Embracing Digital Transformation: Key Insights from Legado’s 2024 Private Client Experience Report
The legal sector is on the brink of a transformative shift, according to the latest findings from Scottish fintech company Legado. Their 2024 report, “The Private Client Experience, Legal Report,” unveils crucial insights into how private client solicitors and their clients interact, highlighting a compelling case for the adoption of digital solutions in the legal sector.
The Digital Demand in Legal Client Experience
The traditional modes of communication, predominantly email and post, remain the solicitors’ go-to methods. However, this seems to be out of sync with client expectations and needs. The report reveals that a staggering 60% of clients encounter challenges in their interactions with solicitors, signaling a clear demand for more streamlined and digital approaches. 92% of survey participants expressed the need for a secure digital portal, emphasising its potential to significantly enhance the quality of interaction between clients and legal professionals.
The Challenge of Change
Despite the unanimous use of email by solicitors, half of them find managing client communications challenging. This paradox underscores a broader issue within the sector: while there’s recognition of the need for digital transformation, the actual implementation of such solutions lags behind. Only a minority of law firms currently offer client digital portals, even though 90% of clients prefer this method of interaction.
The Path Forward
This gap between current practices and the potential for digital innovation presents an opportunity for significant improvement in how legal services are delivered. By embracing digital platforms, law firms can not only enhance client satisfaction but also achieve greater operational efficiency and security in document exchange and communication.
A Call to Action
Josif Grace, the founder and CEO of Legado, passionately advocates for this digital shift. He views the findings of the report not as a critique but as a blueprint for growth and advancement in the legal sector. According to Grace, the future of legal services will be determined by the industry’s willingness to adapt and innovate, meeting the evolving digital needs of clients in a secure and user-friendly manner.
How transparency, explainability and fairness are being connected under UK and EU approaches to AI regulation
Article written by Kushagra Jain, research associate for the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab and scholar at the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Introduction and global perspective
Rapid and continuing advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have had profound implications. These have and will continue to reshape our world. Regulators have responsibly and proactively responded to these paradigm shifts. They have begun to put in place regimes to govern AI use.
Global collaboration is taking place in developing these frameworks and policies. For instance, an AI Safety Summit was held in the UK in November 2023. Participants included 28 nations representing the EU, US, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Its aim, with internationally coordinated action, was to mitigate AI development “frontier” risks. At the summit, the necessity to collaboratively test next generation AI models against critical national security, safety and societal concerns was identified. Alongside this, the need to develop a report to build international consensus on both risk and capabilities was acknowledged. Two further summits are planned in the next 6 and 12 months respectively. Subsequent summits are expected to continue these topical and crucial global dialogues. These could perhaps build on the first summit’s key insights and realisations.[1]
The UK’s pro-innovation regulation policy paper similarly emphasises continued work with international partners to deliver interoperablility. Further it hopes to incentivise responsible application design, and development of AI. The paper aims for the UK’s AI innovation to be seen as the most attractive in the world. To achieve this aim, it seeks to ensure international compatibility between approaches. Consequently, this would attract international investments and encourage exports (Secretary of State for Science, 2023).[2] Notably however, different regions have taken distinct approaches to regulation applicable within their jurisdiction.
Distinctions between the EU and UK approaches
Broadly, the draft EU Artificial Intelligence Act seeks to codify a risk-based approach within its legislative framework. The framework categorises unacceptable, high, and low risks which threaten users’ safety, human safety, and fundamental rights. It also institutes a new AI regulator (Yaros et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2021). In contrast, the UK’s approach generally espouses being iterative, agile and context dependent. It is designed to make responsible innovation easier. Existing regulators are responsible for its implementation. All of this is outlined in their AI Regulatory Policy Paper and AI White Paper (Secretary of State for Science, 2023, Prinsley et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2022).
Another key distinction demarcates the two. No all-encompassing definition of what “AI” or an “AI system” constitute exists in the UK’s case. AI is instead framed in the context of autonomy and adaptivity. The objective is ensuring continued relevance of the proposed legislation for new technologies. This means legal ambiguity is inherent in such an approach. However, individual regulator guidance is expected to resolve this within each regulator’s remit (Prinsley et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2022).
The EU legislation would apply to all AI system providers in the EU. Further, it also applies to users and providers of AI systems, where the system produced output is utilised in the EU. This applicability is regardless of where they are domiciled. It is envisioned as a civil liability regime to redress AI-relevant problems and risks. At the same time, it seeks to do so without unduly constraining or hindering technological development. Maintaining excellence and trust in AI technology at the same time are the dual targets within it (Yaros et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2021).
Conversely, the UK regulation applies to the whole of the UK. However, it is also territorially relevant beyond the UK in terms of enforcement and guidance applicability. Initially, it is on a non-statutory footing. The rationale is that it could create obstacles for innovativeness and businesses. Moreover, rapid and commensurate responses may also be impeded if statutory duty is imposed straightaway. During this transitory period, existing regulators’ domain expertise is relied upon for implementation. The eventual intention is assessing if a statutory duty needs to be imposed. Another aim is further strengthening regulator mandates for implementation. Finally, allowing regulators flexibility to exercise judgment in applying principles is a target. Over and above these, coordination through central support functions for regulators is envisaged. Innovation-friendly, yet effective and proportionate risk responses would be the desired outcome of such functions. These functions would be within government. However, they would leverage expertise and activities more broadly across the economy. Additionally, they will be complemented and aligned. This will be achieved through voluntary guidance, and technical standards. Assurance techniques will similarly be deployed, alongside trustworthy AI tools, whose use would be encouraged (Secretary of State for Science, 2023, Prinsley et al., 2023).
Shared focus on fairness, transparency and explainability
In spite of varied approaches, both the EU and UK share an emphasis on aspects such as fairness, transparency, and explainability. These in particular are of interest owing to their human, consumer, and fundamental rights implications. For the UK, this emphasis is apparent from two of their white paper’s five broad cross-sectoral principles (Secretary of State for Science, 2023, Prinsley et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2022):
- Appropriate transparency and explainability: These are traits sought to be present in AI systems. Their decision-making processes should be accessible to parties to ensure heightened public trust, which non-trivially drives AI adoption. It remains to be discovered how relevant parties may be encouraged to implement appropriate transparency measures. This is acknowledged within the white paper.
