FCA’s Innovate’s Sandbox open for applications
Photo by Prateek Katyal from Pexels
The FCA’s Innovate’s Sandbox is currently open for applications until the 31st of December 2019!
As well as looking for applications from innovative businesses wanting to make positive changes in the financial services sector, this year the FCA has highlighted areas where it would like to see innovation. It’s particularly interested in receiving applications from firms with propositions that:
- make finance work for everyone ”“ by addressing issues around access, exclusion and vulnerability
- support the UK in the move to a greener economy ”“ by responding to the challenges posed by climate change
- use technology to overcome regulatory challenges ”“ by helping regulated firms comply with their obligations
It’s also highlighted 2 specific technology areas where the FCA would like to see more innovation and testing and applications are welcome from:
- federated learning and travelling algorithms
- complex scenario modelling and simulation
For more information on the process, eligibility criteria and lessons from previous Sandbox cohorts please use this link.
It would be great to see more applications coming from the vibrant innovative community in Scotland. Please get in touch if you’d like more information.
Good Luck!
Agrud Unveil Expansion In Global Market Analysis Capabilities
Agrud is part of the Scottish fintech community and are the people behind Stella, a powerful global market analysis engine.
Operating between Edinburgh, Kolkata and Singapore, Agrud is pleased to announce an expansion in the way it helps financial institutions and the mass affluent stay well informed in an increasingly complex market environment.
Combining a lifetimes’ investment experience, an innovative approach to data modelling along with purpose-built natural language generation (NLG) technology, Agrud’s UI’s already cater to the needs of over 10,000 investment professionals globally.
Traditional means of market analysis are falling short in their ability to take full account of the vast quantity and variety of data available today. Whilst price data, industry reports and statistical analysis are still fundamental tools in the investors arsenal, Agrud’s development of its Indicators’ system represents a landmark depth and breadth of automated written-word insights.
Over one-millions real time data points are able to be drawn upon for fact-creation’ about market activity, from technicals and fundamentals to insights on behaviors on all major social media platforms. Around 20,000 indicators can be used in the creation of insights around any particular entity.
The transformation of this vast quantity of facts’ into useful narratives is where our NLG system comes in. Insights are crafted into easily-readable sentences, and ordered so as to prioritize what matters most to the user.
The real-time acquisition, aggregation, interpretation and delivery of valuable information is the mission.
“Information empowers, and by making premium quality global market analysis more openly available you provide opportunities for growth. Too many are excluded by the crazy price tags of the traditional providers.”
Co-founder and CEO Sayanta Basu
First FinTech National Network Symposium to take place in Glasgow
The first ever FinTech National Network Symposium, bringing together the various fintech bodies from across the UK, will take place in Glasgow on the 10th of October 2019b hosted by FinTech Scotland.
The symposium is being held at the University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre which has played a leading global role in developing fintech skills and innovation
The hosting of the symposium in Glasgow further recognises the development of the City as a major global fintech cluster as part of the broader Innovation District development.
The symposium builds on the announcement earlier this year by Innovate Finance, FinTech Scotland and FinTech North to establish the FinTech National Network to foster collaboration between the bodies and provide valuable connections to amplify their collective support for fintech enterprises.
Over recent months the network has expanded to include FinTech Wales, FinTech Northern Ireland and FinTech West.
The Symposium will bring together senior leaders from these fintech bodies, the Financial Conduct Authority, Scottish Development International, UK Department for International Trade, the Treasury and Fintech Alliance come together. They will be joined by leading fintech entrepreneurs.
This first symposium will focus on various key themes including global innovation opportunities, encouraging greater diversity, regulatory landscape as well as the developing of collaboration across the various bodies to support fintech growth and innovation. The meeting will also focus on setting goals for the FinTech National Network so the various bodies can work together to encourage fintech growth and innovation.
The Symposium will be followed in the day by the latest meeting between the various fintech bodies building on the very successful initial meeting and networking event held in June in Manchester hosted by FinTech North. The meeting will be focusing on the rolling programme of activities to support collaborative fintech innovation in all parts of the UK.
