Scotland’s digital roles grow by over 25% year on year
Scotland’s tech sector is going through a rapid growth according to the UK’s Secretary of State for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
New figures released today show tech jobs in Glasgow and Edinburgh have increased by more than 25% in the past two years, way above the UK’s average.
According to Adzuna IT-related vacancies account for 13% of all UK job vacancies whilst this number is 30% in Edinburgh and 28% in Glasgow.
Today 135,000 people are employed by Scottish tech startups and scaleups. This is the 3rd highest number in the UK after the South East and London.
Software developers and data scientists are in high demand fo r the tech sector. Developers in Edinburgh and Glasgow can command an average salary of £45,000 or £55,000 for more senior positions.
There is an increasing demand for senior-level employees across all areas of Scottish tech. For instance, 89% of available roles for IT System Architects are all for senior positions.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said:
“Scottish tech is booming and this thriving sector is creating exciting opportunities up and down the country.
“The UK government is determined to see this success continue and is investing heavily to help people in Scotland get the skills they need to seize the opportunities on offer and build back better from the pandemic.”
2021 is also a great year for investment with UK Tech companies having raised £13.5 billion in the first half of this yearend Scotland raising £446 million, the highest number so far.
Fintech is one of the biggest sectors for fundraising in the UK generally and in Scotland more specifically. The biggest fundraising round in 2021 so far was for the Kirkcaldy-based fintech Paysend, which raised £90.5m in Series B funding.
Dr George Windsor, Head of Insights at Tech Nation said:
“Edinburgh is proving to be one of the fastest-growing tech cities in the UK, with a higher number of opportunities and salaries compared to other cities. Glasgow is also making a name for itself as a destination for tech workers, with some of the best cost of living standards compared to the median tech salary of the whole UK. With scaling companies in sectors such as fintech and health tech, Scotland’s tech sector is only expected to grow in the next few years.”
Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels
Festival of Fintech Innovation Shaping the Emerging Digital Economy
A rich diversity of innovative participants and initiatives will be showcased at this year’s fintech festivals in Scotland which gets underway from today
For the next 4 weeks, Scotland will be the stage of more than 50 events bringing alive the burgeoning impact of fintech leaders and capabilities which are shaping many elements of the emerging digital economy.
The festival, organised under the umbrella of Fintech Scotland, is in its fourth year and will build on the impactful platform of previous years in demonstrating how financial innovation is supporting citizens, business, regulators and government build towards economic and social recovery after the pandemic.
This year’s festival is even more diverse with a broad range of innovation themes and participants form fintech entrepreneurs, large global enterprises, universities, the public sector and the regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is hosting half a dozen events on topics such as cryptocurrency, sustainability and the regulatory sandbox.
The festival has a significant global reach with participation organised with fintech innovators in the USA, Europe, Australia working in conjunction with Scottish Development International and UK Govt Department of International Trade.
The formal kick off is the Fintech Summit, a hybrid online and in person event at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh organised by online publisher Digit
The festival will conclude on the 14th of October with an all-day in person UK wide FinTech Conference at the University of Strathclyde Technology & Innovation Centre organised by Canongate Publishing and The Times.
This high-profile event hosted by Fintech Scotland, well bring together speakers from across the UK fintech centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as presentations from UK Government and Scottish Government Ministers and Ron Kalifa, the author of the Treasury’s recently commissioned Fintech Review.
Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland said:
“We’re looking forward to connecting with colleagues as we welcome the return of some face-to-face events as well as a variety of digital and virtual events. The range of topics, contributions and organisations taking part really demonstrates the breadth, expertise and diversity that drives fintech innovation in Scotland.”
Fiona MacKinnon, responsible for business events at VisitScotland said:
“We’re delighted to once again support the FinTech Scotland Festival. It’s an opportunity to come together to learn, connect and collaborate both virtually and face to face. This year we’re extending a warm welcome to delegates from over 30 countries and look forward to learning from a global community and sharing our own knowledge and expertise.”
Growing FinTech Community Driving Digital Economic Transformation through the pandemic
FinTech Scotland announce 50% Plus Growth of Scottish Fintech SMEs and a New Entrepreneur Advisory Board
The number of Scottish Fintech SMEs has increased by over fifty per cent during the eighteen months of the pandemic with the FinTech Scotland entrepreneurial community growing from 119 in March 2020 to 181 today.