- Fairness: Overall involves avoidance of discriminating unfairly, unfair outcomes, and undermining of individual and organisational rights by AI systems. It is understood that developing and publishing appropriate fairness definitions and illustrations for AI systems may become a necessity for regulators within their domains.
This was also encapsulated in the UK’s earlier AI Regulation Policy Paper as follows (Yaros et al., 2022):
- Appropriately transparent and explainable AI. AI systems may not always be meaningfully explainable. While largely unlikely to pose substantial risk, in specific high-risk cases, such unexplainable decisions may be prohibited by relevant regulators (e.g., a tribunal may decide where a lack of explainability may deprive an individual’s right to challenge the tribunal’s decision).
- Fairness considerations embedded into AI. Regulators should define “fairness” in their domain/sector. Further, they ought to outline the relevance of fairness considerations (e.g., for job applications).
In contrast, for the EU, this takes the following shape as encoded in the legislation (Yaros et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2021):
- Direct human interface systems (such as chat bots) are of limited risk and acceptable if in compliance with certain transparency obligations. Put differently, end-user awareness of machine interaction is needed. For foundation models[3], intelligible instructions and extensive technical documentation preparation may fall into the explainability and transparency bucket. This enables providers downstream to comply with their respective obligations.
- Prohibition of a premise such as social scoring/ systems exploiting vulnerabilities of specific groups of persons. This is termed an unacceptable risk and can be considered linked to fairness. For foundation models, this may be framed as only incorporating datasets subject to appropriate data governance measures. Examples of these measures include data suitability and potential biases. Fairness may also take the form of context-specific fundamental rights impact assessments. These would bear in mind use context before deploying high-risk AI systems. More dystopian possibilities exist that may irreparably harm fairness. Such scenarios are avoided through outright bans on certain systems. These include those with indiscriminate scraping of databases, sensitive characteristic bio-metric categorisation, bio-metric real-time identity, emotion recognition, face recognition, and predictive policing.
Conclusions and future topics
In conclusion, merits and demerits come to mind when considering both the EU’s and UK’s paths to regulating AI innovation. The EU’s approach may be perceived as more bureaucratic. Owing to its stricter compliance approach, it would require anyone to whom it applies to expend significantly more time, cost, and effort. Only then will they ensure they do not fall foul of regulatory guidelines.
That being said, its stronger ethical grounding ensures the best interests of relevant stakeholders. In a similar vein to GDPR, it may serve as a blueprint for future AI regulations adopted by other countries around the world. Coupled with the EU’s new rules on machinery products ensuring new machinery generations guarantee user and consumer safety, it is a very comprehensive legal framework (Yaros et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2021).
On the other hand, the UK’s approach has received acclaim from industry for its pragmatism and measured approach. The UK Science and Technology Framework singles out AI as one of 5 critical technologies as part of the government’s strategic vision. The need to establish such regulation was highlighted by Sir Patrick Vallance in his Regulation for Innovation review. In response to these factors, the AI Regulation Policy and White Papers were penned. The regulation’s ability to learn from experience while flexibly and continuously adopting best practices will catalyse industry innovation (Secretary of State for Science, 2023, Intellectual Property Office, 2023).
Nonetheless, a dark side of innovation may also manifest as a consequence. Bad players proliferating and exploiting the lack of statutory regulatory oversight may cause reputational damage to the UK, in so far as AI is concerned, if not handled rigorously. This is especially pertinent in insidious cases, such as those illustrated earlier by the banned AI systems under EU law.
Despite significant differences between the EU and UK’s approaches, commonalities exist in pivotal regulatory priorities such as transparency, explainability and fairness. Blended pro-innovation and risk-based regulatory approaches might achieve the best results for these priorities. Such a blend can be ascertained based on how efficacious each approach is in achieving its goals over time. and given the context of its application.
Given the systematic importance of the US in shaping the global economic landscape, it may be interesting to explore in a future blog its approach to AI regulation. In particular, investigating how transparency, explainability and fairness are dealt with in contrast with the EU, and juxtaposed against the UK, might shed new light on how AI regulation should evolve (Prinsley et al., 2023, Yaros et al., 2022, Yaros et al., 2021), with the dawn of what may one day be called the AI age in human history.
References
Intellectual Property Office (2023, 06 29). Guidance: The government’s code of practice on copyright and AI. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-governments-code-of-practice-on-copyright-and-ai
Prinsley, Mark A. and Yaros, Oliver and Randall, Reece and Hadja, Ondrej and Hepworth, Ellen (2023, 07 07). Mayer Brown: UK’s Approach to Regulating the Use of Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved from: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2023/07/uks-approach-to-regulating-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology (2023, 08 03). Policy paper: A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-regulation-a-pro-innovation-approach/white-paper
Yaros, Oliver and Bruder, Ana Hadnes and Leipzig, Dominique Shelton and Wolf, Livia Crepaldi and Hadja, Ondrej and Peters Salome (2023, 06 16). Mayer Brown: European Parliament Reaches Agreement on its Version of the Proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Retrieved from Mayer Brown: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2023/06/european-parliament-reaches-agreement-on-its-version-of-the-proposed–eu-artificial-intelligence-act
Yaros, Oliver and Bruder, Ana Hadnes and Hadja, Ondrej (2021, 05 05). Mayer Brown: The European Union Proposes New Legal Framework for Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved from Mayer Brown: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2021/05/the-european-union-proposes-new-legal-framework-for-artificial-intelligence
Yaros, Oliver and Hadja, Ondrej and Prinsley, Mark A. and Randall, Reece and Hepworth, Ellen (2022, 08 17). Mayer Brown: UK Government proposes a new approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI). Retrieved from Mayer Brown: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2022/08/uk-government-proposes-a-new-approach-to-regulating-artificial-intelligence-ai
About the author
Kushagra Jain is a Research Associate at the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), University of Strathclyde. His research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, financial/regulatory technology, textual analysis, international finance, and risk management, among others. He was awarded doctoral scholarships from the Financial Mathematics and Computation Cluster (FMCC), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Higher Education Authority (HEA) and Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (UCD). Previously, he worked within wealth management and as a statutory auditor. He completed his doctoral studies in Finance from UCD in 2023, and obtained his MSc in Finance from UCD, his Accounting Technician accreditation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and his undergraduate degree from Bangalore University. He was formerly FMCC Database Management Group Data Manager, Research Assistant, PhD Representative and Teaching Assistant for undergraduate, graduate and MBA programmes.
