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Why Scottish fintech GiftRound made UX a priority?

For GiftRound, creating a frictionless, intuitive and customer-centred experience is core to their mission: making it easy for people to contribute to group gifts online.

As the platform gained traction and the customer base grew, founder Craig Forsythe saw the opportunity to strengthen the user journey and make every interaction more seamless.

“User experience isn’t just about how things look,” Craig explains. “It’s about making people feel confident using the platform, whether they’re setting up a collection or chipping in for a friend’s birthday.”

The GiftRound team began looking more closely at how people moved through the product, from the first visit to completing a group contribution. Small moments of friction, unclear messaging, or awkward flows were quietly affecting engagement and satisfaction.

To explore improvements, GiftRound partnered with design studio Interaktiv for a free user experience design workshop.

In just an hour, they had:

  • Identified specific ways in which the brand could be elevated to reflect the strength of the product, then set out practical steps for how that could be done.
  • Pinpointed parts of the user journey that weren’t working as hard as they could, and made recommendations on how to go about fixing them.

What began as a one-hour design conversation led to a deeper review of the platform, a new brand, thoughtful changes across the customer journey, and a new website.

“The UX changes we made have had a huge impact for our team and for our customers,” Craig says. “It’s made the whole GiftRound experience feel easier, faster, and more enjoyable.”

Live podcast episode from Money20/20

A conversation live from Money20/20 2025 in Amsterdam with 4 fintech businesses, part of a Scottish delegation that saw 10 fintechs exhibiting at Europe’s largest fintech conference led by Scottish Development International and FinTech Scotland.

Dan from CreditNature, David from BigSpark, Jamie from Aveni and Michael from Transwap offer their views on the conversations they’ve had, the speakers they’ve listened to and reflect on the impact that Money20/20 can have for their business.

Listen now

Bringing Cash Closer to Digital: OneBanx Integrates Cash Access into Banking Apps

Scottish fintech OneBanx is launching a strategic initiative to ensure cash access doesn’t get left behind by working with partner banks to embed cash withdrawal and deposit functionality directly into mobile banking apps.

This new integration means customers will soon be able to use their bank’s app to initiate transactions at OneBanx kiosks, without needing a physical card or third-party wallet. It’s a move designed to enhance customer experience while making in-person cash services more accessible through digital channels.

While digital wallets have simplified spending, OneBanx aims to complement this trend by boosting the utility of banks’ own apps. The company’s joint white paper with Enryo, “Cash as Payments Infrastructure,” reinforces the point: most people in the UK still use cash occasionally, even in an increasingly cashless society.

The integration also offers tangible benefits for banks:

  • A seamless customer journey within their existing app;
  • Greater engagement with less digitally-active customers;
  • And a cost-effective way to extend reach without reopening branches.

Pilots with partner banks are underway, with full deployment expected later this year.

“Our goal is to create real-world utility for digital banking while still supporting essential in-person needs,” said Javed Anjum, CEO of OneBanx. “This initiative helps banks stay connected to communities in a way that’s sustainable and scalable.”

Turning the Tide: How SensFish Is Powering Better Maritime Investment and ESG Decisions

Financial institutions are sharpening their focus on climate risk, ESG disclosures, and sustainable investment. At the same time supply chains, shipping emissions and biodiversity-linked investment products, are increasingly on the balance sheet but reliable, decision-ready data has been hard to come by.

The Challenge: Ocean Impact, Low Visibility

Financial stakeholders are under pressure to assess the environmental impact and transition readiness of companies operating in ocean-related sectors. Yet data on maritime carbon emissions, biodiversity, and regulatory compliance remains fragmented, inconsistent, or inaccessible, making it difficult to price risk accurately, validate sustainability claims, or identify new opportunities.

The Solution: Ocean Intelligence for Finance

SensFish delivers a scenario-led analytics platform that turns open, maritime-specific data into actionable intelligence. The solution integrates historical, real-time, and predictive datasets such as satellite tracking, vessel surveillance, and ecosystem modelling. By doing so,  SensFish enables users to:

  • Quantify and forecast carbon impact across maritime supply chains (including sequestration potential and emissions),
  • Verify compliance with sustainability standards (e.g. reducing IUU fishing via vessel monitoring),
  • Support biodiversity-linked investments through monitoring of wild fish stocks and aquaculture patterns,
  • De-risk projects by modelling scenarios for ESG outcomes, operational constraints, and regulatory exposure.

