Scotland Fintech Festival

12pm

As part of London Tech Week, the Department for International Trade is hosting a digital event for UK fintech companies interested in finding out more about market opportunities in the Gulf. To RSVP email: DIT.UAEEvents@fco.gov.uk

8am to 9am

Scottish Development International and the Department for International Trade is hosting a Scotland showcase as part of London Tech Week 2020. More than 125 companies from Australia and New Zealand have been selected to join the LTW delegation and SDI will host a session on how Scotland’s technology ecosystem can help accelerate the growth of Australian and New Zealand firms. Stephen Ingledew, CEO at Fintech Scotland will give you a sense of the breadth and depth of Scotland’s technology ecosystem. And Alex Ford, Vice President of Product & Marketing at Encompass and Shelley Cox, Chief Customer Officer at Montoux will explain why Scotland was the right choice for them.

1.30pm - 2.30pm

Thinking about upskilling or changing career? Demand for data related jobs is on the rise. Employers are seeking new talent and looking to upskill their current teams to turbo charge their business growth. Whether you work in marketing, product development, operations or customer services, data is inescapable! Join us to hear about our Data Analysis course, career opportunities and partnerships in the Scottish tech industry. You'll get to meet our instructors and find out more about our curriculum. You'll also learn how we support our students and graduates into their new data careers.

4pm - 5pm

Thinking of expanding to the United States? Scottish Development International and Treasury Prime, a rapidly growing, US-based API company connecting banks and fintechs, team up to discuss the US banking industry and the opportunities for fintechs as catalysts for change. The session will review the size and scope of the massive US banking industry, current fintech investment trends, and different routes to acquiring customers.

8.30am

Your Digital Diversity Group hosts, CodeClan, supoprted by Lloyds banking Group, will be discussing and celebrating all ages in tech; the barriers people face in the industry due to their age and what opportunities are supported. From older career changers to the young C suites and founders, there are lots of interesting angles to explore! Join us for an engaging and interactive start to the day, sign up and share with your friends, family and colleagues.

10am - 11am

FinTech Alliance is the digital community and marketplace for the entire UK FinTech sector. Supported by the UK government it offers companies a funding platform, access to executive education, a mentoring hub, diversity hub and jobs board. It also makes companies smarter through its news and opinion, a comprehensive knowledge bank of white papers and research articles, the latest insights on government policy and listings of FinTech events. Come to discover more about it.

6pm - 8pm

A group of start-ups and experts answer your questions. Part of Fintech Scotland’s program for September.

9am - 10am

HWU will be hosting a webinar on the challenges that students have in managing personal finance when they start living independently. Our guest speaker will be Dr Hillary Musarurwa, [Heriot-Watt and University of Cape Town], who has done research on financial wellbeing of students in Scotland. This webinar is part of the series preceding HWU Fintech Hackathon.

2pm - 4pm

Want to hear how to supply into the Financial Services sector? Or are you in a Financial Services company and looking for some innovative companies in the data or cyber space? Come along to learn about the challenges faced by Financial Services companies which need solutions and find out about the practical steps and considerations which need to be addressed to be considered seriously as a supplier into this industry. For Financial Services companies, there is an opportunity to hear from some data and cyber who are developing innovative products and services, which might help solve problems or which could be applied to gain competitive advantage. The event offers a great chance to network with industry experts across the financial services, data and cyber sectors.

10.30am - 1.30pm

Experience Data Analysis with CodeClan! Learn the basics of data analysis and try your hand at writing code, by coding along with one of our instructors. Experience our immersive style of teaching and get an idea of what's involved in a data role, during this remote taster session. If you're thinking about a career in data and want to test out our learning style first, this is the perfect session for you! We've designed this specifically for people thinking about learning data analysis, through our 14-week intensive Data Analysis course. It's also an ideal way for employers to understand more about the skills required of any staff looking to upskill.

11am - 12.30pm

In an uncertain age and in challenging market conditions, building resilience into fabric of the business is imperative to the survival and success of FinTechs across the globe. We will cover Resilience from multiple angles, talking about standby servicing and how RSM can help FinTech’s address key regulatory conditions and provide comfort for investors.

3pm - 4.30pm

In an ever changing competitive environment, having edge and access to the right partners is going to be a key measure of success. Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (a UK Investment Bank and part of the American Global Financial Services firm Cantor Fitzgerald) welcomes you to join their session, which is designed to introduce a framework around unlocking capital from global investors and offer insight into market trends from investment industry experts.