[1] These details, and further information can be found here, here, and here.
[2] This information and further context can be found here.
[3] AI systems adaptable to a wide range of distinctive tasks, designed for output generality, and trained on broad data at scale.
Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/robot-pointing-on-a-wall-8386440/
Perspectives on Generative AI in Financial Services
Article written by James Bowden, Mark Cummins, Godsway Tetteh from the University of Strathclyde.
Note: Aligning with the Generative AI focus, segments of this blog were generated by ChatGPT using notes taken on the day capturing the presentations and discussions. The authors edited this generated content accordingly.
Presentation Highlights
We are delighted to share some highlights and discussion points from the “Generative AI for Financial Services” event held at the University of Strathclyde in Q4 2023. This event provided an important platform for in-depth discussions and explorations surrounding Generative AI and potential applications in the financial services industry.
The session commenced with Martin Robertson (Chief Commercial Officer) of Level E Research, who offered useful insights into the innovative utilisation of Discriminative AI within Level E’s automated investment strategy offerings. The core emphasis here was on the critical role of explainability in building transparency and trust with investment clients. Martin expertly differentiated between Generative AI and Discriminative AI, sparking thought-provoking discussions regarding the creative potential of Generative AI, especially in the context of content generation.
Following this, our co-organiser, James Bowden (Lecturer in Financial Technology, University of Strathclyde), delved into an extensive exploration of Generative AI applications in the financial services sector. He thoughtfully delineated the associated risks, which included concerns related to data privacy, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, embedded bias, explainability limitations, and implications for financial stability.
Annalisa Riccardi (Senior Lecturer in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde) then took to the stage to demonstrate a clever use case of Generative AI applied to automate satellite scheduling, with a particular focus on enhancing explainability. Drawing on this discussion, Annalisa then unveiled ongoing research at the University of Strathclyde, conducted in collaboration with Mark Cummins (Professor Financial Technology, University of Strathclyde), James Bowden and Hao Zhang (Research Associate, Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, University of Strathclyde), which is leveraging Generative AI for earnings call analysis.
The engaging presentation session was brought to a close with Blair Brown’s (Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow in Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde) insightful overview of AI regulation, standards, and trustworthiness. Drawing from an engineering perspective and its relevance to the financial services sector, Blair emphasised the crucial role of human-AI oversight and interactions, spanning human-before-the-loop, human-in-the-loop, and human-over-the-loop scenarios.
Discussion Insights
These thoughtful presentations provided a solid foundation for the rich participant discussions that followed. These exchanges were marked by their liveliness and content-rich discussions, offering valuable insights from both practical and academic perspectives. The key themes covered in these discussions included:
- Firm-Level Regulatory Responsibility and Compliance:
- The group emphasised the importance of regulatory compliance in the financial services sector, particularly concerning the use of Generative AI as a nascent technology. As the responsibility for regulatory compliance lies with the financial firm, this may incentivise in-house Generative AI development. The emerging approaches to AI regulation within the UK and the EU in particular provide frameworks within which to consider the responsible and regulatory compliant use of Generative AI within organisations.
- Data Protection and Zero Tolerance for Breaches:
- Due to the potential for significant fines, there is zero tolerance for data breaches in financial services. Data protection and consumer protection were key concerns around Generative AI, with different standards and datasets complicating matters. Options around private and localised installations of Generative AI systems need to be considered.
- Ethics and Accountability:
- Participants discussed the ethical dimension of AI in finance and the need for accountability. They suggested that CEOs and wider Boards of Directors should be held responsible if ethical breaches occur from the use of Generative AI, and governments might need to force companies to self-regulate with severe penalties for non-compliance.
- Regulatory Framework and International Challenges:
- The group highlighted the challenges of creating AI regulation in the EU when a significant portion of the AI market is based in the US, which is particularly the case in respect of Generative AI innovation. The discussion touched on principles-based regulation and the potential shift toward hard regulation, citing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as an example.
- Traceability and Auditability:
- The need for traceability and auditability in AI decision-making was discussed. The presence of an accountable human in the process was emphasised, and there was a concern about the lack of understanding of material risks in Generative AI.
The collective knowledge shared at this event provides important perspectives on the future of Generative AI in the financial services sector. The discussion provides an impetus to the research and innovation ambitions of University of Strathclyde in respect of cutting-edge Generative AI research and industry engagement, while the importance that emerged around regulatory considerations motivates an important direction of travel for the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab in terms of its AI and Compliance priority theme, which focuses on Utilising emerging technologies to simplify compliance process and monitoring.
About the Authors
Professor Mark Cummins is Professor of Financial Technology at the Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, where he leads the FinTech Cluster as part of the university’s Technology and Innovation Zone leadership and connection into the Glasgow City Innovation District. As part of this role, he is driving collaboration between the FinTech Cluster and the other strategic clusters identified by the University of Strathclyde, in particular the Space, Quantum and Industrial Informatics Clusters. Professor Cummins is the lead investigator at the University of Strathclyde on the newly funded (via UK Government and Glasgow City Council) Financial Regulation Innovation Lab initiative, a novel industry project under the leadership of FinTech Scotland and in collaboration with the University of Glasgow. He previously held the posts of Professor of Finance at the Dublin City University (DCU) Business School and Director of the Irish Institute of Digital Business. Professor Cummins has research interests in the following areas: financial technology (FinTech), with particular interest in Explainable AI and Generative AI; quantitative finance; energy and commodity finance; sustainable finance; model risk management. Professor Cummins has over 50 publication outputs. He has published in leading international discipline journals such as: European Journal of Operational Research; Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Financial Markets; Journal of Empirical Finance; and International Review of Financial Analysis. Professor Cummins is co-editor of the open access Palgrave title Disrupting Finance: Fintech and Strategy in the 21st Century. He is also co-author of the Wiley Finance title Handbook of Multi-Commodity Markets and Products: Structuring, Trading and Risk Management.