All this is delivered in a user-friendly platform that simplifies complex data and aligns with global Net Zero and ocean disclosure frameworks, turning compliance into strategy and reporting into opportunity.

SensFish’s traction is growing. In the past year, the company has:

  • Been selected for the European Space Agency Business Incubation Programme,
  • Partnered with UNCTAD and presented at the Monaco Ocean Finance Forum, part of the UN Ocean Conference,
  • Joined the Innovate UK InvestAbility programme and Converge Net Zero cohort,
  • Secured support from Glasgow City Council and received international investor interest,
  • Onboarded a publicly listed UK client with global operations.

These milestones reflect a rising demand for deeper ocean intelligence among forward-looking financial institutions and corporates alike.

Discover more about SensFish

HAELO and RegGenome Partner to Launch Horizon Scanning Platform

The pace of regulatory change continues to intensify, with new updates emerging globally every few minutes. In response, Scottish fintech HAELO has partnered with regulatory data specialist RegGenome to introduce REGENESIS, a new platform designed to support compliance professionals in navigating complex and rapidly evolving requirements.

REGENESIS combines RegGenome’s structured and AI-powered regulatory datasets with HAELO’s automation capabilities to streamline the horizon scanning process. The solution targets mid-tier financial institutions and SMEs initially, with plans to scale toward larger firms.

The platform offers governance, risk, and compliance teams a single access point to regulatory information from hundreds of authorities across jurisdictions. It integrates into existing workflows, helping teams prioritise responses to emerging obligations while reducing reliance on manual tracking.

Key features include automated rule detection, curated insights, and contextual tagging to assist users in identifying regulatory developments relevant to their operations. This shift toward automation is expected to allow compliance professionals to reallocate time toward higher-value tasks such as risk analysis and controls assessment.

The collaboration between HAELO and RegGenome has already attracted attention from a broad cross-section of the industry. The platform was recently introduced to representatives from organisations including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Citi, Baillie Gifford, Virgin Money, and FinTech Scotland.

Commenting on the partnership, Mick O’Connor, Founder and Managing Director of HAELO, said:


“I was looking for a partner who could deliver validated, explainable regulatory data. RegGenome demonstrated both the technical expertise and openness to collaborate in bringing effective GRC solutions to market.”

Mark Johnston, CEO of RegGenome, added:


“HAELO brings a practical approach to regulatory automation. This partnership complements our existing ecosystem and strengthens our efforts to help firms adapt to ongoing regulatory change.”

Aveni Unveils FinLLM: A Tailored AI Model for UK Financial Services

AI fintech firm Aveni is bringing generative AI to the UK financial sector with the launch of FinLLM, a large language model purpose-built for regulated financial services environments.

FinLLM was developed over the last six months at Aveni Labs, drawing on both advanced natural language processing expertise and a deep understanding of compliance and risk frameworks in financial services. Designed specifically for the UK market, the model aligns with emerging FCA guidelines and the EU AI Act, and is built with transparency, safety, and regulatory standards at its core.

What sets FinLLM apart is its financial specialism. Unlike general-purpose language models, FinLLM is tuned using financial data (both structured and unstructured) to support use cases that demand precision and trust. From regulatory compliance to customer service automation, the model is designed to enhance performance and to keep institutions within strict governance boundaries.

The project has been strongly supported by two of the UK’s major financial institutions, Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide, both of whom invested in Aveni last year. Their involvement helped shape the direction of the model, ensuring it remains grounded in practical industry needs. Aveni’s collaborative approach brought together in-house AI experts and partner data teams to test and refine FinLLM on real-world applications.

Performance benchmarking shows FinLLM consistently outperforms more generic models on financial tasks and retains robust results on broader evaluation sets. This performance is enabled by a data strategy and evaluation process focused on continual pre-training and fine-tuning to ensure accuracy, explainability, and resilience.

