Standard Life partners with FinTech Scotland on responsible investing

Standard Life, the UK’s most prominent long-term savings and retirement business, has launched its second annual Innovation Forum. The focus of the forum this year is to find and develop innovative solutions to help pension customers become more engaged with their investments, especially in terms of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. The winning fintech partner will work alongside Standard Life to implement their solution for over three million customers.

The Innovation Forum aims to embed sustainability and prioritise the environment and people’s well-being in Standard Life’s operations. It seeks to find a fintech company that shares a commitment to responsible investing and can bring the benefits of digital innovation to savers. Potential ideas include ways to visualise how customer pensions are invested, methods to evaluate investments through ESG lenses, or demonstrating how investing responsibly now can lead to positive outcomes in the future.

This initiative is a collaboration between five organizations: TCS’s Co-Innovation Network (TCS COIN™) innovation ecosystem, Fintech Scotland, Women In Banking & Finance (WIBF), and Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE). The Innovation Forum builds on the success of last year’s event, which was won by Behavioural Finance, an Edinburgh-based company that uses psychometric testing to help users understand how their personality affects their relationship with money. Standard Life plans to introduce the wealth personality test developed by Behavioural Finance to some of its customers, with the goal of expanding it to more customers later this year.

This year’s Innovation Forum will follow a similar process, with fintechs presenting their innovative solutions to senior leaders across Standard Life and the wider Phoenix Group. Each shortlisted participant will work closely with a Standard Life mentor to refine their proposal before a long-term partnership is established with the winning company.

Standard Life’s Managing Director, Pensions and Savings, Colin Williams, said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Standard Life to connect with creative thinkers to enhance our proposition development and better support customers to engage with their investments and understand the impact they have on the world. This is key to our Group’s wider social purpose and sustainability strategy and follows the transition of £15bn of workplace assets to our new sustainable default fund. We are looking forward to hearing from innovators from across the FinTech Scotland, TCS COINTM and broader start-up community.”

Fintech Scotland Chief Executive, Nicola Anderson, said:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Standard Life and Phoenix Group for a second year in a row to bring innovation and better outcomes to its customers. The first iteration of their Innovation Forum in 2022 was a real success and we’re very excited to see Standard Life’s plans for integrating the technology from Behavioural Finance into customers’ journeys. This year, they’ve set themselves an even bigger challenge as they’re looking to bring more innovation to ESG investing. Customer outcomes are directly linked to environmental and social issues, and vice versa – bringing this relationship to life is vital as we move towards a net zero future. At FinTech Scotland we identified Climate as one of the 4 key areas of focus in our Research and Innovation Roadmap and this innovation challenge will help us achieve our goal to move towards greener finance and have the sector contribute to the net zero agenda.”

Companies interested in applying can do so here.

Lloyds Banking Group and FinTech Scotland launch innovation challenges

For the third year in a row, Lloyds Banking Group has partnered with FinTech Scotland to launch an innovation lab, which aims to address some of the biggest challenges facing the financial industry. The Launch Innovation Lab is a collaborative initiative that brings together experts from Lloyds Banking Group and fintech businesses from all around the world to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.

The Launch programme is focused on four key challenges:

The first challenge, curating targeted financial planning and added value services that meet customer needs, is focused on developing personalised financial planning services that meet the needs of each customer. The aim is to provide customers with customised solutions that address their unique financial needs, rather than offering generic financial products.

The second challenge, harnessing data to enrich customer relationships, is focused on using data analytics to gain insights into customers’ behaviours and preferences. The Launch programme will explore ways to use these insights to enhance customer experience by offering personalised services, improving customer engagement, and providing tailored financial advice. By leveraging data analytics, the lab aims to improve the quality of the customer experience and build stronger relationships with customers.

The third challenge, providing the most inclusive colleague and customer experiences, is focused on creating a culture of inclusivity within the organisation. The Launch innovation programme will explore ways to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace and customer experience. This will include developing policies that promote diversity and inclusion, creating inclusive products and services, and improving accessibility for customers with disabilities. By doing so, it aims to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for both employees and customers.

The fourth challenge, exploring sustainable choices for customers and IT operations, is focused on developing sustainable solutions for the financial industry. The lab will explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of financial products and services, such as reducing paper waste and promoting sustainable investments. The lab will also focus on developing sustainable IT solutions that reduce the energy consumption of IT systems and promote the use of renewable energy sources.