The growth in the innovative enterprises reflects the increase in demand for financial technologies as more and more of the economy and society adapts to a digital environment driven by the challenges of the pandemic.
The news of the growth comes as FinTech Scotland announces a SME Advisory Board made up of leaders from the fintech entrepreneurial community focused on ensuring the necessary support is in place to continue the momentum of fintech innovation
Initially, the Advisory Board focus on providing impetus on skills development, experience when it comes to accessing funding and commercialisation opportunities.
The Advisory Board includes a diverse range of founders and leaders; Jude Cook (ShareIn), James Varga (DirectID), Loral Quinn (Sustainably), Anthony Rafferty (Origo), Pardeep Cassells (AccessFintech), Andrew Duncan (Soar), Andrew Veitch (EedenBull), Stuart Lunn (LendingCrowd) and Russell Jaques (Fin-Q).
Stephen Ingledew, Executive Chairman at FinTech Scotland and Chair of the Fintech Advisory Board said,
“There is growing recognition of the valuable role fintech in contributing to the digital economy, therefore, formally bringing together prominent group of entrepreneurs signifies Fintech Scotland ongoing commitment to ensure the best support is available for innovative enterprises in Scotland”
Jude Cook Co-Founder of ShareIn added:
“It’s great to see more entrepreneurs joining the FinTech Scotland community. Scotland is such an interesting place to be in the run up to COP26 climate negotiations here in Glasgow in November. Fintech has a vital role to play as we emerge from the COVID 19 pandemic.”
Nicola Anderson CEO of FinTech Scotland said:
“We are focused on supporting fintech innovation in Scotland and the number of fintech SME’s establishing themselves here is a testament to the talent and experience across the Cluster. This Board helps us build on that talent and expend the practical fintech expertise that continues to build and evolve in Scotland”
AutoRek selected by Superscript for Bordereau Reconciliations & CASS 5 Automation
Scottish fintech AutoRek just announced that Superscript would come on board as a new client.
Established in 2015, Insurtech Superscript is disrupting the business insurance distribution model, placing customers at the core of their business. It uses a flexible monthly subscription model suited to the fast-changing needs of today’s small businesses. With Superscript, customers can obtain quotes, set-up their cover in minutes, pay, modify, or cancel their cover any time, easily.
Autorek will be used by Superscript and become part of their digitally driven architecture to deliver end-to-end automation and to enable the business to scale and meet its exciting growth plans.
Gordon McHarg, CEO at AutoRek, added,
“We are delighted to have a client such as Superscript come on board. It is an exciting time for both Superscript and AutoRek in terms of growth plans and we look forward to collaborating on this project and building on our relationship.”
Piers Williams, Insurance Lead at AutoRek, added,
“We are excited to work with the team at Superscript, particularly as they are strong players in the new wave of digitally driven Insurance firms. We have built our Bordereau solution based on the market need and are looking forward to working with the team at Superscript to implement our market leading solution to deliver end-to-end automation.”
Anil Sharma, Chief Financial Officer at Superscript, said:
“Superscript has ambitious growth plans, and we are scaling quickly. As we are managing an increasing amount of policy transactions, the implementation of AutoRek’s technology will help increase efficiency for the finance team. Importantly, it can be incorporated seamlessly and will be a useful addition to our existing systems.”
Big win for Scottish Fintech Origo
Origo is delighted that Capgemini and Origo have been appointed to supply the central digital architecture for the Pensions Dashboards Programme and will be working with the PDP to help deliver the service for the benefit of UK pensions holders.
Announced by the Pensions Dashboards Programme and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) on 6 September 2021, the contract was awarded to Capgemini, who will partner with Origo to deliver the specified elements of the central digital architecture, namely the pensions finder service, consent and authorisation service and governance register, which will form a key part of the pensions dashboard ecosystem.
Origo has been fully committed to progressing pensions dashboards from the day the project was announced. Our 30-year history has been about delivering ground-breaking technology to make financial services more efficient and cost effective, and improve outcomes for savers and investors.
PDP stated that the Capgemini/Origo bid was successful “due to its quality and value for money, plus the credibility and expertise of both parties to deliver the contract.”
The procurement process
The procurement followed an extensive period of engagement by the PDP, with both the pensions industry and potential suppliers, which shaped the development of the technical requirements. This included several market engagement exercises and webinars to explain how the digital architecture will work and the policy background to the programme.