Lloyds Banking Group’s Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Ranil Boteju, described FinLLM as a “game changer” for the sector, highlighting its potential to support a range of AI use cases across the bank. Nationwide’s Chief Data Officer, Sri Kanisapakkam, echoed that sentiment, highlighting the potential for the model to improve customer service through responsible innovation.

According to Aveni CEO Joseph Twigg, FinLLM reflects the growing importance of AI sovereignty and the UK’s ability to build its own technology infrastructure.

“As adoption accelerates, it’s critical that we retain the capability to develop and scale high-performance models within the UK,”.

Dr Lexi Birch, Head of Aveni Labs, spoke about the collaboration between academic researchers and financial professionals in shaping FinLLM’s roadmap.

“This model is built for a sector where accuracy and trust are non-negotiable. We’ve created something that reflects those priorities from the ground up”.

With its core model now released, Aveni will begin integrating FinLLM into its product suite, including Aveni Detect and Aveni Assist, supporting a wider shift toward domain-specific AI agents. Future development will focus on scaling the model across industry environments, enhancing its capabilities with proprietary datasets, and fine-tuning alignment strategies to meet the demands of live deployment.

Scotland Showcases Fintech Leadership at Money2020

Scotland’s thriving fintech cluster is set to showcase its growth at Europe’s largest fintech conference. Ten scaling fintech SMEs will showcase their businesses as they look to expand into new markets. With this force of fintech innovation, Scotland is showcasing the country’s thriving fintech cluster on a global stage.

This initiative, led by Scottish Enterprise and FinTech Scotland is a testament of Scotland’s fintech cluster’s exceptional growth which is seeing over 30% of its scaling-up companies exporting or ready to grow internationally.

Such a presence at one of the largest global fintech conference continues to signal Scotland’s growing reputation as a world-class fintech cluster, in line with the Scottish Government’s National Innovation Strategy which highlights fintech as a key sector for the country.

The Scottish pavilion will showcase the following companies:

  • Aveni – AI-driven technology transforming financial advice compliance
  • BigSpark – Next-generation data analytics and orchestration
  • CreditNature – Focused on nature-positive credit risk and biodiversity
  • docStribute – Secure digital document distribution
  • Recast – universal media wallet to access media on a pay-per-view basis.
  • Encompass – Global leader in KYC automation and digital onboarding
  • Inicio –AI for ethical and accessible consumer finance journeys
  • Korelabs – Product intelligence for financial services
  • Transwap – Business accounts for the unbanked. Payment infrastructure for banks and fintechs
  • OneBanx – Banking access for underserved communities

Delegates are invited to meet the companies and Scotland’s cluster leadership team at Pavilion 1F10.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, said:

“We’re delighted to showcase the FinTech Scotland Cluster at Money 2020 and looking forward to expanding fintech growth with European partnerships.  The strength of fintech innovation and growth in Scotland is demonstrated in the growth of the fintech SMEs and the businesses attending Money 2020.  It’s a testament to the strength of Scotland’s cluster and the continued collaborative environment that drives innovation and commercial outcomes.”

Lorraine Anderson, who leads Scottish Enterprise’s Global Trade team for Fintech, said,

“Scotland’s fintech sector continues to go from strength to strength, with Money 20/20 providing an ideal platform for ambitious Scottish businesses to showcase their offerings.

“Fintech is a key area of focus at Scottish Enterprise and plays a vital role in transforming our economy through companies scaling-up, creating high value jobs and competing internationally.”  

Level E Opens Crowdcube Campaign to Retail Investors

Level E, the Edinburgh-based fintech company specialising in the use of AI in asset and wealth management technology, has launched a public crowdfunding campaign via Crowdcube, inviting retail investors to back its next phase of growth.

The company has previously focused on institutional partnerships and large-scale deployments of its AI solutions. With new infrastructure now in place, Level E is opening the door to individual investors eager to support the evolution of finance through artificial intelligence.

Agentic AI: Intelligent Systems for Asset Management

Level E’s technology is grounded in research from the University of Edinburgh, widely recognised for its role in advancing deep learning and AI innovation. Its proprietary Agentic AI platform is designed to support asset managers with tools that reduce cost, improve decision-making, and deliver real-time value in a fast-changing industry.