Email: mark.cummins@strath.ac.uk
Web: University Profile for Professor Mark Cummins
LinkedIn: Mark Cummins – Professor of Financial Technology – University of Strathclyde | LinkedIn
Dr. James Bowden is Lecturer in Financial Technology at the Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, where he is the programme director of the MSc Financial Technology. Prior to this, he gained experience as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate at Bangor Business School, and he has previous industry experience within the global financial index team at FTSE Russell. Dr Bowden’s research focusses on different areas of financial technology (FinTech), and his published work involves the application of text analysis algorithms to financial disclosures, news reporting, and social media. More recently he has been working on projects incorporating audio analysis into existing financial text analysis models, and investigating the use cases of satellite imagery for the purpose of corporate environmental monitoring. Dr Bowden has published in respected international journals, such as the European Journal of Finance, the Journal of Comparative Economics, and the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money. He has also contributed chapters to books including “Disruptive Technology in Banking and Finance”, published by Palgrave Macmillan. His commentary on financial events has previously been published in The Conversation UK, the World Economic Forum, MarketWatch and Business Insider, and he has appeared on international TV stations to discuss financial innovations such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Email: james.bowden@strath.ac.uk
Web: University Profile for Dr. James Bowden
LinkedIn: James Bowden – Lecturer in Financial Technology – Strathclyde Business School | LinkedIn
Dr. Godsway Korku Tetteh is a Research Associate at the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, University of Strathclyde (UK). He has several years of experience in financial inclusion research including digital financial inclusion. His research focuses on the impacts of digital technologies and financial innovations (FinTech) on financial inclusion, welfare, and entrepreneurship in developing countries. His current project focuses on the application of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence to drive efficiency in regulatory compliance. Previously, he worked as a Knowledge Exchange Associate with the Financial Technology (FinTech) Cluster at the University of Strathclyde. He also worked with the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge to build the capacity of FinTech entrepreneurs, regulators, and policymakers from across the globe on FinTech and Regulatory Innovation. Godsway has a Ph.D. in Economics from Maastricht University (Netherlands) and has published in reputable journals such as Small Business Economics.
Email: godsway.tetteh@strath.ac.uk
Being a female fintech leader in 2024
As we celebrate International Women’s Day we spoke to 2 female leaders from 2 successful Scottish fintechs. We got their thoughts, opinions and hopes for the future. Recognising progress around inclusion and diversity, their responsibilities in becoming role model, they also offer their thoughts on what the next steps towards a more inclusive sector need to be.
Pardeep Cassells – Global Head of Buyside Client Experience at AccessFintech
As a Scottish woman and second-generation immigrant of Indian heritage, I am proud to be an example of intersectionality this International Women’s Day.
Forging a path in the unquestionably male-dominated fintech sector, I am very fortunate to be working for a company where the leadership team advocate for, and support, women in the sector. Knowing that I’m part of a team with higher-than-average female representation – and that the representation covers all role types – is something in which I take great pride.
Having followed a route from investment operations through to financial technology, I’ve had the privilege to be supported by many men and women who ensured my voice was heard and recognised my input whilst giving time and energy without question or condescension.
From the first ”“ mostly male – senior leaders I worked with, who never overlooked the efforts of a vocal and determined young woman, to those who helped me evolve into someone a little more polished and encouraged me as I took what felt like a scary step into the world of fintech, I felt the support of a village around me.
When specifically considering female role models, my mind never hesitates to recall my first Head of Department in Dundee, who came through the ranks in a far less diverse world but carved her own inspiring path, both personally and professionally. However, I now more clearly see that while senior role models and their backing have been key to my progression, the input of my female peers and those less experienced has been just as crucial.
Receiving support not just from those who came ahead of me but from women of my own generation during my time working in fintech has motived me in many ways. Experiencing this support and camaraderie, not just within my own organisation but from colleagues across other fintechs, banks and investment operations firms, has been transformative.
I am, through all of this, keenly aware that I have a platform; that my platform should be used to open the door for others and to put as much energy as I can muster into lifting up the women around me and the next generation to come, whilst encouraging them to do the same for each other.
This is how the world will change.
This ripple effect of reciprocal support, of creating networks where each voice ”“ regardless of gender or ethnicity ”“ is heard and every person encouraged to achieve their potential in their own way is something that I see daily, and I am incredibly excited by this momentum.
Julia Salmond – Founder and CEO at CienDos
In the rapidly evolving landscape of fintech, the need for a more diverse workforce is becoming increasingly significant, and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is now viewed as a critical asset. As a mid-career professional who has worked across a number of sectors, I have witnessed firsthand the unique skills females can bring to fast-paced, innovative, and scaling businesses, and I have also experienced a number of challenges female leaders face.
My journey into fintech has been an interesting one. Starting out in big corporate’, initially as a consultant before moving into corporate banking, I gained an insight into the intricacies of regulatory compliance and the importance of leveraging technology. More importantly, I was fortunate to be influenced by a number of female role-models, who were pivotal in shaping my early career trajectory. These women taught me about the importance of balancing logic and critical thinking with emotional awareness, how to develop my personal brand’ and build a voice of authority in an historically male-dominated sector.
I took the leap from big corporate into the start-up world about a decade ago and, suddenly, I was the one in the position of influence. Although certainly not limited to women, high emotional intelligence is a trait I have seen in many of my female mentors, and it is something I have focussed on while developing my leadership style. I am not afraid of sharing my strengths, blind spots, and vulnerabilities ”“ and I encourage my team to do the same. Creating a team culture, where everybody is trusted to take ownership, develops a strong shared vision – a critical component in the success of that first venture ”“ rapidly scaling and exiting to a global media and data business.
As I continue to scale my new venture, CienDos, I am excited about playing a small part in developing the next generation of strong female leaders ”“ a critical ingredient in the recipe for any successful fintech.
An interview with Rachel Curtis, CEO at Inicio.ai, on Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab.Â
We met with CEO and Co-founder of Scottish fintech Inicio.ai, Rachel Curtis, who was one of the 23 companies from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa selected by Morgan Stanley to go through their Inclusive Ventures Lab, an accelerator to help tech and tech-enabled startups develop and scale their companies, and to advance a more equitable investment landscape. To get there, Rachel had previously won the Scottish pitching event.
With the Inclusive Ventures Lab 2024 now open for applications we wanted to know more about Rachel’s experience of the programme and the impact it had on her business.
