Special Scotland Fintech Festival 2023 – Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland

Season 3, episode 10

Scotland Fintech Festival took place between the 21st of September and the 12th of October. With over 50 events the festival was a real success this time again.

During the launch event, the Fintech Summit, we recorded special episodes in collaboration with collaboration platform Findr.

In this episode we speak with Nicola Anderson, CEO at Fintech Scotland about the festival itself as well as initiatives that are underway, delivering the recommendations of the ⁠UK Research & Innovation Roadmap⁠.

Scotcoin Partners with Blockraise: A Major Leap in its Web3 Journey

Scottish fintech Scotcoin has taken an important step forward in its journey towards accessibility and impact. The Scottish cryptocurrency has appointed Blockraise, a Zurich-based Web3 venture accelerator, as its strategic partner to guide its expansion and listing in the global cryptocurrency market. This move is set to open up new possibilities for the project and bring ethical cryptocurrency into the mainstream.

The Role of Blockraise

Blockraise will play a pivotal role in making Scotcoin accessible to a global audience. The Zurich-based firm will provide valuable guidance to Scotcoin in several key areas, including liquidity strategy, community expansion, and tokenomics design. This collaboration with Blockraise is a significant step toward the project’s listing of tokens in the coming months.

A Vision for Scotcoin

Scotcoin’s vision extends beyond just being another cryptocurrency. The project seeks to create a vast ecosystem by forging partnerships with third sector organisations and private sector businesses willing to accept Scotcoin in exchange for a wide range of goods and services. Initially focusing on essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, this approach could have a profound impact on communities and individuals alike.

For instance, consider a clothing shop with unsold garments that would typically go to waste. With Scotcoin, a charity can purchase these items, providing a sustainable solution for both the business and the charitable organisation. This innovative approach could revolutionise how we think about currency and its impact on our society.

Opening Doors to More Participants

By listing Scotcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges, the project aims to increase its accessibility to a broader audience. The Scotcoin Project’s marketing and treasury division will provide financial support and regulate the distribution of tokens to ensure responsible and controlled growth.

Accessibility Through Scotscan.io App

Scotcoin offers a user-friendly solution for its community. Holders can easily exchange Scotcoin using the Scotscan.io app, available for download on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. This feature simplifies the process of transacting with the cryptocurrency and furthers the project’s goal of inclusivity.

A Promising Future for Scotcoin

The appointment of Blockraise as a Web3 partner marks an exciting and promising chapter in Scotcoin’s journey. Temple Melville, CEO of The Scotcoin Project CIC, is optimistic about the future. He stated,

“Appointing Blockraise is the next major step in our strategy to expand the Scotcoin community. The firm is well respected in the global cryptocurrency space, and we look forward to working with the team on this next phase of Scotcoin’s development, bringing the token to a much wider audience and helping to provide food, clothing, and shelter to those who need it.”

Zumo Unveils the Future of Digital Assets at Sibos 2023

Scottish fintech Zumo is at Sibos 2023 in Toronto to unveil a groundbreaking report that’s set to reshape the landscape of digital assets. Titled “Digital Assets 2023: Identifying Opportunities Across the Enterprise Landscape,” this report marks a significant milestone in the journey towards understanding and harnessing the potential of digital assets from an enterprise perspective.

A Pioneering Approach

“Digital Assets 2023” is not just another report; it’s a comprehensive survey, categorisation, and practical analysis of emerging opportunities within the global digital asset ecosystem. It is a deep dive into this nascent sector to uncover the possibilities it offers to businesses worldwide.

The report is backed by fresh insights from some of the biggest names in the digital asset and financial services industries. Collaborators include financial companies like HSBC, NatWest, and Visa, as well as blockchain innovators such as Ripple and Chainalysis. Notably, industry cooperative Swift, the organiser of Sibos, has also played a pivotal role by engaging its global community to explore how financial institutions can seamlessly integrate with the evolving blockchain networks.

A Glimpse into the Future

“Digital Assets 2023” serves as a roadmap for the evolution of blockchain technology from an enterprise perspective. It identifies four pivotal turning points that illustrate the progressive expansion of digital asset applications and participants, starting from the Bitcoin “big bang” moment (often referred to as ‘blockchain 1.0’) and culminating in the current ‘enterprise’ era (‘blockchain 4.0’).