The company has already gained traction with major UK asset managers which shows the relevance and maturity of its technology.

AICA: AI-Powered Compliance at Scale

Level E recently launched AICA (AI Compliance Agent), developed in partnership with asset management giant aberdeen. AICA applies Agentic AI to the challenge of regulatory compliance, an area historically characterised by complexity and cost.

AICA helps compliance teams flag issues earlier and act faster to deliver timely insights that reduce operational risk and enhance oversight.

A Broader Vision for AI in Finance

Level E’s ambitions extend beyond compliance. The firm is building an ecosystem of intelligent agents designed to optimise every aspect of asset and wealth management from portfolio construction to operational efficiency.

Crowdfunding Now Live

With the Crowdcube campaign now live, Level E is offering the public a chance to invest alongside institutional players and become part of a company at the forefront of AI in finance.

To learn more or get involved, visit Level E’s Crowdcube page.

Sword Group Expands Cybersecurity and AI Capabilities with Acquisition of Edinburgh-based iDelta

Sword Group, a FinTech Scotland’s strategic partners, has announced its acquisition of Edinburgh-based fintech iDelta Ltd, a specialist firm focused on customised data solutions, cybersecurity monitoring, AI automation, and fraud analytics.

Founded in Scotland’s thriving tech ecosystem, iDelta has developed a strong reputation for its bespoke solutions in infrastructure and application monitoring, particularly within financial services. Its specialist consultants have created innovative tools for managing Open Banking data APIs and have developed extensions available on the popular Splunk marketplace. These solutions streamline the integration process with third-party technologies, enabling customers to effectively harness their data assets.

Kevin Moreton, CEO of Sword UK, described the move as a strategic step towards enhancing Sword’s capabilities in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, particularly within the financial services sector.

“We’re pleased to welcome iDelta into Sword Group. This acquisition is well-aligned with our strategic vision for 2028 and significantly strengthens our cybersecurity strategy. Combining our expertise will enable us to deliver even greater value to our customers,” Moreton said.

Stuart Robertson from iDelta also welcomed the acquisition, noting the shared commitment between both companies towards innovation and technical excellence.

“Joining Sword opens exciting new opportunities for growth and collaboration. Our strong partnerships with Splunk and Cisco, combined with Sword’s extensive resources, mean we’re perfectly positioned to expand our offerings and accelerate our capabilities,” Robertson said.

Sword Group, known for providing business technology solutions across energy, public, commercial, and financial sectors, currently employs over 600 staff across its UK locations, including Aberdeen, Glasgow, Teesside, and London.

The acquisition underlines Sword Group’s strategic approach to bolstering its technical expertise in critical domains like cybersecurity and AI, reflecting broader industry trends towards greater digital resilience and smarter data utilisation.

FNZ Secures $500 Million to Support Long-Term Growth

Scottish fintech FNZ, a global provider of wealth management platforms, just secured $500 million in new capital from its existing shareholders. This funding will support the company’s long-term sustainable growth.  

Strengthening Financial Foundations

The injection of capital will enhance FNZ’s financial stability, providing a solid foundation to support its business strategies and customer relationships. With this strengthened financial position, FNZ is better equipped to navigate the evolving financial services landscape. 

A History of Strategic Growth

Since its inception in 2003 by founder Adrian Durham, FNZ has experienced significant growth. The company now partners with over 650 financial institutions and 12,000 wealth managers, administering assets exceeding $1.7 trillion for more than 24 million investors worldwide.  

FNZ’s growth strategy has included several key acquisitions:

• 2018: Acquired German investment platform ebase, expanding its European presence. 

• 2019: Purchased London-based JHC Systems Ltd, enhancing its wealth management software capabilities. 

• 2022: Acquired Appway, a Zurich-based client onboarding firm, to improve client integration processes. 

Leadership and Future Outlook

In August 2024, FNZ underwent a leadership transition, appointing Blythe Masters as Group CEO and Roman Regelman as Group President. This change was accompanied by an additional $1 billion investment from existing institutional investors, reflecting confidence in the company’s direction.