Commenting, Stephen Ingledew, CEO of FinTech Scotland said: “It’s a great honour to be hosting the first symposium of the FinTech National Network with the fast growing fintech community in Glasgow. We’re delighted at the prospect of showcasing the great collaboration, innovation and inclusion opportunities offered by our vibrant ecosystem”
Charlotte Crosswell, CEO of Innovate Finance said: “The UK is a world leader in FinTech, but in order to develop and grow further, it is vital that we connect hubs around the country. Innovate Finance is committed to ensuring that innovation in Financial Services is represented across the UK and not just London.”
Chris Sier, HM Treasury FinTech Envoy & Chairman, FinTech North said: “I’m delighted to see the different regional ecosystems around the UK coming together via the FinTech National Network. A collaborative and open approach is the route to success and the national FinTech sector will be stronger thanks to this initiative.”
Sir Jim MacDonald, Principal and Vice Chancellor at the University of Strathclyde said: “Strathclyde University is delighted to host the first ever UK FinTech National Network Symposium at our Technology Innovation Centre, located in the heart of the Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID). Strathclyde is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the FinTech community and Glasgow is very well placed to contribute to the success of the fintech cluster given both the numbers of entrepreneurial FinTech start-ups, access to world-class research and talent, and the growing presence of large global financial services companies who are making significant investments in the city which will bring new technologies, new products, new jobs and economic growth”
Those interesting in attending the symposium can register using this link
Partnership announced between LendingCrowd and ICAS
Scottish fintech LendingCrowd have signed a strategic partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The partnership effectively makes LendingCrowd ICAS’s preferred partner in its Business Loans category.
With this partnership ICAS will provide LendingCrowd with a new channel to tell their network of member accountants about alternatives to traditional bank lending and their benefits. In exchange, LendingCrowd will give a special discount on client fees to ICAS members.
The partnership will last for an initial period of three years, until 2022.
Commenting, LendingCrowd founder and CEO Stuart Lunn said: “We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership with ICAS, which brings real opportunities for us all. It is a fantastic platform for us to showcase the benefits of alternatives to traditional bank lending, and for ICAS members to then utilise these benefits. It marks another important step forward in LendingCrowd’s growth story, five years after we launched. We look forward to working closely with ICAS and making this partnership a real success story.”
Commenting, ICAS Chief Executive, Bruce Cartwright CA, said: “We are pleased to have entered into a strategic partnership with LendingCrowd and secured a new, exclusive benefit for our members. Through our partnership, ICAS members’ clients can now claim 25% off LendingCrowd business loan fees. We look forward to working with LendingCrowd over the coming years.”
Fintech ShareIn launch new Payments Product To Address Gap In The Market
Edinburgh based fintech firm launched a new specialist payment product called ShareInPay for platforms holding ISA money.
ShareIn operate investment platforms for clients such as Triodos Bank, the Dutch Ethical Bank, Crowdlords, Residential Property investments and Energise Africa.
ShareIn has been an Innovative Finance ISA Manager since Dec 2016 and many of their investment platforms offer Innovative Finance ISA products.
CTO and Co-Founder, Andrew Pickett says. “We needed a solution for our platforms to hold Client Money that wasn’t e-money. We searched everywhere and couldn’t find an API driven Client Money solution. So we decided we needed to build this ourselves.”
ShareIn obtained the regulatory permission to hold Client Money from the Financial Conduct Authority earlier this year.
CEO, Cook said “To say holding Client Money is difficult is a little bit of an understatement. There are few things in the Financial Regulatory environment more important than holding other people’s money.”
The launch of ShareInPay marks the start of a modular software approach for ShareIn to enable investment business more generally. Modules that work together or separately with an existing platform.
For more information contact:
Jude Cook, ShareIn Ltd, +44 7956123405, jude@sharein.com
LendingCrowd crowned Best P2P Business Lender
Edinburgh-based fintech lending platform LendingCrowd has been crowned the UK’s Best P2P Business Lender at the first ever Growth Finance Awards, held in London.
LendingCrowd, which is the only SME lender of its kind headquartered in Scotland, was recognised for its “best-in-class digital platform, transparency, as well as ample resources for both borrowers and lenders”.
Founder and CEO Stuart Lunn said: “To be named Best P2P Business Lender is testament to the significant strides we have made since our launch in 2014. LendingCrowd exists to help alleviate the funding gap facing the UK’s vital community of SMEs, and we’re delighted to have received this recognition at the Growth Finance Awards.”