To provide a clear understanding of the digital asset landscape, Zumo has created an enterprise ecosystem map that differentiates between consumer and institutionally-facing solutions, as well as investment versus applied use cases. The report then delves into the opportunities, challenges, and inter-relationships associated with nine specific use cases, categorised as early (institutional digital asset investment, institutional DeFi, web3), developing (tokenization, blockchain in industry, DLT for financial market infrastructure), and established (consumer-facing cryptoasset investment, and individual/business blockchain payments).

Insights from the Author

Daniel Taylor, Zumo’s Research and Policy Lead, and the mastermind behind this report, shared his thoughts on its significance:

“Active learning and knowledge development are integral to Zumo’s mission as a trusted partner for those venturing into the digital asset space. Today marks the dawn of the ‘enterprise’ era, where non-crypto businesses are actively engaging in all four quadrants of digital asset opportunity: consumer, institutional, application, and investment. Our report distills and synthesises these emerging opportunities, providing a comprehensive view of the digital asset and blockchain ecosystem.”

Download Your Copy

Explore the future of digital assets by downloading a complimentary copy of “Digital Assets 2023” at https://zumo.tech/digital-assets-2023/.

Unlocking Trust: Digital Wallets for Identity Verification and Asset Transfer

As part of Scotland FinTech Festival, the “Crypto FinTech Seminar” will outline some key areas of knowledge and innovation related to the usage of cryptography, blockchain, zero trust and quantum computers. We took some time to chat to Professor Bill Buchanan, who will be co-presenting the seminar along with Dr Mwarwan Abubakar, about the current trends and evolution of the digital assets space.

The fact that we still use our scribbled signatures and hard-copy contracts as a core method of proving our identity within high-value and high-risk transactions still amazes Bill Buchanan, Professor of Applied Cryptography at Edinburgh Napier University. Especially as these acts are often performed through the use of mainly untrusted communication systems such as electronic mail. “We still live very much with a paper-based approach to the ownership and the transfer of assets, and often see them poorly managed,” explains Buchanan. “Digital wallets can help solve this.”

Going forward, it is likely there will be a rise in the use of digital wallets, which can be used to transfer assets and – importantly – define ownership. A private key in a digital wallet can not only prove our identities, but also link to our ownership of assets, store our important digitally signed identity documents (such as our driving licence), and provide a way for us to digitally sign things. Improved methods of providing our identity will also likely include biometrics, hard tokens or our location information. At the core of this is public key encryption, which digitally transfers assets without the need for any network connection, and is a central component to moving into a more trusted digital world.

Nonetheless, a cautious equilibrium needs to be maintained between the rights of privacy and the requirements of compliance, such as with money laundering checks and fraud detection. While there are methods used in cryptocurrency that support a full anonymisation of asset transfers, it is unlikely that these would be allowed within a regulatory framework. “There are ways, though, to strike a balance between these things and instil strong levels of trust in transactions by using trusted financial organisations,” proffered Buchanan. “It is thus likely that we will see the rise of proxy entities (agents legally authorised to act on behalf of another party), who will shield the identities of those who are transferring assets, yet the transactions can still be fully checked.”

Going forward, regulation will be fundamental for providing trust, and licences will be needed to perform fully-auditable transactions. Overall, the key aim of the infrastructure behind digital assets must be for citizens to have a stronger integration with public services to move to a properly integrated digital world. “Unfortunately, without a strong identity infrastructure, we will struggle to scale our world into a more trusted one,” concluded Buchanan. “The EU, for example, now wants to roll out an e-ID digital identity for every European citizen, which will allow for closer economic and societal links across EU countries. This will support the freedom of movement across Europe and provide closer economic integration across borders.”

Embedded Payments: Paving the way for the future of business

Payments have always been the leading area of innovation for fintech companies in Scotland utilising open banking and embedded payments making it faster and more convenient to pay and transfer money both locally and globally. That is why Payments & Transactions was designated as one of the four key strategic priority themes of FinTech Scotland’s FinTech Research & Innovation Roadmap 2021-31.

