Encompass concludes UK North America Roadshow
On Friday, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) concluded its North America Roadshow 2023 in Glasgow, marking the end of a 12-day tour that covered 12 UK cities.
The aim of the Roadshow was to promote export deals between the UK and the US and Canada, with experts delivering presentations and interactive sessions to offer guidance on exporting, trade negotiations, and the economic outlook.
Scottish fintech Encompass Corporation, a leading provider of the Know Your Customer (KYC) automation platform, was selected as a trusted partner for the Roadshow, representing both a prominent Scottish technology company and a North American success story since its expansion to the region in October 2021.
During the Glasgow session, Encompass representatives discussed the company’s active involvement in the UK Government’s efforts to promote UK financial services overseas, including a fireside Q&A session on FinTech opportunities in North America.
The event also featured practical advice from legal, banking, and tax industry experts on opportunities in the North American region, with the National Association of State Procurement Officials presenting on demystifying US State procurement.
Encompass has been serving the North American market since its regional launch in late 2021 and has experienced significant growth while operating from New York under President, North America, Alex Ford, including receiving industry recognition such as the AML Impact Award for Best Know Your Customer/Business (KYC/KYB) Innovation from Aite-Novarica Group last year.
Schroders Personal Wealth adopts fintech Aveni
Schroders Personal Wealth (SPW) has partnered with Aveni, a Scottish AI fintech firm, to overhaul its compliance function.
Through the use of Aveni’s Detect platform, SPW will utilise Natural Language Processing (NLP) to monitor client interactions and create data-driven evidence of compliance. By adopting cutting-edge technology such as generative AI and large language models.
SPW aims to provide unparalleled risk management and oversight, which will drive material efficiencies and lower its cost to serve.
This move reflects SPW’s strategic approach to transforming how it delivers, monitors, and assesses its advice offering and control environment. The latest generative AI and NLP technology will allow SPW to address all areas of the value chain, enabling it to identify vulnerable and high-risk clients and support them in the best way possible.
Ray Milne, Chief Risk Officer at Schroders Personal Wealth, said,
“Our partnership with Aveni shows our commitment to using technology to ensure the quality of our advice. It will enable us to identify vulnerable and other high-risk clients, helping us support them in the best possible way.”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently called for companies to invest more in technology to guarantee that future regulatory requirements are met. This investment from SPW demonstrates its commitment to meeting a data-first approach and positions it at the forefront of the advisory community with its use of cutting-edge technology.
Joseph Twigg, CEO of Aveni, said,
“Placing AI technologies at the heart of business operating models is no longer a nice-to-have; it will determine who wins and who loses over the coming years. SPW is demonstrating its commitment to remaining at the forefront of the market.”
Aveni Detect has been established as a “Machine Line of Defence,” analysing all customer interactions and mitigating a range of risks from conduct and complaints to customer vulnerability. The platform will meet the data-first requirements introduced by the new Consumer Duty regulation, which comes into effect in July 2023.
This partnership between SPW and Aveni is a significant step forward in transforming the investment industry. By leveraging the latest AI and NLP technology, SPW aims to drive material efficiencies, lower its cost to serve, and deliver exceptional advice to its clients. As the industry continues to evolve, investment firms that leverage cutting-edge technology will have a distinct advantage over those that do not.
Lloyds Banking Group and FinTech Scotland launch innovation challenges
For the third year in a row, Lloyds Banking Group has partnered with FinTech Scotland to launch an innovation lab, which aims to address some of the biggest challenges facing the financial industry. The Launch Innovation Lab is a collaborative initiative that brings together experts from Lloyds Banking Group and fintech businesses from all around the world to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
The Launch programme is focused on four key challenges:
The first challenge, curating targeted financial planning and added value services that meet customer needs, is focused on developing personalised financial planning services that meet the needs of each customer. The aim is to provide customers with customised solutions that address their unique financial needs, rather than offering generic financial products.