Rachel, could you introduce yourself and Inicio.ai?
Of course, I’m the CEO of Inicio.ai, a fintech for good focussed on helping vulnerable people get out of debt.
We have built a solution that removes a key barrier for those struggling with debt ”“ it uses cutting edge conversational AI to guide consumers through a self-serve affordability assessment. The solution also has huge benefits for organisations as we deliver a more consistent and efficient process, which captures deeper and better-quality data, whilst saving them up to 90% of their agent costs.
How did you first hear about the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab?
We are part of the FinTech Scotland community and Morgan Stanley are one of FinTech Scotland’s strategic partners. FinTech Scotland contacted us directly to make us aware of this opportunity as they thought we would be a good fit for the Lab.
What’s interesting is that if I’d just seen information on the Lab elsewhere, I would probably have disregarded it as my first thought would have been that we were too small for a giant like Morgan Stanley. However, thanks to this warm introduction from FinTech Scotland we decided to apply.
What other attributes of the programme did you find interesting?
It was a combination of a few things. Of course, the prospect of securing a £250,000 investment was a key driver, but the overall programme looked fantastic with an incredible level of support offered to participants.
At the time we had just gone through the University of Edinburgh’s AI accelerator and the experience had been really positive. Therefore, we thought that continuing with Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Venture Lab made a lot of sense.
Can you tell us more about the Inclusive Ventures Lab?
After winning the Scottish pitch event, we then successfully made it through the Investment Committee screening and a due diligence phase to secure our place.
On the first day of the lab we came together as an EMEA cohort in London at Canary Wharf and were welcomed with our pictures on the TV screens in the lobby and even in the elevators. They made us feel like movie stars! We were taken to the 11th floor Boardroom where we joined via video with the North America cohort.
During the lab we were given office space on the 10th floor which really helped us punch above our weight, giving us credibility when inviting investors or potential clients to visit us.
When the Lab concluded at the start of February 2024, after 5 intensive months, I had the privilege to attend the Final Demo Day and 
pitch in front of hundreds of global investors from across the US and EMEA. After the pitching day I even got displayed on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square, New York. When we shared this on LinkedIn, we got 10 times more responses than any other previous posts. This created a lot of brand awareness for us and gave us fuel for our business.
On a practical level, the support we received was unparalleled. We were given a dedicated team that helped us with information sourcing, presentations, pitching preparation and more. They became a part of the Inicio team and we were supercharged overnight! We also met with our Entrepreneur in Residence every week and they had such broad experience it meant we could cover all aspects of the business in detail.
On top of this I received a lot of coaching around sales, pitching, go to market strategies, investment readiness and more. I was also allocated a Morgan Stanley Managing Director as a mentor, which really demonstrates how committed the company is to the Lab programme.
We were even given free sessions with a top law firm which is not something we could have afforded ourselves.
How was the Inclusive Ventures Lab different from other accelerators you had come across?
The Inclusive Ventures Lab is a pure accelerator in that Morgan Stanley were not looking for a solution for their business but instead were focussed on our success as an investor.
They were very involved to the point that it felt that we had more than doubled the number of Inicio colleagues overnight. The Lab team even helped us rethink our brand and identity and whilst the programme is now over, the team is still helping us with our website redesign and other tasks ”“ they continue to support even after the 5 months.
Finally, Morgan Stanley was really committed to inclusion and diversity and it was fantastic to work alongside the other 22 entrepreneurs who all came from different backgrounds and different countries.
Could you describe your experience?
I felt hugely supported. Sometimes, being a CEO can be lonely. I have an amazing and very supportive board of directors but it’s obviously not possible for them to be involved in every detail of the daily running of the business, nor should they. The Morgan Stanley team was involved 24/7 to help move things at pace and offered the extra help we needed to accelerate our growth.
The programme was intense and soul searching as it made me rethink so much. They didn’t pull any punches and gave me raw feedback which is what entrepreneurs need to ensure success, but they did it in a super supportive way.
Overall, I feel a lot more confident and better at making fast decisions. Prior to joining the Lab, I felt much weaker in investor pitches. There’s been a real shift now and I have confidence that my business is valuable and I find myself asking more of the questions during pitches as I want the right investors for my company.
What has the impact of going through this programme been for Inicio?
This has helped us secure investment and sales which has been a real boost for Inicio. This comes from being able to articulate our proposition much more clearly. I hadn’t realised how complex my business could sound before but the coaching I received helped me to understand how to focus our story for the relevant audience.
Going through the Inclusive Ventures Lab has fast tracked our businesses by years and we’re now seen as so much more credible which has enabled us to open new doors.
Why do you think diversity is important when it comes to financial innovation?
I believe it allows for more diverse thinking and a fresh perspective. I think some of the biggest leaps in innovation are driven by the edge case experiences of those in the minority where there are more challenges. There is much less creativity in the average middle ground and the innovation that comes from solving struggles in the edge cases can then be applied to the whole market so all benefit.
To finish and now you completed the program, what advice would you give to other budding diverse entrepreneurs who might be considering applying to the 2024 Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab 2024?
My advice to anyone thinking about applying is first, ensure you can give it your full commitment in terms of time and effort so that you are able to get the most out of what is an amazing opportunity, and second ”¦ DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!
The Art of Problem-Solving: Insights from a New Type of Innovation Call
“Fall in love with the problem you’re trying to solve”, that’s Kent Mackenzie’s mantra when it comes to innovation challenges. As leader of Deloitte’s Digital Compliance business, Kent has spent the past 12 years observing innovation calls of all different types, whether they are directly pointed towards a particular financial services organisation, regtech provider or academia. While many of these have come up with some quite good solutions, Kent observes that they can major quite heavily from one perspective.
What intrigues Kent at the moment, however, is an exciting new type of innovation call that is being issued from FinTech Scotland and leading financial services firms, in conjunction with Deloitte. Spearheaded by the newly established Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, the first in a series of industry-led innovation calls will focus on ‘Simplifying Compliance through the Application of AI and Emerging Technologies’.
With a passion for FinTech, data and advanced analytics, Kent has worked with local, national and international clients to develop tech and data solutions to manage financial crime, regulatory compliance, credit risk, and collections & recoveries. We thought he would be the ideal person to answer our questions and provide us with more detail about the inaugural innovation call”¦
Q: How can industry-wide innovation calls in general, such as the one led by the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, contribute to accelerating positive change in financial services?