The wildcard challenge invites proposals that do not fit into these four challenges. This challenge is an opportunity for innovators to present their ideas to Lloyds Banking Group, even if their proposals do not fit into the four main challenges. The lab welcomes innovative ideas that have the potential to transform the financial industry and create value for customers.

For more details and to enter those challenges visit this page.

New national hub to turbocharge FinTech growth

The government just launched the national centre for FinTech called the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), designed to propel the sector’s growth globally.

CFIT is backed by £5.5million of funding from the Treasury and the City of London Corporation and will enhance growth and innovation by promoting businesses and generating job opportunities across the sector.

The hub was unveiled at an event in Leeds yesterday and also intends to publicise the advantages of new and inventive technology that will expand consumer options, decrease costs, and improve efficiencies.

The CFIT is the first of its kind and will facilitate businesses in achieving a truly global presence, supporting approximately 2,500 organisations and tens of thousands of jobs in the UK.

Commenting on the launch, Nicola Anderson, CEO at Fintech Scotland said:

“The CFIT launch is a key milestone in achieving the UK’s fintech ambitions, embracing innovation across all cities and regions. The Centre’s coalition approach very much aligns with the execution of FinTech Scotland’s cluster strategy in advancing fintech growth.

“We are excited to be working with CFIT in leveraging the opportunities in Scotland and the whole of the UK, which will provide further momentum in delivering our ten-year FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap enabling us all to harness the fintech opportunity across the UK.”

Howard Wimpory, KYC Transformation Director at Encompass Corporation, comments:

“It is encouraging to see the government provide this support to the FinTech industry and, widely, digital transformation, which creates opportunities for growth while also assisting economic recovery. The UK technology sector overall has huge potential, with innovation at a high, and support of this kind can help organisations to harness the solutions within it to their advantage.

“Widespread effort to help organisations truly unlock the potential of digital transformation is how strong, long-term value will be created throughout industries, and particularly financial services. These organisations must now recognise the importance of utilising the new and emerging solutions at their disposal, which not only add business value, but also help to protect the nation against the ever-evolving threat of financial crime.

“Realising these goals requires businesses to embark on or accelerate their digital transformation journeys, embracing state-of-the-art cloud powered technology to overhaul manual processes and instead trust in automation, which brings long-lasting operational benefits to power success.”

Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair of CFIT, said the launch

“represents a significant moment for the UK’s FinTech sector and our economy more widely. This organisation will enable us to come together as a sector to start breaking down barriers that the FinTech sector is facing while creating a clear path for our homegrown FinTech companies to achieve global scale, impact and success.”

Boost for Scottish fintech cluster as Morgan Stanley enters collaboration with FinTech Scotland

FinTech Scotland, the cluster management body, has announced a new strategic partnership with Morgan Stanley, further strengthening the growth of the financial technology innovation and excellence across Scotland and accelerating the fast-growing sector’s global connectivity.

Morgan Stanley joins FinTech Scotland’s existing strategic partners including financial services firms, academia, technology solution providers and public sector organisations, to further enhance the development of Scotland’s fintech cluster through the support of strategic initiatives and the harnessing cross-regional collaboration.

For Morgan Stanley, a significant technology participant in Scotland, partnering with FinTech Scotland opens up new engagement opportunities with cutting-edge technology providers, a key part of Morgan Stanley’s fintech innovation strategy.

The collaboration will also support the firm’s Multicultural Innovation Lab and accelerator programme, that promotes financial inclusion and provides access to capital and expertise for early-stage technology and technology-enabled start-ups led by entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

This partnership demonstrates Morgan Stanley’s continued commitment to Glasgow and broadens its support of the Scottish technology ecosystem. The firm has a workforce in excess of 2,000 in Glasgow and recently announced further investment in local talent, providing career opportunities to over 200 young people as part of its largest graduate recruitment programme to date.

The investment bank will get involved in the collaborations that continue to progress the FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap, driving innovation in Financial Regulation, Climate, Open Finance and Payment & Transactions.

Commenting on this new partnership, Khalid Rafiq, Glasgow Head of Technology at Morgan Stanley said:

“We are thrilled to deepen our ties with the Scottish fintech community and to help foster the growing start-up ecosystem. Playing an active role within the Fintech Scotland cluster not only ensures we are fully supporting our local community, it gives us the chance to share our expertise and deepens our commitment to foster technology talent and diversity so as to drive innovation and business value in the buoyant Scottish marketplace.”

Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland said:

“We’re looking forward to working with Morgan Stanley, building even more global connectivity as we continue to build, grow, and advance the FinTech Scotland Cluster.  Plans for the year ahead will see more fintech innovation in capital markets and further support to enable greater diversity in fintech innovation. Morgan Stanley’s strategic engagement will enable further fintech innovation and opportunities in Glasgow which continues to see fintech growth, building Scotland’s national reputation for fintech innovation.”

Smart Data Foundry’s inaugural board announced

Smart Data Foundry just announced its inaugural board in order to accelerate its mission to solve societal issues though the use of financial data.

Member of the board are:

• Zachery Anderson, Chief Data Officer, NatWest Group
• Professor Kim Graham, Provost, University of Edinburgh
• Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chair, FinTech Scotland
• Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor, the Promise
• Professor Chris Speed, Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute

They join  Chair Dame Julia Unwin and Chief Executive Officer Frank Gauld.

Founded in 2020, the not-for-profit organisation, has delivered a number of groundbreaking data projects in collaboration with financial institutions including research into the impact of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis on the over-50s.

Dame Julia Unwin commented:

“Our mission to unlock the power of data has struck a chord with leading figures in academia and Financial Services so much so they have been motivated to join us and bring about change. We have demonstrated that we can work collaboratively to create clarity through data which can inform policies and decision-making. We want to inspire financial innovation and with this team, I am confident this ambition can be realised.”

Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chair, FinTech Scotland adds

“Scotland has one of the fastest growing Fintech clusters in the UK, if not the world. Essential to financial innovation is the ability to access and share data, and the groundbreaking work that Smart Data Foundry is leading to create synthetic data unlocks the huge opportunities to inspire financial innovation that will benefit so many consumers and businesses.”

Zachery Anderson Chief Data Officer, NatWest Group said: 

“NatWest Group were the first UK bank to partner with Smart Data Foundry and safely share data. Data helps us make better decisions and power research into areas that complement the wider NatWest purpose to champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive.”

Frank Gauld says:

“This marks an important milestone in our history. As a young and growing business, to have the ability to attract such a talented board tells me we’re on the right track. 2022 was a year characterised by delivery for Smart Data Foundry.

“Our ground-breaking work with the FCA to generate and supply synthetic data to support their work to tackle the growing problem of Approved Push Payment (APP) Fraud is a great example of how we’re inspiring innovation in Financial Services. And we continued to support UK Government with a regularly updated COVID Economic Dashboard, creating an enduring record of how consumers saved, spent and earned before, during and after a pandemic. This level of insight is critical for policymakers to make decisions based on large-scale empirical data, no longer having to depend on survey data.”

Scotland’s fintech cluster fuelled by record number of SME firms and a 200% jump in investment funding

FinTech Scotland announces, on its fifth birthday, a further increase in the number of entrepreneurial fintech SME firms as well as a record-breaking new investment funding for the year.

In the last 12 months, Scottish fintechs received over £305m in funding supporting their growth and development, representing an increase of over 200% on the previous year

Over 60% of funding was raised by fintech SMEs focused on payment and data innovation, while other innovation categories raising significant investment were wealth management solutions and financial regulation.

In addition, 2022 saw the number of Scottish fintech SME firms increased to 211, a 13% increase over the year, driven by both new fintech start ups and international firms setting up in Scotland.

Commenting on another record-breaking year, Nicola Anderson, chief executive said:

“I am continuously inspired by the progress achieved by fintech entrepreneurs who continue to accelerate innovation, change and growth across the cluster. The record levels of investment in 2022, reinforces the value of of fintech innovation, and propels us to continue driving cluster excellence, build on the recognition the we achieved in 2022, and the role we play in contributing to the growing wider UK fintech ecosystem.

As we enter 2023, I am excited to be developing the opportunities with entrepreneurs, industry and academic partners, Scottish Enterprise, Innovate UK, Financial Conduct Authority along with other clusters across the UK as we execute our ground breaking Research and Innovation Roadmap”

Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, added: “

The growth of Scotland’s fintech sector demonstrates what can be achieved when all partners work collaboratively to create an ecosystem that is attractive to companies and investors.

“FinTech Scotland has made an enormous contribution to developing our country’s fintech sector since its inception.  We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with FinTech Scotland and all other stakeholders to deliver even more economic opportunities in this vibrant sector over the coming year.”