The second challenge, harnessing data to enrich customer relationships, is focused on using data analytics to gain insights into customers’ behaviours and preferences. The Launch programme will explore ways to use these insights to enhance customer experience by offering personalised services, improving customer engagement, and providing tailored financial advice. By leveraging data analytics, the lab aims to improve the quality of the customer experience and build stronger relationships with customers.
The third challenge, providing the most inclusive colleague and customer experiences, is focused on creating a culture of inclusivity within the organisation. The Launch innovation programme will explore ways to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace and customer experience. This will include developing policies that promote diversity and inclusion, creating inclusive products and services, and improving accessibility for customers with disabilities. By doing so, it aims to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for both employees and customers.
The fourth challenge, exploring sustainable choices for customers and IT operations, is focused on developing sustainable solutions for the financial industry. The lab will explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of financial products and services, such as reducing paper waste and promoting sustainable investments. The lab will also focus on developing sustainable IT solutions that reduce the energy consumption of IT systems and promote the use of renewable energy sources.
The wildcard challenge invites proposals that do not fit into these four challenges. This challenge is an opportunity for innovators to present their ideas to Lloyds Banking Group, even if their proposals do not fit into the four main challenges. The lab welcomes innovative ideas that have the potential to transform the financial industry and create value for customers.
For more details and to enter those challenges visit this page.
New national hub to turbocharge FinTech growth
The government just launched the national centre for FinTech called the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), designed to propel the sector’s growth globally.
CFIT is backed by £5.5million of funding from the Treasury and the City of London Corporation and will enhance growth and innovation by promoting businesses and generating job opportunities across the sector.
The hub was unveiled at an event in Leeds yesterday and also intends to publicise the advantages of new and inventive technology that will expand consumer options, decrease costs, and improve efficiencies.
The CFIT is the first of its kind and will facilitate businesses in achieving a truly global presence, supporting approximately 2,500 organisations and tens of thousands of jobs in the UK.
Commenting on the launch, Nicola Anderson, CEO at Fintech Scotland said:
“The CFIT launch is a key milestone in achieving the UK’s fintech ambitions, embracing innovation across all cities and regions. The Centre’s coalition approach very much aligns with the execution of FinTech Scotland’s cluster strategy in advancing fintech growth.
“We are excited to be working with CFIT in leveraging the opportunities in Scotland and the whole of the UK, which will provide further momentum in delivering our ten-year FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap enabling us all to harness the fintech opportunity across the UK.”
Howard Wimpory, KYC Transformation Director at Encompass Corporation, comments:
“It is encouraging to see the government provide this support to the FinTech industry and, widely, digital transformation, which creates opportunities for growth while also assisting economic recovery. The UK technology sector overall has huge potential, with innovation at a high, and support of this kind can help organisations to harness the solutions within it to their advantage.
“Widespread effort to help organisations truly unlock the potential of digital transformation is how strong, long-term value will be created throughout industries, and particularly financial services. These organisations must now recognise the importance of utilising the new and emerging solutions at their disposal, which not only add business value, but also help to protect the nation against the ever-evolving threat of financial crime.
“Realising these goals requires businesses to embark on or accelerate their digital transformation journeys, embracing state-of-the-art cloud powered technology to overhaul manual processes and instead trust in automation, which brings long-lasting operational benefits to power success.”
Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair of CFIT, said the launch
“represents a significant moment for the UK’s FinTech sector and our economy more widely. This organisation will enable us to come together as a sector to start breaking down barriers that the FinTech sector is facing while creating a clear path for our homegrown FinTech companies to achieve global scale, impact and success.”
Fintech Scholarship to boost UK industry
A new survey from Quotezone.co.uk has revealed that despite the UK being a global leader in fintech, a whopping 77% of students have never considered a job in the fintech industry.
Ahead of the opening of applications for the scholarship programme, the company has surveyed students from across the UK about their university experience and perception of the fintech sector.
The survey of 500 students carried out by Quotezone.co.uk found that 77% of UK students have never considered a career in the fintech sector, despite it contributing £11 billion to the UK economy and employing over 76,000 people at 1,600 firms throughout the UK, a number that is projected to double by 2030.* 36% of those surveyed said that this was due to a lack of education and awareness about the fintech sector and what it entails.