The five-month procurement started with the invitation to tender in April this year. The open and transparent process, used Lot 4a (Programmes and large projects ”“ covering Government official security classification) of the Crown Commercial Service Technology Services 2 framework agreement. This approach complies with all necessary government spend controls and provided a speedy, effective method to procure the digital architecture.
The successful conclusion to the procurement marks the end of the first phase of the Pensions Dashboards Programme, and is a major step towards bringing pensions dashboards to life. The programme now moves into its develop and test phase, as indicated on the PDP programme timeline. The focus now shifts to building the software elements that will make pensions dashboards work and testing the ecosystem, with the volunteer organisations that have signed up to be part of the testing phases.
Richard James, Programme Director of the Pensions Dashboards Programme at MaPS, commented on the day of the announcement: “Today’s announcement of a digital technology supplier marks the moment when dashboards move off the drawing board, and become real. I’m delighted to partner with Capgemini and Origo, who really impressed us with the quality of their bid; and whose deep pensions industry expertise coupled with extensive experience of delivering major programmes makes them superb partners for the programme. PDP now formally moves into its delivery phase, and I am looking forward to working with our new supplier, and across the industry, to make a success of pensions dashboards, and enable individuals to take control of their retirement planning.
Paul Margetts, Managing Director of Capgemini in the UK echoed our own delight “to have been chosen as the digital technology partner to build the core architecture and support the significant milestone of bringing pensions dashboards to life.” He added: “We believe our success is founded not only upon our expertise and deep capabilities but also through our strategic collaboration with Origo, who is dedicated to improving the financial services industry’s operating efficiencies. We are looking forward to working with the Pensions Dashboards Programme to support them in delivering a seamless service that will allow UK pension holders the control and visibility to take action and plan for the future.”
Concept to reality
Guy Opperman, Minister for Pensions, said that the announcement was “a crucial milestone for the dashboards programme, taking things to the next phase, where the concept starts to become a reality.
He added: “We’ve already put in place the primary legislation needed to pave the way for pensions dashboards. Now the programme, in partnership with Capgemini and Origo, can start to implement the technical elements, bringing the delivery of the first functioning dashboards even closer.
“I have previously urged pension schemes to get their data ready for dashboards. My message remains ”“ schemes should be improving their data quality as part of their preparations for participating. The clock is ticking and this achievement is yet another reminder that schemes must be getting ready to connect.”
Anyone interested in keeping up to date with programme updates and future call for inputs can sign up to receive the monthly Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) newsletter, and following PDP on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Scottish fintech zumo posts 100x user growth
One year on from a 150% oversubscribed £1.66 million seed funding round closed in just a few short hours, Scottish fintech Zumo has reported that its customer base grew a hundred-fold over the course of the year, increasing from 500 in August 2020 to 50,000 in August 2021.
Founded with the mission statement smart money for everyone’, the Edinburgh-based crypto wallet and payments platform is one of a range of Scottish-born fintechs thriving amidst the vibrant Scottish fintech scene, with underpinning GBP payment services provided by fellow young company and FinTech Scotland member Modulr.
Backed by early investors including Murray Capital, Coldplay’s Guy Berryman and the Scottish Investment Bank, Zumo’s mobile app and B2B product offering aims to bring the benefits of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to people and businesses everywhere, and it will continue to pursue ambition plans for growth over the course of 2022.
Other highlights from the past year included:
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Product: launch of a new virtual Visa debit card offering seamless cash-to-cryptocurrency payment functionality, alongside innovative smart price alert and smartfolio portfolio tracking features;
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People: a doubled workforce, with key strategic hires and appointments including Chief Operating Officer Dagmara Aldridge; Chief Technology Officer Tim Sabanov; and Non-Executive Director Andy Downes;
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Enterprise: the launch of ZumoKit, a B2B crypto-as-a-service solution that allows fintechs, banks and payment providers to connect to the blockchain, adopt digital and crypto currency solutions and profit from decentralisation; and
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Awards: recognition as a start-up to watch’ by Sifted, the FT-backed start-up monitoring platform, alongside further individual wins and nominations at the UK FinTech, Women in FinTech and EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
Nick Jones, Zumo CEO, commented:
“As we grow, it’s great to see the fintech ecosystem around us growing, too – not least through the efforts of organisations such as FinTech Scotland.