The award was presented to Stuart and LendingCrowd Chief Marketing Officer Darren Cairns by Simon Bonney, partner at category sponsor Quantuma.
The Growth Finance Awards, organised by Intelligent Partnership and hosted by television presenter Claudia Winkleman, were designed to highlight the role of the finance community in supporting the growth ambitions of SMEs across the UK. More than 300 guests attended the black-tie event, which took place on Wednesday 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, said: “Just to be recognised as a finalist is a great achievement in itself, but to take home a prize is a truly impressive accolade. I look forward to next year’s event and continuing to educate growing businesses about the wide variety of financial options that are available to them.”
Since its launch in late 2014, LendingCrowd has facilitated more than 740 loans to SMEs across the UK with a total value of £65 million, with more than £15 million of lending in Scotland.
LendingCrowd has also been named as a finalist in the Impact and Investment category of the Scottish Financial Services Awards, organised by Scottish Financial Enterprise and sponsored by EY. The shortlisting is in recognition of the unique £18.75 million funding partnership that LendingCrowd has created with Scottish Investment Bank and Dutch entrepreneurial bank NIBC to fund the ambitions of SMEs across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Sopra Steria and the University of Edinburgh launch fintech collaboration programme: Chemistry for Financial Services
On August 23rd Sopra Steria and the University of Edinburgh, supported by FinTech Scotland, launched Chemistry for Financial Services, a collaboration programme aimed at encouraging co-creation initiatives between fintech firms, technology providers, academia and established financial service companies.
Companies that have been selected to join the Chemistry programme will be co-creating and taking to market new solutions which address business challenges and improve the financial wellbeing of consumers.
With the launch, the first two challenges have now been released. Both are focused on mortgages, making them more accessible and improving the customer experience for existing mortgage holders.
Applications are now open until September 23rd, 2019. Mid-October, shortlisted applicants will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts and Sopra Steria’s clients. Companies selected by the panel, will then join a design sprint at Sopra Steria’s Digilab before presenting the output to multiple clients leading to potential commercial arrangements.
Commenting on the launch Mingaile Vaisnoraite, Customer Experience Consultant at Sopra Steria declared:
“Our Chemistry programme is about working with Start-Ups and SME’s with strong support from FInTech Scotland and Edinburgh University to energise change and create new, innovative solutions. This is a really exciting opportunity where we can re-imagine how financial companies interact with customers and deliver new services and products. There is a wealth of SME and start-up talent in the FinTech sector and with FinTech Scotland and Edinburgh University we want to help them with their ambition to grow, win new business and be successful.”
Dr John Lonsdale, Head of Enterprise at Edinburgh Innovations, University of Edinburgh said:
“We are delighted to be working with Sopra Steria and Fintech Scotland to provide innovation opportunities for emerging Fintech companies. The Chemistry programme contributes towards making Edinburgh the Data Capital of Europe, encouraging company-to-University linkages, and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to work with leading financial services companies to create innovative solutions for customers.”
To read more and apply for the programme please click here.
FinTech Scotland launches its Consumer Panel
FinTech Scotland has launched a Consumer Panel to support inclusive fintech business development. It will connect consumer and citizen advocate groups into the fintech ecosystem with the emphasis on citizen financial inclusion, problem solving and innovation.
The panel will provide ease of access to a citizen and consumer voice for fintech innovators, and build an inclusive network across consumer groups, innovation and technology. The objective is for open, practical and diverse engagement, to bring citizens and consumers directly into fintech product design.
Recent UK research showed 24% of UK adults have little or no confidence in managing their money, with 18-24-year-olds rating themselves as the least confident.
Scottish entrepreneurs are achieving true change. They are introducing easier and better ways to deal with money as well as new products and services that adapt to the changing needs of today’s society. Many are presenting updates during FinTech Scotland’s Festival in September.
The Consumer Panel offers a practical way to connect fintech entrepreneurs and their growing ability to find new and innovative solutions, with real and everyday financial issues impacting customers/consumers.
Founding members come from a range of Consumer Advocate organisations, Third and Public sector, as well as Academia. Those participating include, Money Advice Scotland, Scottish Government, University of Strathclyde and University of Edinburgh, The Big Issue, The Money and Pensions Service, Step Change, Age Scotland, Fresh Start Edinburgh, Passion4Fusion and Mental Health and Money Advice.