4pm - 5pm

The use of technology in business has increased exponentially over recent years but the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge in the use of remote working technology. This has also resulted in a sharp rise in cybercrime and fraud. As the number of people working from home looks likely to remain high after lockdown, this online event looks at practical measures which businesses can take to stay secure and distinguish themselves from the competition.

9.30am - 10.00am

Grab your morning coffee and join us for an interactive FAQs session with Modulr's payments experts and your peers in the industry. Uncover opportunities and use-cases provided by the latest from the world of payments.

12.30pm - 1.30pm

With the choice of talent more accessible remotely than ever, why hire your digital talent in Scotland? Meet CodeClan, Auticon, Code Your Future and The Data Lab. Each organisation offers innovative pathways to hiring talent or upskilling your existing employees right here in Scotland. You'll hear briefly about their incredible pool of diverse Scottish talent, ready to help your teams become more effective before we dive into an engaging roundtable discussion about hiring your digital talent.

10.30am - 11.30am

Thinking about upskilling yourself or your team? Shift your skills into a tech role by learning to code on our Professional Software Development course. With an estimated 12,800 tech opportunities available in Scotland each year* there’s never been a better time to join our thriving tech industry! Join us to hear about our course, career opportunities and partnerships in the Scottish tech industry. You'll get to meet our instructors and find out more about our curriculum. You'll also learn how we support our students and graduates into their new tech careers.

2pm

As one of the most experienced bank data companies in the world, DirectID have been pioneering the use of customer financial data for over a decade. As a response to the current climate, we’ve been working alongside the world’s leading lenders to explore: What does it mean to make an accurate affordability assessment post-pandemic? And how do we build the tools to manage credit risk effectively?

6pm - 7.30pm

A talk by Duncan Johnston-Watt, CEO, BTP - Duncan is a regular keynote speaker, serial entrepreneur and technology pioneer with over 30 years experience in the software industry. His latest venture is Blockchain Technology Partners, a leading enterprise blockchain company.

6pm - 7.30pm

Is your business using your output - Presentation by Martin Thorn (Head of Data Science) - Standard Life Aberdeen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-thorn

4pm - 5pm

We'd love you to join Open Banking and Open Finance pioneers from around the globe to talk all things Open Finance, Wealth and Pensions on Thursday, 17 September at 4pm. Our guest host, Josephine Cumbo, the Global Pensions Correspondent from the FT, will dig deep into the subject matter with our global experts, including Aileen Mathieson, Global Head of Insurance at Aberdeen Standard Investment, and Ross Laurie, CEO of Visible Capital.

12.30pm - 1.30pm

New digital means of payment, be it cryptocurrencies or asset-backed stable-coins, and the merger between means of payment and investments has brought new challenges to our understanding of money. Professor Emilios Avgouleas will discuss the business advantages of new payment means, obstacles to classification as electronic money in common law and by Statute, and how to overcome these challenges. The limits of private monetary innovation and the importance of use embedded in market structure will also be highlighted.

10am - 11am

HWU will be hosting a webinar on the available tools and techniques for more effective management of personal finance. Our quest speaker will be Prof. Heather McGregor, the Executive Dean of Edinburgh Business School, a co-founder of the Taylor Bennett Foundation; and an experienced writer and broadcaster, perhaps best known for her “Mrs MoneyPenny” column in the Financial Times. This webinar is part of the series preceding HWU Fintech Hackathon.

1.30pm - 4pm

Experience Software Development with CodeClan! Learn the basics of software development and get an idea of what a typical day at CodeClan looks like, with one of our instructors. There's the option to code-a-long with the session to truly experience our immersive style of teaching and the skills required of a coder! If you're thinking about a career in software and want to test out some of the skills required first, this is the perfect session for you! We've designed this specifically for people thinking about learning software development, through our intensive 16-week Professional Software Development and 12-week Web Development (Highlands) courses. It's also an ideal way for employers to understand more about the skills required of any staff looking to upskill.

12pm - 1pm

Have you ever just wanted to get your application up and running without needing to get lost in K8s deployment YAML? Can you not just take my application and take care of the "wiring", scaling and serve it? A solution to abstract some of the complexity of deploying workloads to K8s away is based around the Knative project which is the basis for Google's Cloud Run - what is it, how can it help and show me it working!

3pm

Leyton will be sharing insight to the innovation funding available to Fintechs for Development and AI / Data Analytics work through the R&D Tax relief scheme. They will also be giving advice on some common misconceptions such as the inability to claim having received a grant and will have a consultant on hand to answer any technical questions on how the work you are doing may apply.