A further 26% of students surveyed said that they had not considered a job in fintech due to a lack of relevant experience and 25% of students surveyed said that gaining relevant experience was one of the biggest pressures they faced in higher education.
The UK could risk losing its status as a global fintech hub if it does not address the challenges around its talent shortage.
The Quotezone fintech scholarship aims to help increase awareness about the sector in the UK by asking students to explore what fintech could potentially offer them as a career and enter a short blog or vlog post on what the next generation see as the future of the industry.
The successful candidate will receive a £1,000 bursary which can be used to cover part of the cost of their studies, course materials or any other living expenses as well as the option to take part in industry-related work experience at Quotezone.co.uk.
Commenting on the scholarship, Greg Wilson, Founder and CEO of Quotezone.co.uk, said:
“The UK is a global leader in fintech, which contributes billions to our economy and has the potential to create thousands more jobs in the coming years. Despite this, there is a large talent shortage and a lack of awareness around the sector, as reflected in our survey results .
“The Fintech sector in the UK offers great prospects for graduates from all industry backgrounds, not only do we want to demonstrate the potential in this but we also want to provide the winning student with real, hands on career experience to help discover what it would be like to work in such a flourishing sector.
“We need bright young talent from across the curriculum in England, Scotland and Wales to fill these roles and create teams with diverse skillsets – creating pivotal change and driving innovation within the sector. I would strongly encourage students from right across Great Britain to explore fintech and apply for this opportunity.”
Last year’s winners were Kelsey Hunt, a second year student at St Andrews University, who wrote ”“ FinTech and Small Business: a Dynamic Duo ”“ highlighting the important role of fintech in the small business sector and Ella Henry, a MPhil student studying Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge, who wrote a piece entitled ”“ Fintech in a finite world: The price of protecting our planet focusing on climate change and the role fintech can play in helping create a sustainable future.
The deadline to enter the Quotezone.co.uk Fintech Scholarship is 30 March 2023, full details of how to apply are available here. There will be one winner from Great Britain and one winner from Northern Ireland, run via Quotezone’s sister company, CompareNI.com.
Inbest and MaPS launch New benefits calculator
In collaboration with Scottish fintech firm Inbest, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has introduced a benefits calculator.
The tool, which is free of charge, will be integrated into the MoneyHelper website of MaPS to assist individuals in determining the benefits and social tariffs for which they may be eligible.
Entitledto.co.uk claims that there may be billions of pounds in unclaimed benefits across the United Kingdom. By entering their basic information, users will be able to conduct a quick search and receive results in less than a minute.
The calculator will then request that they complete a more detailed search to verify their eligibility for any potential claims. MaPS emphasizes the importance of identifying other sources of income and any available assistance to help individuals manage their money and pensions, given the rising cost of living.
This initiative was launched after MaPS launched a new campaign in the previous month to increase awareness of the free help and advice available.
Michael Royce, Senior Policy and Propositions Manager at the Money and Pensions Service, said:
“The most common reasons why so much goes unclaimed in benefits is that people are unaware of what they’re entitled to or assume that they aren’t eligible.
“We look forward to working closely with Inbest and hope that making their benefits calculator available through our MoneyHelper website helps millions of households who are currently missing out to maximise their income.”
Manu Peleteiro, founder and CEO at Inbest, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with MaPS and power their MoneyHelper benefits calculator. Working with MaPS colleagues is a fantastic learning experience, and their input is crucial to continuously improve our calculator and shape our product roadmap.
“We are looking forward to working with MaPS and contributing to the delivery of the UK’s Strategy for Financial Wellbeing by helping people access the benefits, grants and social tariffs they are eligible for.”
€9m Investment by Ingka into Scottish fintech DirectID
DirectID, one of the leading fintech in Scotland, that specialises in credit risk assessment, risk analytics and predictive modelling, has announced that it has received a minority investment of €9m from Ingka Investments, the investment division of Ingka Group.