A: I think for me, the breadth and ambition of this series of innovation calls is what will stand out quite markedly. The wonder of these innovation challenges is the involvement of a very broad community of participants, from large financial institutions and fintech providers, to academia and regulators. What I’m looking forward to the most is having the richness that comes through from that breadth of community, because not only will we be able to understand the problem through a number of different lenses, but we can then go on to solve that problem with a number of different answers and potential solutions.
Q: How does the Lab’s unique environment for collaboration support financial services firms in innovating to meet their regulatory obligations. And what makes this initiative groundbreaking in that context?
A: I think there are a number of different components. Firstly, the Lab will provide us the opportunity to really focus on a particular use case. There have been some innovation calls in the past in which fintechs and regtechs have missed the point of the question and end up coming up with solutions that don’t solve the original problem. What is innovative about the Lab is that it allows us to bring in a range of perspectives from the people that are feeling the impact of this particular problem.
Secondly, this breadth of participants will be able to forensically examine every single element of a potential solution: from the established, to the groundbreaking, to the “way-out-there” considerations – these are all valid when you come to solve a complicated and gnarly problem like this. Lastly, once the Lab has gained an intimate understanding of how it is going to solve the problem, we can focus on the perspective from regulators, academics and end-users who will all try to ensure the solution will actually work in the context of the real world. I truly expect the Lab to be a real petri dish of experience, in the way that it will forensically deconstruct a problem, build up a solution, and then challenge from a number of different angles to ensure it is market-ready.
Q: The Lab’s inaugural innovation call is focusing on ‘Simplifying Compliance through the Application of AI and Emerging Technologies’. How will simplifying compliance processes accelerate positive change, and why is this particularly important now?
A: Ultimately, financial services companies are trying to do a number of things: to achieve better outcomes for consumers; to access people who might have previously been financially excluded with products and services; and to provide the best rates and offerings to clients. But in order to achieve all these things, a deep understanding of the underpinning regulations of these offerings is compulsory.
The current challenge for organisations is the time it takes between understanding the regulation, and then bringing products and services to market. The use of technology, however, can rapidly accelerate this understanding so that new products and services can be created with much more expedience. In addition, a beneficial byproduct of using technology is that it also promotes transparency on how a product has been shaped around a particular regulation decision, the communication of which is crucial to consumers, compliance departments and regulators.
Q: From Deloitte’s perspective, how does the innovation challenge contribute to building confidence in the adoption of AI and other technologies within the financial services sector, particularly in meeting global regulatory requirements?
A: When adopting AI, particularly in meeting global regulatory requirements, there can at times be a “black box” type feeling. Typically, the extraction and translation of regulatory obligations can be a highly nuanced affair due to the different risk appetites of organisations and the final definition of what constitutes an obligation. Because of this nuance, I don’t expect AI can solve the entirety of absolute extraction of appropriate obligations. But I do expect us to solve a lot of the problem in the right way, and in doing so then build confidence around how AI can play in this space. As we explore all the angles, facets, challenges and concerns, by unpacking and then restacking them, this will give us confidence that actually AI is capable of doing either all of this job, some of this job, or parts of this job.
Q: How do you see these Innovation Calls contributing to maintaining and growing Scotland and the UK’s position as a global leader in financial services regulatory innovation?
A: The net effect of these innovation calls across all of these groups is positive. For Deloitte itself, it will accelerate and advance our understanding of how our clients are thinking about this. For fintechs, it will also advance the intimate understanding and knowledge of the problem that their tech is trying to solve so they can better shape their offerings and propositions. Both large financial services organisations and consumers alike will have their eyes opened to the art of the possible, either in today’s world or the future. And for academia, it will ping their synapses on every level to further examine possible points of contention or unresolved issues. So for each of the stakeholders involved in these calls, it’s going to give them oxygen for their own individual pursuit.
I am also really intrigued about the role of the regulator during these innovation calls. I am quite looking forward to having the contribution from the regulator – in the room with a ringside seat – on where they stand on quite how far technology could and should take us.
Essentially, I think this new type of innovation call stands to help each of the stakeholders fall in love with the problem, construct solutions, and examine how they can be applied as live use cases.
Fintechs and other teams of innovators are invited to join the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s innovation call challenge, ‘Simplifying Compliance through the Application of AI and Emerging Technologies’. Applications are closing 3rd March. To find out more click here.
Regulating the Future: Building Trust and Managing Risks in AI for FinTech
Written by Dharini Mohan, MSc Financial Technology (FinTech) student at UWE Bristol. She is also a part-time Service Associate at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in the FinTech sector, promising to revolutionise processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation. However, as AI adoption accelerates, concerns surrounding regulation, trust, and risk management have become increasingly prominent.
Following the Rise & Shine event organised by Fintech Fringe, sponsored by Rise (created by Barclays) earlier this month in London, the critical importance of regulating AI in FinTech, building trust among stakeholders, and effectively managing risks were thoroughly discussed among the panellists to ensure sustainable growth and innovation in AI for FinTech. Here are some noteworthy insights and strategies that were shared.
Know Your AI (KYAI), Know Your Risk
While Know Your Customer (KYC) practices have long been a cornerstone of risk management for financial institutions, the emergence of AI introduces a new dimension to this imperative. Understanding the nuances of customer profiles is crucial for accurate risk assessment, but it’s equally essential to grasp the capabilities and limitations of AI systems to effectively manage associated risks. The challenge lies in the inherent complexity and unpredictability of AI algorithms, which can introduce unforeseen risks into operations across different sectors, whether financial or intangible. Without a comprehensive understanding of AI technologies and their potential implications, organisations risk being blindsided by vulnerabilities and shortcomings in their AI systems. Therefore, embracing the concept of KYAI is essential for navigating the complexities of AI-driven services and mitigating associated risks effectively.