“With a global outlook, and breadth of product offering covering both mainstream consumer and business needs, we believe ourselves well placed to capitalise on unprecedented and growing consumer and institutional interest in digital assets and decentralised applications.
“We’re here to provide a new generation of smart money solutions for a new, decentralised economy – bringing financial wellness to people everywhere, not just the most tech savvy or financially literate.”
Swipii releases new feature for local businesses
Scottish start-up Swipii has released its latest feature, the Win-Back Offer enabling local business owners to utilise tech to retarget lost customers.
Swipii is a cashback app that rewards customers with cashback when they spend directly with local bars, cafes and restaurants simply by using their own bank card. Business owners can sign up to Swipii at no cost and use the technology to reach and retarget customers without the need for complicated integrations or marketing experts.
Louis Schena, Swipii co-founder and CEO explains; Local independent businesses form the backbone of our economy. The unfortunate truth is they are decades behind online businesses and big corporations when it comes to the technology they have and as a result are at a significant disadvantage. COVID has widened this disadvantage and our mission is to level the playing field as markets open up! We all have our part to play in shopping local with benefits ranging from investing in our communities to even reducing our carbon footprint!’
To date, businesses featured on the app have been leveraging Swipii’s cashBack offers to target customers at various times and days when they want to drum up footfall such as off-peak hours. Since launching the app in 2018, the Glasgow based app has helped local businesses increase customer engagement and spend, generating spend of £440k to date. Even during lockdown, Swipii cashback offers saw businesses increase customer spend by 16% on average.
Now, businesses can maximise their revenues even more by taking advantage of Swipii’s latest Win-Back Offer. The Win-Back Offer works by targeting customers who haven’t visited a business in a defined period of time, anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months or longer. The technology crunches data in the background and identifies a cohort of users that fits this criteria and the Swipii app will send out a special cashback offer on behalf of the business getting customers back in store spending.
Bringing affordable tech to local businesses has never been more pertinent as:
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digital adoption surged during COVID with many companies seeing online customer interaction accelerate by 3 years ahead of expected forecasts*
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75% of UK shoppers said they had been shopping more online compared to before the pandemic**
Backed by VCs such as LocalGlobe and Par Equity, Swipii is the easiest way for local businesses to increase revenue, loyalty and retention as shopping behaviours adapt post lockdowns.
UK Government Ministers visit Scotland’s thriving fintech community
To recognise the global impact of Scotland’s growing fintech sector, FinTech Scotland hosted a visit by Secretary of State for Trade, Liz Truss and Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack on Tuesday 20th July, at the Bayes Centre, University of Edinburgh.
Financial technology (“fintech”) uses digital and data driven innovation to improve and enhance financial services, both for businesses and individuals and is making a significant contribution to innovation and the broader economy.
For example, the collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, FinTech Scotland and industry participants on innovative financial technology initiatives has enabled Scotland to be the home to the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence as well as FinTech Scotland being recognised as the UK’s first accredited fintech cluster.
The meeting at the Bayes Centre provided an opportunity for UK Government ministers to meet with a number of key entrepreneurs from leading firms from the Fintech Scotland community such as Direct ID, Modulr, FreeAgent, Float, EedenBull and Trace AI
Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, said:
“The UK is a world-leader in FinTech and that’s why we’re breaking down barriers, pushing new frontiers in our free trade agreements and opening up markets to boost this growing industry.
“From Australia to Singapore, we are using our independent trade policy to drive foreign investment into UK FinTech and increase export opportunities worldwide.
“Scotland’s FinTech sector is thriving, and I want to ensure that we fuel the future global growth opportunities for FinTech businesses across the UK.”
Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack said:
“As home to 180 fintech businesses, Scotland is right at the heart of exciting developments as the UK becomes a major force within the global sector. Collaboration between academia, industry and government will ensure that Scottish fintech has a bright future ahead.
“It was great to meet with some of the key people behind the industry’s growing success, and I look forward to seeing how their ambition and innovation will further enhance the profile of Scotland and the whole UK within the global fintech community.”
Stephen Ingledew, Executive Chair of FinTech Scotland, who hosted the ministerial visit said:
“This visit demonstrated how collaborative leadership by entrepreneurs, large enterprises, academia and government can make a significant impact in delivering impactful fintech innovation which will shape the future economy and people’s lives both in the UK and internationally. Our forthcoming fintech research and innovation roadmap will highlight how we will build on momentum created and foster further collaboration with the regional fintech hubs across the UK.”