Nick Adams, Director and Payments Experience Specialist at Modulr, spoke with us about how embedded account-to-account payments are enhancing the ability to seamlessly integrate payments into everyday experiences, enabling customers and businesses to make purchases without the need to input bank details, credit card or debit card information. Modulr is leading this category of B2B embedded payments and is registered as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), enabling businesses to create accounts, control and access, receive and make payments, update systems and customers via webhooks – all on-demand through software.

“When people think about digital payments for businesses and the economy via ecommerce or other platforms they tend to think of card payment players like Checkout.com, Stripe, Braintree (part of PayPal) and then PayPal itself,” explains Adams. “Embedded payments is fundamentally different as it enables businesses to fully embed and control real-time money movements in and out of their businesses through software. The brands I mentioned, among many others, are third-party managed service providers that sit outside their clients’ business. They are focused on the checkout experience, but there’s a whole other area of business payments that has not been brought into the 21^stcentury.”

By bringing embedded payments into their platforms, companies can offer their customers custom experiences that align much more to today’s consumer expectations, who want immediate notifications and frictionless payments like Uber and Amazon. Those businesses also want certainty in their Treasury functions on how much money they actually have at any point in time – a real-time view of their cash position. “Modulr enables hundreds of enterprise customers and thousands of SMEs to process and reconcile large volumes of payments automatically and in real-time rather than using antiquated batch processes,” describes Adams. “It’s providing access to real-time payments for all sizes of every business, from enterprises through to SMEs, to simply plug in through the same API and get the same control and visibility. This instils trust in both buyers and sellers, because they can actually see what’s happening in a transaction, instantaneously.”

From a personal perspective, Adams now considers himself a “payments guy” who, having worked for large global payments businesses, has now transferred to a Scottish fintech scale-up. His advice for those thinking of making a similar move:

Don’t feel you have to be global from day one; payments is a globally fragmented industry and focusing on a country or region with harmonised payments regulation and processes makes sense. We’ve seen too many global-ambition payments startups fail due to over-stretch
Promote the exciting opportunities of working in fintech to the talent derived from Scotland’s more traditional financial services businesses
Be flexible with your teams, but spend as much time as you can together physically in the same space to create energy and move much more quickly.

Adams concludes, “What excited me about moving from a big corporate, to an early-stage scale-up was the ferocious speed and need to pivot constantly. It’s a very invigorating environment. Generally speaking, the people that are in it, I think are having great fun. I’d recommend this to anyone.”

How To Capitalise On The Crypto Boom? This New NFT-Funded Eco-Glamping Resort

If there was ever a time to Look seriously at digital currency, it’s now. Today’s crypto market is worth $1.21 trillion,* and Bitcoin has experienced an 85%** surge since this time last year. Meanwhile, NFTs are bringing the potential of profitability to the masses. Well, now “new wave thrill-seekers” can use NFT’s to gain exclusive access to a one-of-a-kind eco-glamping site featuring an Augmented Reality (AR) gaming experience just 20 minutes from Edinburgh.

Those who are interested in NFTs, but fancy something a little different from their investment, should discover Mythtopia – a unique travel experience only available to NFT holders.

Mythtopia combines ecotourism with an AR gaming experience centred around Celtic mythology in stunning Scottish woodland. Guests can stay in one of the 150 low-carbon impact geometric domes and take part in Mythtopia Legends,’ an augmented reality video game following the tales of Celtic folklore.

By owning a Myths NFT (Myths), investors can stay up to three nights per year at Mythtopia Resort alongside friends and family (up to 4 people per dome). Or, they can stake their NFTs and earn extra cash from their allocated nights.

Founder of Mythtopia, Oliver Pyle-Santini, said: “Our NFT’s enable us to build this amazing resort of Mythtopia! The AR game Legends’ is a unique activity, but totally optional. Come and enjoy a lovely weekend away by diving into our Celtic world; finding hidden treasures and adventuring in mythical quests. We intend on making the resort completely carbon neutral. Using carbon credits through OXEGEN (OXE) tokens will (I hope) help people to go greener, faster.”

The recent boom in crypto can often lead to an opportunity for NFTs. This isn’t the only reason to invest in Myths. Today, individuals are increasingly motivated to lower their carbon footprint and make more sustainable choices. According to a study*** conducted by Earth Day 2023, 78% of the public believe in the importance of individual action to fight climate change, and over a third (38%) say that a financial incentive would help them make more environmentally-friendly decisions.