Never Put Customer-Facing Operations to AI
Customers often seek personalised, empathetic interactions when addressing their queries or concerns ”“ qualities that are inherently human and difficult for AI systems to authentically replicate. The recent case involving Air Canada proves the potential repercussions of relying on AI for customer-facing operations. In this instance, Air Canada’s chatbot provided incorrect information to a traveller, leading to a dispute over liability for the misinformation provided. The airline argued that its chatbot was a “separate legal entity” responsible for its own actions, but the tribunal ruled in favour of the passenger, emphasising that Air Canada ultimately bears responsibility for the accuracy of information provided through its channels, whether human or AI-driven. This scenario demonstrates the significance of maintaining human oversight and accountability in customer interactions within AI technologies.
Plot Twist: Humans Can Make AI Better
It’s about finding the right balance ”“ a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Humans are the ones who input the data, so any decision that AI provides would align with the data it possesses and serve the data’s purpose. Human-based controls are crucial, and it’s up to the organisation to determine how they wish to establish regulations and understand their responsibilities based on their clients’ needs. The integration of Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) is brilliant as it allows humans to be involved in both the training and testing stages of building an algorithm, enabling real-time data control and contributing to the development of a dynamic risk profile. Having more controls on how the model handles data inputs, where the data is sourced, and how it’s divided for training and testing is essential to measure deviations effectively.
It is (Mathematically) Impossible to Eliminate All Discrimination and Bias
Given the impossibility of eliminating all discrimination and bias, organisations must carefully choose the biases inherent in their AI systems. Questions arise regarding the origins of Generative AI, particularly ChatGPT by OpenAI, with concerns raised over its development in a research lab in San Francisco. The training data, sourced from non-diversified datasets, presents a significant challenge, reflecting a limited cultural context and accentuating the necessity for a challenger model to address these gaps. For instance, you may not find sufficient information for certain countries, and that may potentially portray discrimination, but that is just the data the model was trained on. Despite undergoing rigorous training, AI is not infallible and is prone to errors. This highlights the prominence of continuous refinement and validation processes. Additionally, the intrinsic need for human oversight persists, as diversity never takes care of itself within AI systems. Synthetic datasets offer a solution to address the shortfall in training data, incorporating real-world data to provide comprehensive coverage and mitigate biases.
Key Strategies to Mitigate Risks: 1) Identifying 2) Classifying 3) Mapping Out
In navigating AI risks effectively, truly articulating an organisation’s specific risks serves as the foundational step in risk management, complemented by due diligence and a comprehensive understanding of AI deployment. It’s essential to consider whether to develop an in-house AI stack or outsource it, as well as implementation of post-deployment controls for ongoing training and maintenance of AI systems. Risk classification is key, alongside crucial actions such as fortifying cybersecurity measures, protecting data privacy, and monitoring third-party involvement, all while addressing opacity risks and setting risk-based priorities. FinTech ventures must carefully consider their product element alongside regulatory compliance. With the EU AI Act mandating the establishment of a risk management system for high-risk AI systems, it surely helps organisations stay up-to-date and compliant.
Conclusion
As AI continues to reshape the FinTech landscape, the importance of regulating AI, fostering trust, and managing risks cannot be emphasised enough. Regulatory frameworks must evolve to keep pace with technological advancements, ensuring responsible and ethical deployment of AI. It’s essential to acknowledge that AI literacy is just as vital as financial literacy, enabling the FinTech industry to fully leverage AI’s potential while navigating its inherent complexities and uncertainties.
Risk management is not merely a matter of ticking boxes; it requires continuous vigilance and adaptability.
Navigating 2024: Priorities from FinTech Scotland’s CEO, Nicola Anderson
As we step into the early months of 2024, I’m reflecting on the achievements and progress across the FinTech Scotland Cluster over the past six years, and am also focused on the year ahead to build on the work so far and enable more opportunities for fintech innovation.
The FinTech Scotland Cluster is a vibrant and diverse ecosystem that’s driven by contributions from a diverse range of committed participants focused on shaping the future of financial services. It goes without saying that technology is a critical focus, but we also find that there is a purposeful intent to the commitments to support the needs of a successful economy, one that’s becoming more and more digital.
It’s the commitment from all involved in the Cluster that has resulted in a number of significant achievements over the years, including:
- Continued growth in fintech SMEs and fintech jobs,
- Greater collaboration between larger organisations and smaller fintechs,
- Development of new innovative products, services and partnerships that all ultimately deliver good customer outcomes, and
- A deepening focus on fintech R&D driven by the research excellence from the universities in Scotland and by collaboration on industry priorities in the FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap (R&I Roadmap).
So, despite the challenging economic environment, I am optimistic about our opportunities for growth and innovation. In particular, I am looking forward to deepening our approach of collaborate to innovate’, and the limitless potential this powerful combination offers. We see it working already, resulting in changes for customers, businesses, our economy and the environment, supporting future needs and the development of fintech-enabled financial services in Scotland and across the UK.
A new year brings an opportunity to assess our priorities for the year ahead. We’re focused on propelling our fintech cluster forward, deepening connections across the UK and the world, as well as accelerating fintech SME growth.
Innovation and Priorities in 2024:
Fintech Growth
The FinTech Scotland community of fintech SMEs continues to grow, with 227 businesses currently developing and delivering fintech products and services that meet business and citizen needs. Accelerating their success and enabling them to grow and scale requires a collective focus on investment, access to current market opportunities (which includes collaboration with financial institutions), and supporting their ambitions to export.
We’re spurred on by January triumphs already.
Snugg, a thriving fintech, kicked off the year by announcing success on both funding and collaboration that will help them expand and scale throughout 2024.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, a growing and global fintech, announced success in international markets working with Denmark’s Danske Bank, exporting services and continuing its global growth.
Encompass Corporation has also started the year off by continuing its global expansion and growth through acquisitions.
We will continue to focus on investment, growth and international opportunities for the fintech SMEs throughout 2024.
Impactful collaboration
Working with the big and small
We saw growing success throughout 2023 in the fintech programmes delivered in association with Lloyds Banking Group, TSB and Phoenix Group. Within our approach of collaborate to innovate’, more partnerships emerged, and fintech enterprises benefited from hearing about priority needs directly from the market.
There is more to come in 2024. Collaborate to innovate’, through practical innovation programmes, will enable more potential for commercial opportunities and support new ways for market adoption of new and emerging technologies. We’re commencing the year with an innovation call on using AI and emerging technologies to help simplify compliance.