Peter Mathieson, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, welcomed the Ministers to the Bayes Centre and commented:
“The University has a global reputation for ground-breaking innovation and the Bayes Centre is a great example of creating a creative and collaborative environment delivering new opportunities in data, artificial intelligence and robotics in the emerging new sectors such as fintech”
The Ministerial visit coincides with the unveiling of plans for Scotland’s FinTech Festival in September which will showcase financial innovation from across the UK highlighting progress made since the HM Treasury commission Fintech Sector Review by Ron Kalifa OBE was released in March this year.
The Fintech Festival, now in its fourth year, will be a diverse range of 50 plus events and activities taking place over four weeks with fintech leaders and entrepreneurs attending from the UK and virtually from around the world.
The Festival will include major conferences in Edinburgh and Glasgow with examples of innovation from Scotland and the UK amongst many other global fintech leaders.
DirectID and Doconomy partner on climate functionality
FinTech DirectID have just entered a collaboration agreement with pioneering Swedish impact tech company Doconomy.
Doconomy is an impact-tech company that uses the power of data raise awareness of the impact of consumption whilst offering solutions to reduce it. With Doconomy users can understand and drive positive movement to tackle climate change.
DirectID is the world’s expert in global credit risk enabled by the usage of real-time bank data. They tackle current problems found within the credit risk lifecycle:
- Affordability
- Income and account verification
- Emerging financial distress
- Spend categorisation & classification
Doconomy and DirectID have decided to partner to bring climate functionality to the masses, helping consumers make more informed decisions and encourage a more sustainable lifestyle.
This is another great example of how using bank data can help develop new innovative solutions beyond greater access to financial products.
James Varga, CEO of DirectID, said:
“As we continue to grow our reach and capability, having a trusted set of partners is critical to our future success. We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Doconomy.
“We are increasingly seeing new and diverse ways that bank data can support use cases across industry and sector. Using bank data to help us to understand business and consumer’s environmental impact is yet one more way that DirectID’s bank data expertise can support another tech company.”
Mathias Wikström, CEO of Doconomy, said:
“With DirectID joining us in shaping a new normal based on impact transaparency, we are excited to see additional opportunities for continuous development of tools in support of climate action. DirectID bring equal amounts of expertise and passion to the table and we are excited to team up on the most important challenge of all.”
Experian supplies Decision Analytics solution for Soar
Digital banking platform Soar will use Experian’s Decision Analytics solutions to support its work in the community banking market.
The new partnership will see Soar clients utilise Experian’s SaaS PowerCurve Customer Acquisition platform to help automate lending decisions, transforming their digital onboarding and customer application journey.
Incorporating affordability and eligibility insights based on Experian bureau data, anti-fraud checks, and advanced data analytics all within one cloud-based solution, Soar clients will now have a clear picture of their customers helping them to access the most appropriate lending for their circumstances.
Typically, organisations like Credit Unions and Community Banks have relied upon manual application processes, leading to customers waiting up to a week ”“ and sometimes longer ”“ for their applications to be reviewed and completed.
The solution will significantly improve that wait, returning a decision within minutes, boosting acceptance rates at the beginning of the customer application due to the rich level of customer insight provided.
By removing the need for organisations to attempt to build a similar solution in-house, PowerCurve will enable clients to quickly modernise their operations and, at the same time, attract new customers who otherwise wouldn’t consider a Credit Union as an option for a financial product.
Steve Pulley, Managing Director Decision Analytics, Experian UK&I, said: “Today’s customers expect digital services to work seamlessly and almost instantaneously, while the impact of Covid-19 means it’s critical that lenders can accurately assess a potential customer’s suitability for lending.”
“Our software plays a critical role in organisations’ decisioning, radically improving their efficiency and outcomes for customers and I’m delighted that those in the community banking market will feel the benefit that data-led analytics can bring.”
Andrew Duncan, CEO of Soar, said: “The community banking market has traditionally been underserved when it comes to technology advancements. We’re committed to changing that, giving organisations the chance to provide their customers with the best digital offering possible
“The breadth and accuracy of what Experian software can offer will be central to us in meeting that ambition and modernising the ethical banking sector.”