9.30am - 1.30pm

Join expert speakers and colleagues from across Scotland at this year’s virtual Law Society of Scotland Law and Technology Conference. Attendance if free. Please contact CPD@lawscot.org.uk to secure your place quoting FINTECH. Spaces will only be made available to the first 20 delegates.

4pm - 5pm

Marks & Clerk is delighted to be hosting a webinar on Protecting Innovations in Fintech including advice on patenting software and other intellectual property (IP) considerations as part of Scotland Fintech Festival 2020.

3pm

 Symphonic Software, the world leading access management software provider, based in the heart of Scotland, are delighted to be hosting a webinar on Access Management and how you can better protect you and your customer’s data using dynamic and intelligent access management software. Join this live webinar and Q&A session held in partnership with KuppingerCole, leading analysts on the topics of information security, to find out more.

Technology budgets will be under immense pressure in the period ahead therefore investments need to be focused where they can best support the vision. Technology should be considered holistically, considering fintech collaboration, and use of data and insight to identify opportunities to automate and unlock further efficiencies.

5.30pm

A panel of speakers discussing what FinTech is, the current trends in the industry, and what role students play in all of this - including the plan of UoG FinTech for the upcoming academic session and how you can get involved with our projects.

In this virtual meet up, we’re focusing on regtech, which has recently been described as the ‘sleeping giant’ of the financial services world and is key area of focus for the FCA’s regulatory sandbox. Since the financial crisis of 2008, the amount of regulation applicable to financial services businesses has been growing. Although this is aimed at increasing transparency and monitoring and mitigating risks, it does also introduce additional burdens for business. Our panel, including representatives from Fintech Scotland, the University of Strathclyde and regtech business, Visible Capital will be discussing the growing demand for regtech solutions, which are designed to help financial services businesses to navigate (and comply with) regulation. We will also look at the barriers that currently exist to adoption of regtech solutions by the financial services industry and how these might be addressed.

1pm - 2.15pm

The Scotsman’s LIVE Fintech in Scotland webinar will discuss the key issues surrounding COVID-19. Questions will be asked to a panel of experts from the sector on how has the fintech sector responded to the challenges and opportunities of the pandemic and associated economic crisis? The webinar will include plenty of opportunities for your questions and comments.

The theme of the conference this year is the relationship between investors and advisers, in which both parties have the same ultimate aim of growth and success, but have to deal with a number of points at which their interests may differ.

You will meet tech business in one place. Meet leading experts from across Europe.

2pm - 3pm

For Scottish employers faced with skills shortages in the domestic labour market, recruiting talent from overseas is often critical to the growth of the business. With the imminent changes to the UK immigration system as a result of Brexit, the aim of this webinar is to inform companies who have not previously had experience of the visa system and may now require to use it to access talent from EEA and further afield once the free movement of people ends.   This 60min webinar is aimed at Scottish-based SME's. This webinar is led by TalentScotland, supported by their immigration specialists, Brodies LLP.

9am - 10am

This webinar will introduce the challenge that we are going to address in the hackathon. During the webinar, Dr Agnessa Spanellis will introduce gamification as a technique for making applications more engaging, and Dr Robbie Mochrie will introduce the partner company and describe the problems that the teams will be working on during the Hackathon.

12.45pm - 6.15pm

The time for change is now. People and organisations are demanding real change – not just donating or making a public statement but living and breathing diversity throughout entire companies from advertising, to hiring, to supply chain partners. We’ve named this summit ‘A call to action’ because at DIAL Global, we leave behind the rhetoric and empty talk about diversity and inclusion and talk about what really matters - real actions and real results. We’ve gathered the world’s most inspiring, authentic and inspirational leaders to talk openly about these issues and we’ll find out together what is moving the DIAL to create real, measurable change across all facets of diversity, inclusion and belonging.

3.30pm - 5pm

Join us for a virtual panel discussion with academics and practitioners on this vital topic. The event will be followed by informal networking where attendees can continue the discussion with panel members.

6pm - 7.30pm

Point of the talk: This is drawn primarily from experiences in the domain of customer insight and customer experience. We think of analytics mainly as a hard ‘science’ but there is a growing importance to consider some more intangible sides to analytics: why do customers think the way they do (e.g. behavioural economics), why do stakeholders make decisions the way they do (e.g. influencing senior decision-makers)?