Stephen Ingledew FinTech Scotland’s CEO said “This is an important aspect to the work of FinTech Scotland. Fintech provides a major opportunity to improve the way people can engage with their money and finances. The consumer panel aims to bring people directly into the conversation and increase inclusion within fintech and the financial services industry more broadly. It will give greater access to customer insights enhancing the focus for good customer outcomes which is our definition of what the fintech movement is.”
Speaking for Money Advice Scotland, CEO Yvonne MacDermid welcomes this initiative. “Working with fintech propositions will help the debt advice sector connect with more people in a range of different ways and enable consumers to gain confidence in using digital applications”
Kate Forbes MSP fully endorsed this initiative saying “The FinTech consumer panel will help drive inclusion across our society and economy as we make new technological and digital developments. This is a hugely positive and practical step that will ensure that our people are fully involved in the digitalisation of our technology and financial services”.
Clearscore announced RomanAgora the User-centric IDV Blockchain Consortium in partnership with Ocyan
Clearscore is announcing the RomanAgora consortium – an Identity Verification (IDV) consortium and data marketplace.
End users will now be even more enabled to use services in a faster and more transparent manner – having more control over their data and when it is being shared. RomanAgora’s mission is to reduce the cost of checks, speed up processing and solve fraud while giving users control over their data.
Previously used applications involve heavy manual operations and multiple checks handling for the same individual. This costs a lot and requires a significant amount of time. Blockchain – a shared ledger of identity data between counterparties – solves this by allowing us to utilise a unique set of data multiple times without the need of identifying the individual continuously.
This partnership is disrupting the fintech space globally by allowing end users, credit bureaus and financial services providers to use a common platform for Identity Verification.
This is an overall greatly innovative platform due to the ability to now verify an individual’s identity a lot faster in a secure and traceable way utilising the latest blockchain technology as well as infrastructure. Blockchain technology and capabilities can play a big role in securing as well as accelerating financial applications.
Ocyan is proud to be the technology partner of choice for Clearscore focusing on cloud-native analytics and infrastructure for enterprise-ready Blockchain applications. By providing the complete End-to-End Cloud Platform for enterprise blockchains, large
organasations can easily innovate, scale and integrate their ventures with their rest of their legacy and cloud applications.
With the automation that Ocyan provides, partners of RomanAgora don’t have to bare the integration or infrastructure cost to join this consortium, making the required network effect of this collaboration much more interesting and less of an effort than anything else similar on the market.
This is a massive leap forward creating the first enterprise grade, scalable and production running consortium. An incredible achievement, one of the very few globally and perhaps the first IDV effort at such scale.
End users are now able to receive responses sooner, more efficiently and with the safety this technology provides as well as impactful innovation by Clearscore and Ocyan.
Gabriele Cacciola, the CTO of Ocyan commented:
“RomanAgora is a totally revolutionary platform that, thanks to the Blockchain features and capabilities, will allow end users to finally have their credit and identity profiles securely stored and get back control of their data.”
Money Dashboard raises £4.6m, the biggest fintech raise on Crowdcube this year
Money Dashboard‘s personal finance management platform that connects to over 70 financial institutions to help users manage all their accounts in one place has just raised £4.6m.
Additionally, existing investors Scottish Investment Bank and Calculus Capital also invested. The initial target was £1.5m, however that number was reached in just 45minutes.
Funds are to be used to build out the market leading personal finance app and triple the company’s Edinburgh-based team from 20 to 60 staff.
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, commented:
“Money Dashboard’s vision to help people better manage their money has once again resonated with many of our investors. It’s fantastic to see an innovative business connect their community, fuel their growth and take those investors, in this case, on their journey to create a fairer financial landscape.”
Steve Tigar, CEO said:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have secured this latest round of funding, particularly with the backing of over 3000 people who share our vision. We are now equipped and ready to help people from every walk of life master their money.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of Scottish Investment Bank said:
“Having supported Money Dashboard from an early stage, it is great to see the business raising the funds required to implement the next stage in its growth. The FinTech sector is a key industry in Scotland’s economy and we look forward to continuing to work with the company, both from an investment perspective and through our account management support, to deliver its long-term growth ambitions.”