In addition to the Myths, Mythtopia offers their own crypto currency called OXEGEN (OXE). Becoming an OXEGEN (OXE) token holder, investors can join Mythtopia’s mission of planting 120,000 trees and re-wilding the natural environment. The liquidity of the OXEGEN (OXE) cryptocurrency token will come from the carbon credits of these planted trees. Ideal for eco-conscious investors.

The Myths NFT launch will fund the necessary capital to build carbon-negative dwellings on the eco-glamping site, which will be entirely powered by solar and geothermal energy. Not only this, guests can also get involved in activities that help them re-explore nature, such as lake swimming, star gazing, yoga, and even planting trees themselves.

The first mint date is set to take place in Autumn 2023. The funds raised will be used to build the unique and first-of-its-kind Mythtopia resort, which will open nine months later (Spring 2024).

To learn more about how you can invest in Myths NFT’s and OXE tokens and become part of the Mythtopia story, visit the website here.

Jacobi lists Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF decarbonised by Zumo

Underscoring the evolving landscape of digital asset investment and environmental consciousness, Jacobi Asset Management (Jacobi) has introduced Europe’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Named the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF, this innovative investment vehicle not only marks a significant milestone in cryptocurrency but also sets a new standard for environmental sustainability in the sector. The ETF stands out as a decarbonised digital asset fund compliant with SFDR Article 8 regulations, reflecting Jacobi’s commitment to responsible investing.

One of the standout features of the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is its verifiable built-in Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) solution. This solution addresses a pressing concern in the crypto space – the energy consumption associated with Bitcoin mining. By integrating REC, Jacobi not only offers institutional investors exposure to the potential benefits of Bitcoin but also enables them to align their investment strategies with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.

Regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC), the ETF trades under the ticker symbol BCOIN.

The ETF derives its benchmark from the FT Wilshire Bitcoin Blended Price Index, a reflection of its commitment to transparent and reliable valuation. The pricing mechanism is also underpinned by the expertise of Wilshire Indexes, ensuring accurate and real-time pricing for investors. However, the true innovation lies in the collaboration with digital asset platform Zumo, which has led to the creation of the REC solution. This partnership has enabled Jacobi to bridge the gap between digital asset investments and environmental responsibility.

Mark Makepeace, CEO of Wilshire Indexes said:

“The launch of the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is an important milestone for the digital asset industry and a transformative moment for the global financial industry. We are excited about the partnership with Jacobi and, as a leader in the development of institutional grade digital asset benchmarks, we are committed to helping accelerate the advancement of the entire digital asset ecosystem.”

Kirsteen Harrison, Environmental Manager, Zumo, commented:

“The decarbonisation of crypto is one of the most pressing challenges facing the nascent digital assets sector, and there is increasing pressure on all businesses to have credible plans to decarbonise. We’ve been working closely with Jacobi Asset Management to help them build out an ESG-aligned, future-proofed crypto offering for their customers. It’s hugely exciting to see it come to life in the shape of Europe’s first Bitcoin ETF. We’re creating the investment products of tomorrow ”“ what a moment for the industry.”

By Now Pay Later 2.0, what it means for fintechs and financial services providers

Season 3, episode 8

Listen to the full episode here.

By Now Pay Later is not something new. Offline, it’s a process that goes back several decades. Online we’ve started to see offers develop in the last 10 years with a real acceleration powered by fintech innovation in the last 5 years.

In the UK this market represents $27Bn and is expected to reach $55Bn by 2028 according to Payments Cards and Mobile.

Recently we’ve started to witness the appearance of what’s called BNPL 2.0.

According to CU today 61% of BNPL users would rather use a BNPL service offered directly from the merchant they’re buying from than go through a third party.

In this episode we’ll be speaking about BNPL2.0 and wonder if this is in fact the future, its advantages and pitfalls

Guests:

Geordie Laing – Head of Partnerships at Zing Cover

Thomas Bull – Partner at EY and Head of Fintech Growth

Nikola Kelly joins Scotcoin’s Advisory Panel.