FinTech Scotland has confirmed for the coming year its strategy to continue leveraging cluster excellence credentials to drive innovation and build on the valuable collaboration with fintech centres around the UK.

This will also include a focus on supporting fintech SMEs scale-up through increased collaboration with the thirty FinTech Scotland partners as well as major economic initiatives with Smart Data Foundry and a new centre of excellence for innovation in financial regulation.

Big Boost for UK FinTech as FinTech Scotland Achieves Top Cluster Excellence Accreditation

FinTech Scotland Recognised as Leading Fintech Cluster Management Organisation in Europe

UK FinTech innovation has been given a significant boost with the announcement that FinTech Scotland has achieved a new level of Cluster Excellence accreditation.

The accreditation, which is the highest level achieved by a fintech body in UK and Europe, comes at a time when economic clusters are increasingly being highlighted by Government as an enabler in driving innovation. For example, the UK Government Innovation Strategy and Scottish Government Economic Transformation Strategy.

The globally recognised European Secretariat for Cluster Accreditation (ESCA) confirmed the excellence award for FinTech Scotland following an in-depth audit of the organisation’s progress and delivery record since the bronze level award was achieved in January 2020.

In confirming the silver cluster excellence award, ESCA highlighted several significant improvements by FinTech Scotland including,

• Supporting the growth in the number of Fintech SMEs by 22% year on year
• Leadership of increased cluster collaboration between fintech SMEs, large enterprises, universities, public sector bodies throughout the UK
• Producing UK’s first industry led 10-year Fintech Research & Innovation Roadmap

Sir Ron Kalifa OBE, author of the HM Treasury Fintech Sector Review in 2021, said

“Congratulations to FinTech Scotland who are a bellwether example of leveraging the outputs of fintech innovation and accelerating the regional fintech development and growth, the importance of which was highlighted in my FinTech Sector Review.”

“This excellent recognition is a testament to the FinTech Scotland model that Stephen and Nicola have led, and I know they are continuing to use their expertise to further advance national connectivity and provide support to UK regions through the FinTech National Network as well as the new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology”

Commenting, Stephen Ingledew, FinTech Scotland Executive Chair and founder said,

“I am very proud of the team in achieving this significant milestone and my sincere thanks to all the committed cluster participants. The award further recognises our leadership and collaboration across UK reinforcing the pivotal interdependence with each other in fostering progressive innovation within all regions, so the tide rises for everyone”

Highlighting the opportunity for further cluster development, Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive of Fintech Scotland said,

“The accreditation is a terrific platform to advance our strategy and execute the ground-breaking industry driven Research and Innovation Roadmap. Bringing together leaders from industry, entrepreneurial firms, academia, public sector, we will use our cluster expertise to drive innovation locally in Scotland and in collaboration throughout the UK”

“We are particularly excited about the innovation opportunities in open finance, regulation, payments, and climate finance. Through a collaborative and inclusive approach, these can contribute to addressing the challenging economic headwinds across the UK”

Catherine Martin, Vice Principal of University of Edinburgh, one of four organisations who led the formation of Fintech Scotland in 2018 commented:

“As a founding partner of Fintech Scotland, the University of Edinburgh is delighted to see this accreditation. It is a very gratifying achievement, and we look forward to building on our work with Fintech Scotland and its ever-growing number of partners.”

 

Jane Martin, Managing Director of Innovation and Investment at Scottish Enterprise said:

“Strong, effective and purposeful collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector is key to delivering much needed innovation and growth for Scotland. FinTech Scotland is a brilliant example of this in action.”

Scotland’s Fifth Fintech Festival Celebrating UK Wide Innovation

Celebrating collaborative innovation that is driving economic recovery will be a core theme at Scotland’s Fintech Festival which will take place over four weeks in September and October.

This will be the fifth FinTech Festival hosted by FinTech Scotland with every indication that this will be even larger than previous years with participation from leading entrepreneurs, innovators and policy makers from across the UK and the world.

Every year since 2018, Scotland’s Fintech Festival has showcased the growing innovation across the fintech cluster involving a diverse range of fintech leaders and organisations

The 2022 FinTech Festival will give particular emphasis to the growing collaboration throughout the UK which is enabling the progress of the much-acclaimed FinTech Research & Innovation Roadmap launched in March of this year by FinTech Scotland

The FinTech Festival opens on 15^th of September with the Annual Fintech Summit at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh and conclude on 6th of October with an evening of Fintech Awards recognising the achievements of people and organisations across the fintech cluster.