11am - 1pm

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Fintech Scotland are delighted to present this joint Business Builder workshop: During this webinar we will consider: How to effectively monitor changes to your business landscape - How to blend changes into your existing business model - How to develop a change-ready culture for a long-term business future -How pivoting is a useful lean exercise to practise regularly - How to regularly test market trends and customer behaviours to identify opportunities - How to develop a robust yet flexible business model

12.30pm - 1.30pm

“Fintech Innovation with the University of Edinburgh” Session chair: Nicola Anderson, Strategic Development Director at Fintech Scotland. Speakers from Edinburgh Innovations: Ksenia Siedlecka, Financial Services and Fintech Sector Engagement Manager; and Dr Amy Tayler, Innovate UK Business Development Manager. During this session you will hear about University expertise in Fintech, channels for collaboration, and examples of our current and past projects. You will also find out about a variety of different funding programmes and how we work together with companies to identify and secure funding for collaborative innovation projects.

9am - 5pm

Following on from our Protecting Innovations in Fintech webinar, we are hosting a day-long virtual IP clinic where our intellectual property experts will be available to answer any questions you may have regarding IP.

8am - 5pm

Now in its seventh year, the Scottish Fintech Summit has established itself as the largest gathering of financial technology leaders in the country. The event is geared for senior technologists, IT & Digital leaders and C-level executives from right across the FS sector, from established institutions to the challenger brands and Fintech start-ups that are reshaping the market. The 2020 event will be held online as a Virtual Summit.

11am - 12.00pm

EIT Digital, a pan-European innovation agency that over 10 years has supported 300 scaleups,120 new ventures and 380 new products and services, invites representatives of the investment community to a 1 hour investor pitch event with 7 deep tech startups.

9am - 10am

According to an independant fastP.A.Y.E survey, 46% of staff experience increased stress levels during the week before payday and according to the Office of National Statistics 4% of the UK population are classified as having “problem debt”. An April 2020 study by the CIPD found that the financial security of 39% of UK workers had worsened as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. We have bought together a panel of experts in the field to find out if fintech companies can make a major difference and improve the financial wellbeing of employees.

4pm - 5.30pm

Part of the FinTech Scotland Festival and the DMA’s continued mission to use data as a force for good, this webinar on Wednesday 30 September will explore the challenges, evolution, and balancing defensive and offensive data strategies around Open Banking.

2pm - 3.15pm

Join our Innovation Division on a virtual presentation about our recent Data Sprint, held between 20 July and 10 August. During the sprint we brought together Data Scientists and Subject Matter Experts to collaborate on developing privacy-compliant, high-quality financial data sets for future use in our digital sandbox pilot. We will also update on the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), which is an international group of financial regulators and related organisations that we lead and chair.

3pm

73% of Scottish businesses surveyed adopted new technology during the pandemic. The knock on effect of this massive step change will be felt throughout the economy and society. How does this impact business models? Is Scottish infrastructure ready? Are changes made at this pace sustainable and resilient? What will it mean for you? Join us as we share the results of our latest survey of Scottish businesses - conducted by the University of Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute - and investigate what they mean for the future, both immediate and long term.

4pm

Scotland Fintech Festival invites you to join project leaders Thom Kenrick and Dave Barnes in a conversation about NatWest Island Saver. As part of their commitment to improving learning across the UK, NatWest decided to break away from every day banking and create a fun and free adventure video game for 7-12-year olds. Why? To teach kids all about money in an exciting and innovative way. Thom and Dave will discuss why they chose to make a video game, the challenges faced by a bank breaking into the gaming world and how Island Saver cleverly delivers fun and engaging money lessons for players.

12pm -13.30pm

The Payment Systems Regulator is the world’s first economic regulator of payment systems, having been established in 2015. In the five years since we were set up, we’ve made strides to improve competition and innovation in the market and make sure that the needs of everyone who uses payment systems are met. We’re delighted to join FinTech Scotland’s Virtual festival on Wednesday 30 September and you are invited to join Matthew Cherry, Chief Economist, Ben Woodside, Policy Manager and Nicole Coates, Technical Specialist at the PSR as they discuss our plans for building the PSR Strategy and how you can contribute. To register or if you have any questions, please email events@psr.org.uk.

1pm - 2.15pm

The "Building Trust Through Data" event series will consist of industry leaders and others who are using data and technology to build trust and to create a more responsible society. For Part 2 of the event series, we will be joined by Josh Littlejohn MBE, Co-founder of Social Bite as well as a further speaker to be announced.