The Scotcoin Project (TSP) is excited to announce the addition of Nikola Kelly from the Be-It Group to its Advisory Panel.

Nik has a vast background in the Scottish Technology sector, leading highly skilled teams for 16 years. Recently, she completed an MBO of Be-IT Group, which includes Be-IT Resourcing, the largest independently owned IT Recruitment Specialist firm in Scotland, and BE-IT Projects, a growing IT consultancy. Nik’s primary focus remains on the growth of Be-IT Group. She also serves on the Advisory Board for Career Ready, a national social mobility charity, and actively promotes diversity and inclusion in the Scottish technology market. Nik frequently speaks at events on topics such as Women in Technology and Inclusion within Neurodiverse Communities. Alongside her impressive professional achievements, Nik is a mother of four and has received recognition as the Scottish Women in Business Young Star and for her outstanding contributions as a young business leader.

Starting from 1st July, Nik will join the TSP advisory panel to assist in the search for a CEO who will lead the management team. This team’s primary objective will be to develop a preferred partner base centered around TSP’s core values of providing food, clothing, and accommodation for those in greatest need.

Temple Melville, CEO of TSP, expressed his delight at Nik’s inclusion in the Advisory Panel, emphasising her extensive knowledge and expertise in both IT and business. He believes that she will play a significant role in implementing the business plan as it unfolds.

Nikola Kelly shared her excitement about joining the TSP Advisory Panel during this momentous period. Having supported numerous fintech companies in their growth journeys, she finds it incredible to be involved with Scotland’s digital currency and the world’s first ethical cryptocurrency. Nik is thrilled to embark on this amasing journey and contribute to making a positive social and ethical impact.

Zumo pushes to decarbonise digital assets at Money20/20 Europe

Scottish fintech Zumo is just back from Money20/20 where it announced the introduction of Oxygen, an innovative solution aimed at decarbonising digital assets for financial institutions that prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

This groundbreaking launch took place at Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, marking a significant milestone just one year after Zumo and its partner, Zero Labs received a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency. The grant was awarded to support their joint research on decarbonising digital assets, with a particular emphasis on finding practical approaches for scaling the utilisation of renewable energy in wallets and platforms.

Oxygen empowers Zumo’s clients, including banks and asset managers, to offer ESG-aligned digital asset solutions that are future-proof. This targeted solution combines crypto electricity consumption forecasting and calculation with standard industry data. By leveraging Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for renewable energy procurement, Zumo ensures transparency and verifiability in powering crypto or blockchain activities with renewables. As a result, Zumo’s clients can effectively reduce the Scope 3 emissions associated with their digital asset offerings and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

The introduction of Oxygen follows the successful completion of Zumo’s Zero Hero pilot project, a live trial that involved purchasing RECs to offset the electricity consumption of Bitcoin transactions conducted through a direct-to-consumer crypto app powered by Zumo’s infrastructure. Through this initiative, Zero Hero REC purchases covered £1.5 million worth of Bitcoin, compensating for a total of 850 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity””an amount equivalent to driving an electric vehicle for over 2.6 million miles. Furthermore, Zumo procured an additional 126.36 MWh to decarbonise Ethereum’s historical emissions and the company’s ETH holdings, actively participating in the Blocks.garden initiative.

Nick Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Zumo, expressed his enthusiasm, stating,

“The carbon footprint associated with digital asset products is often a significant concern. With Oxygen, our pioneering solution, we provide businesses with practical methods to meet customer demands for digital assets while simultaneously addressing environmental challenges and demonstrating positive ESG-aligned actions.”

“Oxygen empowers banks, asset managers, and financial institutions to align their digital asset offerings with their broader net-zero strategies, enabling them to make verifiable decarbonisation claims. Today’s launch is a testament to the tireless efforts of our team and our partners at Zero Labs. We hope it sets a positive example for the market, showcasing what is truly achievable.”

The decarbonisation of digital assets stands as one of the most critical challenges faced by the emerging digital assets sector. Zumo has emerged as a leader in addressing this challenge and has published a series of influential reports that are shaping the industry’s trajectory (accessible at zumo.tech/crypto-knowledge-hub). Zumo’s efforts have been recognised through several accolades, including the prestigious “Best Application of ESG” award at City AM’s