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Inbest free white-labelled benefits calculator

Welfare advisers, affordable lenders and money charities have been at the forefront helping people to deal with the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in many cases, their capacity to support people is restricted by their limited resources to build or purchase data & digital solutions to identify, reach and serve financially vulnerable customers.

At Inbest we are passionate about financial inclusion and we develop data & digital money management solutions that meet the specific needs of financially vulnerable people. For example, helping them to access their benefits, understand the level of support that disabled people need, or find the best debt solutions according to their personal circumstances and financial situation.

We believe that collaboration between companies with complementary skills is the only way to drive financial inclusion and ensure an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we are excited to offer our white-labelled benefits calculator free of charge to support welfare advisers, affordable lenders and money charities in their data & digital journeys. 

 

Our offer

Welfare advisers, affordable lenders and money charities will be able to use our free benefits calculator to:

  • Help customers: They can embed our benefits calculator across their digital assets (e.g. webpage, mobile apps, social media, blog posts) to help customers to access the support available to them with a simple, quick and user-friendly user journey.
  • Understands customers: They will be able to use our data analytics application to unlock the full power of customers’ data to better understand their needs and behaviours.

 

Our free white-labelled benefits calculator also includes the following features and services:

  • Widest benefits coverage of national, regional and local benefits in the UK – you can see here the benefits and grants we currently calculate.
  • Data analytics application where you will be able to monitor the application usage and visualise the personal circumstances, financial situation and benefits entitlement of your customers.
  • We will customise the benefits calculator according to your branding and will co-create content to help your customers to understand how they can make the most of their benefits.

 

You can check how Advice Direct Scotland and Capital Credit Union are already using our free white-labelled benefits calculator.

Email us at info@inbest.ai to explore this offer in more detail and discuss how we can help you to deliver data & digital solutions to drive financial inclusion.

 

About Inbest

Inbest is a software platform that helps unemployed individuals or those in low paid or insecure roles to access their benefits entitlement. Inbest offers the widest benefits coverage in the UK and partners with FS institutions and welfare advisers to embed benefits advice into personalised customer journeys.

Level E Research closes seed funding round.

Level E Research, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) investment solutions, has raised £1.2m from a group of private investors all through a seed funding round.

Founded in 2018 by Dr Sonia Schulenburg, the business combines data science, machine learning and behavioural economics to facilitate institutional investors in developing, testing and implementing smart investment strategies at the highest levels of automation. Their selling point? They offer it at a significantly lower cost than traditional investment management business models.

CEO Schulenburg stated,

 “This very successful fundraising backed by well-known industry leaders is a huge vote of confidence in our technology and business model, enabling us to scale up our business development efforts as well as continue to invest in cutting edge research and attract the most talented people. Our hedge fund clients have been quick to realise the benefits that our unique machine learning platform can provide, and we are in discussions with asset managers who are keen to integrate our AI into their investment process or seeking to launch the next generation of AI-driven funds. Our modular SaaS platform readily integrates into existing infrastructure making it easy to adopt.” 

Nicola Anderson (CEO of FinTech Scotland)

“I am delighted to hear that Level E Research has secured a significant amount of seed funding. This is a testament to the strength of its innovation and capability and will lead to the creation of more highly skilled jobs in Scotland. The fact that it is mainly Scottish backers who are investing in Sonia’s vision and leadership, supporting a woman fintech founder, also demonstrates the strength of Scotland’s commitment to fintech, diversity and inclusion.”

For further information, please contact Philip Rothfield: phil@levele.ai

www.leveleresearch.ai

Tap on Phone Payments – the Future of Contactless.

The way we pay for products and services has evolved drastically over the past decade, from the simple chip and pin to the modern payment systems we know today. Which allows any individual with a smartphone to make a transaction electronically and virtually, within seconds without any physical money changing hands. 

While we may feel as though we are at the forefront of digital payments, reaching the pinnacle of its modern advances. Payment systems are currently undergoing transformational changes, by a few in-the-know’ companies, pushing these boundaries and proving there is more than one way for a business to accept frontline payments. 

Enter the Paymob app, transforming the ordinary smartphone into a contactless card reading terminal. Making it easy for businesses across a variety of sectors, from hospitality to transportation, to accept cashless payments quickly and securely in-store, over the phone, or on the move anywhere in the world. 

With many consumers enjoying the ease and convenience of making contactless payments delivered through their Apple, Samsung and Goodge devices, the same level of convenience has not been established for business owners accepting payments, with many still using expensive dedicated hardware.

