, Head of Open Experience, RBS
• Domenico De Fano, Senior Product Owner: Open API, Revolut
• Callum Sinclair, Partner and Head of Technology, Burness Paull
• Juliette Souliman, Fintech VC Specialist, Octopus Ventures

Information on all of the confirmed speakers at DIGIT’s 2019 Fintech Summit can be found at: www.fintech19.com

This year will also feature the inaugural Scottish Financial Technology Awards, which aim to recognise and celebrate the pioneering figures and organisations operating across Scotland’s financial services sector.

For additional information on the inaugural Scottish Financial Technology Awards, please visit: www.scottishftawards.com

Scotland Fintech Festival 2019 announced

Scotland’s Fintech Festival will welcome guests from around the world with its focus on new financial innovation and inclusive collaboration opportunities 

FinTech Scotland has confirmed the Festival will take place over three weeks in September (between the 9^thand the 27^th) celebrating the nation’s thriving fintech community and economy.  

Building on the huge success of last year’s impromptu community driven Festival, this year’s activities will see over fifty events ranging from meet ups, conferences, networking and social activities.

The events include a number of showcase events such as the FinTech Summit at Dynamic Earth, the FinTech Awards evening and the FinTech Future conference at University of Strathclyde

Other events organised by the community will be up and down the country from Glasgow to Fife, Edinburgh to Dundee, Stirling to Aberdeen and Inverness 

Events can be seen on www.scotlandfintechfestival.com

This year will attract a large international delegation with FinTech Scotland working closely with Scottish Development International and the Department for International Trade. 

FinTech Scotland was able to announce today that most European fintech hubs will be in attendance, and that delegations from the US and Asia will also attend the festival. 

Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland said: “I am very excited about this year’s Fintech Festival with its global appeal and engagement. We are building on last year when the impromptu festival was born out of real collaboration and inclusion with many participants and organisations coming together to create something very special. This year, even more organisations have put their hands up to participate. This is a real testament to the fact that the fintech scene across the country is vibrant and inclusive, welcoming people and enterprises to Scotland from around the world” 

Graham Hatton, Team Leader, Inward Investment at Scottish Development International said: “International interest in Scotland’s Fintech community has never been higher. In the 12 months following last year’s Fintech festival, firms from London, Hong Kong and California have established operations in Scotland to support their growth, attracted largely by a domestic workforce with a deep understanding of Financial Services and expertise in areas including Data and Artificial Intelligence.”

Rory Archibald, Head of Association & Sectors at VisitScotland Business Events said; “We are thrilled to be supporting the fintech community here in Scotland for a 2^ndyear to help promote this thriving sector to the world. Fintech Festival is testament to the positive outcomes of collaboration between many organisations. The goals of the fintech sector and indeed the Scottish Government to promote social change, inclusive growth and inward investment can be achieved by bringing people together to realise the news ideas that will drive fintech forward.’

Scotland’s Fintech community now exceeds 100 innovative enterprises

The fintech community in Scotland has now increased to over one hundred innovative firms focused on reinventing financial services through new technology and data.

This increase continues the momentum from the start of the year when it was announced that the number of firms had trebled to 75 over the twelve months since the formation of FinTech Scotland at the beginning of 2018.

The growth in the number of fintech firms in the community continues to be fuelled by a combination of new enterprises being created, international firms moving to Scotland and existing technology firms developing new fintech propositions.

The 100 Scottish fintech firms

The announcement comes on a day when the Public Finance and Digital Economy Minister Kate Forbes welcomed some of the newest firms to the FinTech community to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

This was an opportunity for the Minister to hear from a range of diverse and exciting new enterprises and their entrepreneurs includingMoneyMatix, Xpand Access, CU Apps, Zortrex, Women’s Coin .

Additionally, Amiqus the recent winner at EIE19, Scotland’s main showcase event for firms looking for investment, joined the group to share how they are building on their initial growth.  EIE this year saw fintech firms being the largest sector represented further demonstrating the growth in the sector.

Image: Public Finance and Digital Economy Minister Kate Forbes with some of the firms from the Scottish fintech community and the teams at FinTech Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.

FinTech Scotland has also announced that Scotland’s International Fintech Festival will take place over three weeks between the 9^thand the 27^thof September, following on the success of last year’s community led Festival.

The Festival will take place across the breadth of the country, including seven Scottish cities and will see over 50 events with many being joined by international guests from around the world, further reflecting Scotland’s growing reputation as a global fintech nation.

Following the announcement Minister Kate Forbes said:

“Scotland has the fundamental strengths to be globally recognised as a centre of FinTech excellence.  Our economy is open and competitive, we have a highly skilled workforce, a great quality of life and an attractive cost base compared to other financial centres.

“Working with FinTech Scotland and its partners, we have seen real growth in the sector in Scotland, and I am pleased to celebrate the milestone of our first 100 FinTech companies. This is just the beginning, and I am confident that we will see continued growth.”

David Ferguson, CEO of AIM listed fintech Nucleus Financials added:

“These are becoming very exciting times for Fintech in Scotland and it’s hugely inspiring to see so many companies contributing to the tech-led reinvention of financial services. It’s also brilliant to see Stephen and his Fintech Scotland team doing such a great job in supporting and helping to drive this growth.”

Commenting on the latest progress, Stephen Ingledew, chief executive of FinTech Scotland said:

“We continue to be focused on supporting the dynamic and expanding fintech community across Scotland and it is encouraging to see the number of enterprises grow with the support of key partners, universities and Scottish Government.

“Scotland’s fintech community is continuing to attract growing interest from international investors as well as the established financial services sector who recognise the significant value in collaborating with creative forward-thinking enterprises.”

Linda Hanna, Managing Director for Scottish Economic Development at Scottish Enterprise, said:

“The vibrant fintech sector in Scotland keeps going from strength to strength – and its growth isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. As Scotland’s national economic development agency, we are keen to continue to build on this success, creating the ideal environment for these new and scaling businesses to thrive, and cementing Scotland’s place as a global fintech hub.”