Commenting Nicola Anderson, FinTech Scotland Chief Executive said:

“The Festival has grown each year, despite the pandemic, and for 2022 I’m looking forward more in-person events. The four weeks is an ideal opportunity to share how collaborative innovation has a key role to play in addressing economic and social challenges”

A Festival highlight will be the UK Fintech Symposium taking place at NatWest Gogarburn headquarters on 22^ndSeptember, bringing together all the UK regional fintech clusters as well as Government ministers, regulators and leading fintech innovation influencers to discuss financial innovation contribution to economic recovery.

Stephen Ingledew, FinTech Scotland chairman and host of the UK FinTech Assembly said,

“The Festival will celebrate how fintech is very much a team’ activity and how this UK collaborative approach to innovation is fueling sustainable growth and job creation as well as a positive social impact to benefit all UK regions and communities.”

The many diverse Festival events and gatherings are already scheduled and many more will be added on www.scotlandfintechfestival.com.

Phoenix Group collaborates with TCS COINTM and FinTech Scotland to drive forward innovation in customer engagement and financial well-being

Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long terms savings and retirement business, has launched a new Innovation Forum that will look to use the latest FinTech innovation to build greater engagement and support the well-being of its customers, driving forward greater financial inclusion.

In collaboration with TCS’ Co-Innovation Network (TCS COIN^TM) innovation ecosystem and FinTech Scotland, the Phoenix Innovation Forum will invite FinTech enterprises and entrepreneurs to explore partnership opportunities that will introduce innovative thinking and new ways of working. Phoenix will be looking to work with FinTech firms who share a passion for improving financial wellbeing, with a focus on making a genuine positive impact on customers’ lives on their journey to and through retirement.

Phoenix Group’s purpose is to “help people secure a life of possibilities” and as part of this, it is committed to building greater financial literacy and inclusion. Phoenix looks toengage with its customers throughout the different stages of their life, providing the right products and support, at the right time, to help them make the right choices.

The Phoenix Innovation Forum will give FinTech enterprises and entrepreneurs the opportunity to design, refine and present innovative solutions to senior leaders across PhoenixGroup. The initial focus will be on two key engagement themes:

• Curiosity – Using creative tools and interactions to spark increased levels of curiosity about saving and financial planning, which can help to nurture greater learning, especially in the area of planning for retirement.

• Gamification ”“ Using gamification’ tools and rewards which are interactive to encourage greater engagement in digital channels, by creating an immersive approach and demonstrating to customers the value of saving and investing for the future.

Phoenix’s Managing Director ”“ Pensions and Savings, Colin Williams, said:

“This is a great opportunity for Phoenix to connect key decision makers within our organisation with innovative enterprises. We are looking to fuel creativity and come up with new solutions which really support our customers and build greater engagement and financial inclusion which is important to our Group’s social purpose and part of our long term sustainability strategy. We are looking to deliver forward-thinking propositions and to be at the forefront in developing innovative solutions, working in collaboration with TCS COIN and the FinTech Scotland community.”

Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland commented:

“We are delighted to support the Phoenix Innovation Forum which is a further example of the valuable role FinTech innovation can play in improving customers’ financial engagement and well-being. Phoenix’s commitment to innovation to support its large customer base and its partnership approach will attract significant interest from FinTech entrepreneurs who share their ambition of helping customers more effectively engage with savings and investments.”

Vivekanand Ramgopal, Global Head ”“ TCS BFSI Products and Platforms, commented:

“Enterprises are looking to form collaborative, purpose-driven ecosystems to launch innovative new offerings that deepen customer relationships and drive growth. To succeed, they need an extensible, open API-based, future-ready digital core like the TCS platform that powers Phoenix Group’s operations. That agile digital foundation is now enabling our two organisations to co-innovate around client analytics and customer experiences at our Innovation Lab in Edinburgh. We are delighted to expand this partnership with the Innovation Forum, and bring in partners from our extended innovation ecosystem, the TCS COIN, to innovate at scale and at speed.”

The initiative will provide the opportunity for FinTech innovators to develop a potential formal partnership with Phoenix Group to build solutions which will not just benefit Phoenix’s customers, but will contribute to innovation for wider society. FinTech firms looking to be part of the Phoenix Innovation Forum will can register their interest in participating on this page.