10am - 11am

As part of the Scotland Fintech Festival 2020 programme, Scottish Development International (SDI) in collaboration with Invest HK and Fintech Scotland, will be organising a webinar on Wednesday, 30th September at 10:00hrs. This webinar will enable and equip Scottish Fintech companies with their understanding of the Fintech eco-system in Hong Kong and the opportunities and the challenges that this market presents. Panel speakers will include local industry experts such as the Chairman of RegTech Committee from HK Fintech Association, Fintech experts from trade finance and open banking as well as senior business leaders from FNZ

10.30am - 12pm

#FifeTech is calling on Tech companies and coders in Scotland to work with third sector organisations to bring ideas and skills to bear to find ways to improve the financial wellbeing of those who are now vulnerable Post-Covid. Please join us if you would like to address the huge issues now emerging by creating impactful solutions using the process developed by Nationwide Building Society in Open Banking For Good.

1pm

This years event will be physically hosted at Strathclyde Business School to a virtual audience via Zoom. It will focus on blockchains contribution to Fintech, with two practically focused lectures followed by a panel session made up of industry practitioners. The format is designed to be practical, educational and informative.

5pm

After a month of events, Best of the Fest will feature some of the speakers coming to share their thoughts in a very relaxed setting. After the discussion, a fabulous chance to network with fintech enthusiasts. For the second year in a row, The Green Room will welcome Best of the Fest offering attendees a great opportunity to taste some of their best wines and nibbles.

Taking place on the 1st October 2020 in Edinburgh, ScotSoft is the leading tech conference in Scotland. It’s an annual festival of ideas and innovation that showcases the best of the Scottish technology sector and brings you sought after speakers from far flung locations.

11.30 - 12.15

The payments sector is rapidly growing and developing. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought additional challenges for regulated firms and sustainability is a key area of focus for us at the FCA. Join our supervisors Samantha Emery and Mark Whiting as they explain the Payments Department supervisory priorities and how your firm can play its part in building a sustainable payments sector. The event is aimed at fintechs authorised under the Payment Services Regulations or the Electronic Money Regulations. It will also be useful for early stage venture companies that are considering FCA authorisation.

9.30am - 10.30am

Based on Summer 2020 quantitative research and the commentary of 50+ Founders and C-Level executives from within the European Banking and Financial Services sectors, Modulr has put together a panel of industry experts to explore what the findings tell us about the true cost of hidden inefficiencies in payments and where the opportunities lie for innovation and differentiation. We’ll explore the deepening collaboration between technology and finance, the hidden inefficiencies within processes, the potential of instant payments and how innovation and differentiation is more important than ever.

2pm - 3pm

This virtual event will explore how for financial services companies, mobile technologies still provide the best opportunities for innovative consumer-focused design solutions

3.30pm - 4.30pm

Join Scottish Government and ScotlandIS leaders in an open and collaborative discussion surrounding the importance of creating public services that are accessible to all. The Scottish Government is working in collaboration with COSLA and local government to deliver a refreshed Digital Strategy for Scotland. Digital technologies are transforming the way in which people live their lives across Scotland, and the coronavirus crisis has shown us that working digitally is more important than ever before.

9.30am - 10.30am

Join Scottish Government and ScotlandIS leaders in an open and collaborative discussion surrounding the importance of being open, ethical and sustainable in in the digital world. The Scottish Government is working in collaboration with COSLA and local government to deliver a refreshed Digital Strategy for Scotland. Digital technologies are transforming the way in which people live their lives across Scotland, and the coronavirus crisis has shown us that working digitally is more important than ever before.

2pm - 3pm

Join Scottish Government and ScotlandIS leaders in an open and collaborative discussion surrounding Scotland’s Tech Sector and the ways in which businesses are working in conjunction with government to serve the public. The Scottish Government is working in collaboration with COSLA and local government to deliver a refreshed Digital Strategy for Scotland. Digital technologies are transforming the way in which people live their lives across Scotland, and the coronavirus crisis has shown us that working digitally is more important than ever before.

2pm

This is a 2-day hackathon, where interdisciplinary teams of students will be working on designing a concept of mobile online banking app that will be tailored for students and help them to manage their personal finance. The teams will be mentored by experts in the field and the winning team will have an opportunity to work together with a fintech developer to design and implement their concept.

11am - 12.30pm

As part of Scotland FinTech Festival, hosted in partnership with our FinTech National Network colleagues FinTech Scotland, we are delighted to present The Future of Savings. We will be taking a deep-dive into the future of savings, engaging with FinTechs, Investment Platforms, stock brokers, Sharia Finance Providers and regulatory experts to examine what the trends are emerging post-lockdown and the direction of travel from here.

12pm - 1pm

Recent technological advances and regulations have fundamentally reshaped the workings of financial markets. Professor Gbenga Ibikunle will discuss the effects of the technological transformation of financial markets on market quality and value, as well as its implication for investments. This webinar will be of interest to investment management firms and others with interests in understanding the technological transformation of financial markets.