DirectID’s main objective is to promote financial inclusion worldwide through its global credit risk score, by providing advanced data to optimise credit and risk decisions in an increasing number of countries. The company provides risk managers with a real-time dataset that can drive efficiency, improve decisions and lifetime value across the credit lifecycle. DirectID’s insights enable decision makers to assess risk better, regardless of age, location, and past credit performance.
James Varga, CEOand Founder of DirectID, said:
“We’re proud to join Ingka Investments’ portfolio of market-leading firms. We are excited to be shaping a new global standard in credit scoring that enhances people’s lives by enabling access to products they need in an affordable way. Our coverage, advanced insights and predictive models provide a unique opportunity to achieve this by creating the world’s first real-time, inclusive, credit score based on open finance data.”
The funding received will help expedite the launch of DirectID’s most advanced predictive models for credit and risk, built from open banking data. Additionally, the company plans to expand its credit risk offering into new markets and accelerate the development of models for each stage of the credit lifecycle, from originations through portfolio management to collections.
Peter van der Poel, Managing Director of Ingka Investments, said:
“We are pleased to have made this investment in DirectID and are confident of their continued growth in the open banking market. They have developed an innovative solution with the potential to complement and disrupt the traditional credit and risk market and help drive financial inclusion for more people. Open Banking-enabled credit and risk insights is an area we believe can add value to Ingka’s financial services proposition in the future.”
This investment is just the latest in a series of investments made by Ingka Investments, which aims to strengthen Ingka Group’s core retail business by investing in innovative companies in areas such as digitalisation, customer fulfilment, fintech and sustainability. These investments support the ongoing transformation of Ingka Group to become more affordable, accessible, and sustainable.
Important changes for fintechs as R&D tax relief regime changes
Blog written by Saifur Rahman, Senior Technical Consultant at Leyton.
The UK’s Research and Development (R&D) tax relief regime is undergoing significant changes starting April 1, 2023. These changes include the amount of relief that can be claimed, the types of activities that qualify, and how businesses can claim relief. The changes aim to keep the UK competitive in cutting-edge research, ensure that the reliefs are effective, and use taxpayer money efficiently.
R&D Expenditure Categories: The R&D expenditure categories will be extended to include the costs of datasets and cloud computing. This is particularly relevant for the growing fintech sector, as the use of big data and cloud computing is essential for the development of new financial technologies, processes and workflows. Whether you are running a trading platform ingesting financial data from the likes of Bloomberg or developing large scale data algorithms to understand market conformity ”“ the use of cloud computing and pure datasets will be vital in the R&D project and thus have the ability to account for eligible R&D tax expenses. However, it should be noted that such costs cannot be included in R&D claims on an all-embracing basis ”“ for example, where such costs relate directly to R&D activities, they can be included, but not where they relate to a “qualifying indirect activity” (e.g. where you are including a small proportion of non-technical personnel time attributable to qualifying R&D projects). Additionally, exemptions state that the costs of the data and usage cannot be utilised beyond the R&D project or sold on for commercial purposes.
Pure Mathematics: R&D in pure mathematics will also qualify for relief and can form part of the qualifying R&D activities of the claimants from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023. This is relevant for fintech companies that use mathematical models and algorithm development in their R&D activities. However, the term “pure mathematics” is not yet defined in legislation, further guidance will be provided on this.
Refocusing Relief to UK Activities: One of the most fundamental changes in the Autumn 2021 Budget was to refocus the R&D reliefs provided to activities performed in the UK: for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, subcontracted R&D work and the cost of externally provided workers (EPWs) will be limited to work undertaken in the UK. This may present challenges for fintech companies that outsource certain R&D activities to other countries. However, there will be specific exemptions where work outside the UK is permitted for geographical, environmental, social, or regulatory/legal requirements. Examples of such exemptions include deep ocean research and clinical trials, and, by inference, could include medical-tech trials in specific patient groups, international telecoms testing, or technology designed for extreme environments. HMRC will be providing further guidance on the exemptions before April 2023.
Overseas Branch: There is still some uncertainty for companies with overseas branches: currently there is nothing in the draft legislation relating to work carried out by staff of an overseas branch of a UK company ”“ so it is not clear if such costs will qualify for R&D relief in future.