We have been blown away by the demand for our technology. Having found ourselves at a crucial turning point in Paymob’s journey to enable payment acceptance, ushering in a new era of micropreneurs’ and the wider gig economy. Today, Paymob is currently exceeding what we as a startup are able to supply, which has led us to seek support, to maximize and achieve our growth potential and fulfill this staggering demand for our future thinking’ fintech.

In January Paymob became a proud member of the Techstars Accelerator programme, with our exceptional Paymob team pushing us both toward the finish line, and the Techstars Hub71 Virtual Demo Day. Our opportunity to pitch what we know to be the future of frontline payment acceptance technology. 

We invite you to join us tomorrow, April 7th at 9:00AM to 10:30AM BST, as our CEO Kosta Du dives into our ethos and new product launch, the SoftPOS smartphone app. To attend the virtual event register here.

If you have any questions for our Paymob team, would like to discuss working together, or simply want to make an introduction, don’t hesitate to get in touch at welcome@paymobtech.com.

If you are interested in our product and would like to know more about who we are and what we are doing to level-up the POS market, visit our website for a quick breakdown of our tap-on-phone technology.

To keep up to date with our fintech advances, company updates and for helpful industry resources, feel free to connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

 

Paymob is now an FCA certified, VISA and Mastercard approved, licensed payment provider launching in the UK, EU, US, Canada, Scandinavia and beyond.

Climate Change Risk in Finance – Edinburgh University

With the ever-increasing demand in the FS Sector, the University of Edinburgh has launched a new, short online executive education course regarding Climate Change Risk in Finance for financial services and fintech professionals. Supported by the Scottish Funding Council, the course is available to a limited number of 50 employees, with places available on the first-come-first-served basis.

Context

With climate-related financial risks ever-increasingly prominent, the effective management of such risks is a primary concern and consideration of investors and regulatory authorities. Topics such as sustainability within financial institutions and markets and climate change impacts in finance are becoming essential for effective decision-making finance professionals. With the University of Edinburgh being a world-leading academic hub for the exploration of how the climate is changing, the impact of this upon the environment, society and economies and thus, how climate adaptation and mitigation strategies are evolving.

About the Climate Change Risk in Finance Executive Education Course 📣:

  • Topic: the consequences of climate change on finance – how to navigate data, measure risk, gain accurate insights for financial decision making, and capture opportunities related to transitioning to net zero, and the emerging climate-focused fintech products. This course aims to give financial services and fintech professionals the knowledge and confidence to engage with the topics of sustainable finance and climate-related financial risks, to understand their implications, and to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.
  • This course for You if you are a financial professional working in either asset management, investment or commercial bank, pension funds, insurance, fintech, or similar.
  • Outcomes: Over the course of 10 weeks, you will:
    • Explore theories and practice of sustainable finance and climate-related financial risks.
    • Be introduced to climate change fundamentals and terminology.
    • Understand how to translate the complex climate information compiled from observations and near- and long-term model predictions for financial decision-makers.
    • Understand how to assess and quantify the direct risks arising from climate change on physical assets, businesses, portfolios and supply chains; and also near-term disruptive impacts associated with mitigation policies, changing preferences, and ongoing technological change.
    • Understand the impact of climate change on different financial asset classes (equity markets, fixed-income markets, real estate).
    • Build confidence in applying learnings for financial decision-making.

 

  • Format: 10 ”“weeks long, online course, mix of self-paced materials – pre-recorded and live sessions. Delivered by academic experts & practitioners; facilitated discussions & additional resources
  • Start date: 3rd of May 2021.
  • Registration: https://climatechangeriskinfinance.eventbrite.co.uk/
  • Group bookings: Group discounts are available for colleagues from the same organisation. If you would like to register several participants from one company, please get in touch: Ksenia.Siedlecka@ei.ed.ac.uk
  • The course fee of £1,500 includes all tuition, guest speaker engagements, and course materials.
  • Further information:

https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/executive-education/climate-change-risk-in-finance

 

TEDxUniversityofStrathclyde: Event of the Year

Few student-led societies aim to organise a large-scale, international conference but for the past several years that is exactly what TEDxUniversityofStrathclyde has been doing. Operating since 2013, our Annual Ideas Conference is one of the highlights of the academic year and much anticipated by our forward-thinking and engaged global community.

Reflecting on the last twelve months, as a society we have achieved much. Our 2020 ‘Everything Connected’ conference was held on Saturday 14 March, just as the pandemic was taking hold and immediately before the first national lockdown. Our Lead Organiser Sheik Abdul Malik was battling multiple logistical challenges, with speakers flying in from the US and the Middle East he worked tirelessly to ensure we could deliver this outstanding event. The playlist of our 2020 speakers can be found on our dedicated YouTube channel.