The role we see for R&D
In 2023, we launched the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, with an agenda focused on how technology can simplify and support compliance, and help regulation develop. The Lab also creates an independent environment to enable industry collaboration on current and emerging challenges within financial services. It’s a privilege to work with all involved, including UK regulators, large financial institutions and fintechs, as well as the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow.
The Lab is kicking off 2024 with a collaborative research and innovation programme focused on AI and emerging technologies, and looking at their application in ESG regulations, Consumer Duty requirements and addressing Financial Crime. You’ll hear more about the progress throughout the upcoming year, and if you’d like to learn more now please let me know.
Financial inclusion continues as a pressing issue. The cost of living crisis has brought it into further focus and the FCA’s Financial Lives survey persists in demonstrating a need for change. Throughout 2024, we will work with Financial Inclusion for Scotland, the FCA and Scottish Financial Enterprise, and explore how technology and a heightened period of focus can help move the dial on this critical problem.
We’ve initiated this already, working in collaboration with the FCA on a Financial Inclusion TechSprint (more details can be found here). The Sprint is focused on helping to find ways to enable those excluded from basic financial services to get access. There’s a firm belief that technology can help, and that collaboration and a willingness to find solutions is key. The Sprint will run from March until the end of May, and conclude with an event in Glasgow. I’m starting 2024 hopeful we can drive change on this difficult agenda. The invitation to get involved is open to all.
Working on priority environmental issues
With the climate agenda critical to so many aspects of business and society, it’s no surprise that fintech enterprises are working to find solutions and services that will help – indeed, the number of Scottish fintechs focused on climate doubled in 2023. In addition, we saw accelerated learning across the cluster through our work with Space Scotland, increasing our knowledge and understanding of geospatial data.
There is more to come through 2024 on the priority of climate finance. We’ll build on the lessons and experiences from Space Scotland, exploring application of geospatial data in insurance risks, investments, emerging regulatory requirements and ESG development.
Inclusive Cluster leadership
We will continue to work across the UK to advance fintech innovation. The FinTech Scotland team will continue to progress collaborative opportunities across the nation, working with the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), the Fintech National Network, Innovate Finance and The City of London Corporation. We will work, learn and collaborate across the regions to accelerate the whole of the UK’s fintech potential.
We invite you to collaborate with us
We know purposeful collaboration is key – collaboration across the industry, across sectors, and amongst other fintech clusters – to help us drive and lead the future of the digital economy.
My call to action for 2024 is: Collaborate with us, and innovate.
AI in Scotland’s Workplaces: Navigating the Shift
A Surge in AI Adoption
Scotland is witnessing a significant shift towards embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace. Recent research by Hays reveals a notable increase in AI utilisation: from 26% to 32% in just six months. This uptrend is not just among organisations but also individual workers, with 19% now incorporating AI tools into their roles.
Employer Expectations and Future Outlook
Interestingly, 59% of employers anticipate allowing AI usage in the workplace but plan to monitor it closely. On the other hand, a smaller fraction, about 20%, expect to ban AI usage. This divergence in approach reflects the evolving landscape of AI in the professional sphere.
The Scottish State of Play
The research, encompassing feedback from nearly 15,000 employers and professionals, including 886 from Scotland, underscores a growing trend of AI adoption. Despite this, a significant majority of Scottish professionals (80%) have not integrated AI into their current roles.
Justin Black, Business Director at Hays, highlights mixed attitudes towards AI in the workplace. While a modest 21% view AI’s impact on their jobs positively, a declining number, now at 6%, see it negatively. Interestingly, some Scottish organisations have already prohibited AI usage.
Challenges and Opportunities
Black points out several hurdles in AI adoption, including GDPR concerns and skepticism about AI reliability. Additionally, the rapid surge in AI demand has outpaced the growth in relevant skills, leading to notable skill shortages. However, there’s a silver lining: the extreme skills shortage in AI among employers has decreased from 48% to 36% in the last six months.
The Skills Gap and Employer Role
The study also reveals a decrease in professionals who believe they lack the right skills for AI, dropping from 29% to 26%. However, Black emphasises that employers still need to do more in supporting staff upskilling for effective AI usage. This includes clear communication about AI’s role and monitoring in the workplace.
For more insights, visit Hays Technology.
Alternative to public markets, trade on a private market
IPO activity remains sluggish with high borrowing costs and broader macroeconomic headwinds seen as depressing investor and issuer appetites. However, there’s also a longer term shift being seen as companies and their corporate advisers show an increased tendency to move away from relying so heavily on traditional market structures – a trend which is now being accelerated thanks to a host of new and emerging financial technologies.
One great example of this innovation emerging on a home-grown basis is Glasgow-based InfinitX. Their software has already played a vital role in connecting JP Jenkins – the UK’s most established liquidity venue for unquoted companies – to any broker or other regulated financial institution. Prices can be displayed and orders placed using a standard trading terminal and whilst the assets remain unquoted, accessibility is dramatically improved for buyers and sellers alike.
And the wider industry is starting to take note, with InfinitX winning a slew of commendations in recent months, both in respect of its own technology and how they have bolstered the proposition offered by JP Jenkins.
Recently InfinitX was awarded Leading Innovators in Private Trading Technology 2023, UK by Innovation in Business. Innovation in Business’ Technology Innovator Awards 2023 provided a platform for companies like InfinitX to showcase their groundbreaking solutions, game-changing innovations, and positive impact on the business landscape.
This month in London InfinitX and JP Jenkins attended the FF-Awards with InfinitX awarded Finalists for Private Trading Technology 2023. Over 6,000 votes were cast with more than 18,000 total minutes of video entries viewed and we congratulate the team for making the top three finalists.
Finally InfinitX was acknowledged by Business Cloud as 2nd in UK’s Most Innovative Tech Creators 2023, This was a climb up from number 37 of 50 in 2022 to be second among some recognised leading financial service providers.
We also congratulate other Fintech Scotland members for inclusion in this list. Well done to DirectID, Modulr, Paysend and ShareIn.
Interested in working with JP Jenkins?
– To enquire about joining as an unquoted company contact Mason Doick at md@jpjenkins.com
– To join our ecosystem as a partner for events and services contact Melissa Gilmour melissa@infinitx.co.uk
– To learn more about InfinitX technology contact Mike McCudden, Mike@infinitX.co.uk