Conclusion: In summary, the changes to the UK’s R&D tax relief regime will have a significant impact on the fintech sector, particularly in terms of the costs that qualify for relief and the focus on UK-based activities. Fintech companies should review their R&D activities and expenses to ensure compliance with the new regulations. We recommend that fintech companies monitor the situation and seek professional advice to ensure they are able to claim the reliefs to which they are entitled.
Photo by ThisIsEngineering: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-women-talking-beside-whiteboard-3861952/
New government initiative to promote women in STEM
The UK Government is launching a new initiative to encourage women to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Currently, only 29% of the STEM workforce is made up women. This new initiative will benefit from £150,000 of Government funding and will be used by Women Returners and STEM Returners to target women who have taken career breaks and promote core skills in an attempt to plug the STEM skills gap.
Joanna Kori, Head of People for fintech firm Encompass Corporation, commented:
“I am glad to see the Government promoting and providing tangible support to women looking to get into, or return to, STEM careers through investment and skills training. STEM careers are hugely rewarding, yet, as recent figures show, too few women are involved in the sector, and that needs to change. Women are poised to play a crucial role in resolving the skills gap, and it is vital that organisations provide the opportunities and training to empower women and encourage them to pursue a career in STEM. At Encompass, we work hard in this area, providing the balance of both autonomy and support to allow our talented female employees to thrive and be at the centre of the company’s growth.”
Nicola Pickering, VP of Customer Success & Delivery at Encompass Corporation, said:
“The opportunities and avenues available in STEM are vast and, with initiatives like this, will only increase. It is encouraging to see how far we have come in schools, in terms of expanding opportunities, and instilling in girls to have no limits in what they pursue. There is so much possibility to achieve in the tech industry and, with the evolution of flexible working, inclusion for women is greater than ever before, meaning they can fulfil exciting career ambitions while maintaining the positive work-life balance that many look for.”
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/happy-ethnic-woman-sitting-at-table-with-laptop-3769021/
docStribute partners with Penrith Building Society
Fintech startup docStribute just announced a partnership with Penrith Building Society, making their best-in-class DLT solutions available to the building society’s members.
Thanks to docStribute, the company will be able to reduce carbon emissions by 98%. This will be achieved by making important and sensitive documents immediately accessible digitally while increasing document security through a three factor verification check each time a document is opened. docStribute creates secure immutable hyperlinks through dSend (www.docstribute.com/dsend) to users, reducing the time their staff spend on preparing paper documentation. ,
This implementation will simplify the onboarding experience for mortgages, rapidly improving the speed with which Penrith can advance funds to their members.
docStribute utilises a DLT application that utilises a decentralised public network known as hashgraph, a secure, shared database that everyone can read from and write to, and a faster, more secure alternative to blockchain.
docStribute CEO Chris Ansara said:
“We are excited to work with Penrith Building Society. We share a desire to reduce the use of paper and reduce emissions in the financial sector. DLT is an alternative to paper communication and is certainly more environmentally friendly – Penrith are industry-leading in deploying our solutions. When using our technology, a 3-factor verification check is completed each time a document is accessed, so Penrith members are safe in the knowledge that documents and contracts are secure.”
Tim Bowen, CEO at Penrith Building Society said:
“At Penrith Building Society, we are passionate about protecting the environment. We have been partnered with Greener Every Day to help offset our new mortgage customers’ carbon footprint, and this new partnership with docStribute will help us further act on our environmental values by reducing our paper usage and therefore our carbon footprint. We also look forward to conducting our business communications in a more secure and efficient way through docStribute’s quality DLT services, particularly its future digital signature solutions, which will enable us to simplify and streamline members’ onboarding experience, offering choice for our members,”
This announcement follows docStribute becoming available on Mia-Platform Marketplace, as well as docStribute’s deals with global technology behemoth Salesforce to make its Document Distribution and future Digital Signature solutions available to its 150,000+ customers and the UK Government’s Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to be listed as a G-Cloud 13 supplier, making docStribute technology available to over 52,000 public sector and third sector organisations.