Since our inception, we have been hosting our flagship event in and around the city of Glasgow, with last year’s conference being hosted at the impressive Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at the University of Strathclyde.

Not only are we well known for holding our events in outstanding venues, but we are also renowned for the quality of our speakers. We have had the great pleasure of inviting those at the cutting-edge of research, CEOs and leaders in business, engineers, activists and even astronauts! However, we are simply looking for an idea that is worth sharing and which will leave our audience inspired to make positive change.

We were overwhelmed by the support of our community last year, with tickets selling out in less than 60 minutes. Confident that we can deliver another brilliant event this year, and with a team of over 50 talented individuals working across multiple areas, from marketing and finance to logistics and curation, we are well underway to achieving our ambitious goals.

Scheduled for the last weekend of September and with an array of commercial partners and sponsors working with us, we are continuing to search for those individuals who have a unique experience or innovative idea they would like to share with our TEDxUniversityofStrathclyde community.

If you are interested in applying to be a speaker at this year’s Annual Ideas Conference, then you can do so here. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 31 March at 11:59 pm so be sure to get your entries in soon.

If you would like to find out more about the work that we have been doing as well as see a playlist of our talks dating back several years, then visit our website.

We are happy to answer any queries and chat with those interested in working with us further so why not get in touch with us at tedxstrath@gmail.com

We hope to welcome you all to our Annual Ideas Conference and if you would like to keep up to date with our latest progress then you can connect with us on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

*****For the included images can you please give photo credit to Sheik Abdul Malik******

AG Elevate Programme’s New Uptake

AG Elevate programme, a unique fast-track legal mentoring scheme for early-stage businesses, has a new uptake of eleven high-growth UK technology companies.

The programme, designed and delivered by the leading lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard, assigns successful candidates with a legal mentor and dedicated support over a ten-month period. In addition, the 2021 cohort will receive access to professional industry networks, bespoke collateral designed by Addleshaw Goddard and a collaborative online hub, as well as the opportunity to work alongside like-minded business professionals in the tech ecosystem to help elevate and grow their firms.

The ever-growing popularity of the programme was proven this year, with more than three times the number of applications previously received. The eleven organisations selected span across the UK, from Aberdeen to London. Lawyers from across all six of Addleshaw Goddard’s UK offices will now mentor and work with the dynamic firms which include:

  • London-based firms Rosecut Technologies, Lumio Technologies, Flomark and Yayzy
  • Scotland-based BlackArrow Financial Solutions
  • Trojan Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen
  • Manchester-based Voly and Assif
  • Yorkshire-based Crysp
  • WhereIsMyTransport and JUST: Access, both based in Leeds and London

David Anderson, a Corporate and Commercial Partner at Addleshaw Goddard, who specialises in technology said:

“The pandemic has accelerated digital innovation and the integration of technology in all aspects of our lives.  We must recognise the vast array of opportunities and expertise tech companies across the UK bring towards the growth and rebuilding of our economy.

“Addleshaw Goddard is the only law firm to offer a dedicated programme of this calibre, and we’re incredibly excited to welcome our 2021 AG Elevate cohort on board. Every company selected champions innovation and pragmatic solutions in the technology sector in which they operate.

“Alongside colleagues across the UK and beyond, we’ll use our expertise in the sector to work closely with the chosen firms to help them navigate their way through the legal challenges frequently faced by fast-growing earlier-stage firms in a bid to propel them into the next chapter.”

Over its five year lifespan, the programme has supported more than 30 fintech and technology, entrepreneurs in accelerating innovation as well as helping establish an international presence.  Although originally designed for fintech firms, this year marked the first year that the programme welcomed all high-growth tech businesses, placing a greater focus on businesses interested in sustainability.

For more information about the AG Elevate programme, visit: https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/ag-elevate/programmes/apply/2021-ag-elevate-cohort/

FCA complaints handling. Compliance and reporting by Workpro

Based in Edinburgh, the Workpro team is delighted to join the FinTech Scotland community. We specialise in software for FCA-compliant complaints handling and reporting.

Improved customer service and management insights are just as important to our customers. Resolving complaints well is important for customer retention and reputation, so good practice is good for business. Of course, the way complaints are handled is also subject to external scrutiny.

Workpro FS (Workpro Complaints for Financial Services) was a natural evolution from our origins serving ombudsman and regulators. Complaints in both sectors involve more than just expressions of dissatisfaction. They bring to light issues which can have serious implications for all parties. Robust processes must be followed, and lessons learned from outcomes. Root cause and trend analysis feed into continuous improvement initiatives.

Workpro’s client base extends from the UK to the US, Canada, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and beyond. Workpro’s HR case management configuration is also being adopted by financial institutions for employee relations casework.

While many big names are attracted to Workpro, our clients include small to medium sized firms, or niche departments within bigger-name organisations. Workpro clients appreciate all the accreditations, security, and resilience our system provides, without the big company overhead.

We would love to talk to you more about our products for the financial services community. Please contact us on info@casltd.com or visit our website: workpro.com

Encompass Secures Investment

The leading RegTech provider of Know Your Customer (KYC) automation software, Encompass Corporation, has secured investment from Beacon Equity Partners, a private equity group focused on companies that solve regulatory and compliance challenges. Beacon joins the existing investors in a broader capital round to fuel Encompass’ growth in 2020.

In addition, Beacon Equity Partner, Joe Bradley, will also join Encompass’ Advisory Council to further this important relationship. Bradley joins existing members Stephen Allen, former CRO of Macquarie Group; Kevin Gould, founder of IHS Markit, and Raymond W. Scott, CEO of Axolotl Corp.

Encompass has had a strong 12 months – the company has not only achieved significant revenue growth but has added a number of top global banks and law firms to its client list. A client list that already included the likes of Santander and the Nordic KYC Utility, Invidem, as well as key partners such as Accuity.

This follows the RegTech provider hiring 70 new staff members across all existing locations, but with a particular focus on expanding the organisation’s footprint in Singap[ore, the US, Serbia and Sweden. Key hires have included Alan Samuels as Head of Product; Chris Hodgens as EVP, Engineering; Robert Jessurun as Head of Banking Sales, and Tim Gentry as Head of Engineering Operations.

Wayne Johnson, CEO and co-founder, Encompass Corporation, said about the new investment announcement:

Beacon Equity Partners is the perfect match for Encompass, with this investment enabling us to continue our rapid growth journey whilst investing across our business to meet demand. The expertise Joe and Beacon bring in growing global companies is of great benefit, particularly as we work towards formally entering the North American market in 2021 ”“ a significant milestone for Encompass.

Joe Bradley, Partner at Beacon Equity, added:

Encompass is at the exciting stage where we like to invest in businesses ”“ they have a clear leadership position in a growing niche in the KYC space. The number of global banks adopting the platform reflects the momentum we have seen and is a telling sign of the growth potential of this company.

AutoRek takes on the Big Apple

AutoRek, a leading Fintech software provider to global financial service firms, is the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce’s selection for representing Scottish business in its virtual trade mission to the state of New York.

On the 23 and 24 March, the two-day event aims to attract Scottish companies from the Fintech sector that show interest in international exporting and expanding. 16 company-strong delegations that will participate in a market awareness session, and two business-to-business meetings based on specific requirements, with support from the Chamber’s local market partner.

Establishing international partnerships in the main aim of this trade mission, with the opportunity to explore joint ventures, distribution deals and other mutually beneficial practices.

Having been selected by the UK Government’s Department of International Trade to showcase the Best of British Innovation, AutoRek has continued to build overseas relationships. Just last week, AutoRek announced Scottish Equity Partners had completed a significant growth equity investment in its business, which will facilitate accelerating its US expansion plans.

Introducing edventure – Venture Builder and Accelerator

Introducing edventure, the first pan-European university venture builder and accelerator, bringing together universities’ best talents across Europe to solve society’s most important challenges. Edventure was founded in September 2020 by Zara Zaman, Ragnor Comerford and Fynn Comerford, students in their final years at the University of Edinburgh. The idea for edventure arose from observations they made about the student startup ecosystem in Europe, particularly in comparison to the US. Highly ambitious and talented students did not have the right idea or problem to work on, had difficulties finding co-founders and accessing resources, and were faced with the myth of the college drop-out successful entrepreneur. There was a need for a process to kick start their venture and guide them through the startup building process within a diverse community of likeminded individuals balancing their startup with their studies (and benefiting from the synergies between them!).

To tackle this, edventure takes a mix of existing startup teams and talented individuals to be matched with problems they are passionate about, and incubates them in a 10-week programme, with each week covering a key theme for startups. Throughout the programme, edventure provides its startups with resources, mentorship, tools, workshops, and access to its ever-growing European network.

What started as a student organisation grew from 3 founders to a team of over 40 people (over 50% female), helping 200+ students to build startups from universities across Europe. The startups in edventure’s cohorts so far are tackling issues ranging from climate change and waste reduction to inequality in accessing legal aid, to personal finance. One of edventure’s core principles is strength in diversity; their cohorts have hosted young entrepreneurs from over 60 different degree programmes, 45 nationalities, speaking over 40 languages and dialects.

 

https://edventure.vc/