FinTech Scotland looking ahead and looking forward!

With August literally just around the corner we’re inching closer to the FinTech Scotland Festival which starts on the 16^th of September with Digit’s FinTech Summit.

This year we’re hoping to see a return to some face-to-face events and are looking forward to catching up in person with so many of you working across Scotland and UK fintech clusters. We’re starting to see more opportunities for those in person meet ups, respecting the opportunity to start seeing people again in a safe way. Personally, I’m finding it invigorating and energy building talking face to face with those inspiring and committed to driving change through fintech innovation.

That energy was more than evident in a FinTech Scotland meeting with Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade earlier in July. Not only was it good to see everyone in a (large) meeting room, but it was also great to hear directly from the leaders in Trace Data, Direct ID, Float, EedenBull, Modulr, FreeAgent on their plans and views on international trade and how Scotland is leading and building world class data driven innovations. Key markets discussed included the US, Asia and Australia. Opportunities are growing and many of the events in the festival will focus on international trade opportunities helping to build local understanding of fintech markets in Australia and other countries. (Link to the FinTech Australia event).

We’ve also been working closely with the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Innovations on a Data Driven Entrepreneurial Programme that is focused on the application of PhD research into industry and in building businesses. All the enterprises are using technology and data and are building innovative solutions across a host of issues, including climate change, economic recovery and financial wellbeing. The team at Space Intelligence is focused on managing environmental risks using technology and space data analytics to monitor carbon reducing initiatives. I also met Iceni Earth this week, another climate fintech innovation, and providing leadership and practical applications that supports agriculture and better land use. I’m constantly reminded how privileged and lucky we are in FinTech Scotland with continuous connections to new innovations supporting future business developments.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be doing more on climate and fintech. The FCA recently announced a range of planned innovation programmes for later in 2021 starting with a Tech Sprint in October on the topic of ESG data and helping build market confidence towards ESG credentials and the environmental impact of financial decisions. There is more information here, and it’s another opportunity for Scotland to showcase its strengths in innovation, driving purposeful change and building collaboration to achieve Net Zero ambitions.

The topic of fintech’s role to address climate change was also discussed on one of the FinTech Scotland podcasts in July, it’s a great listen!

Fintech – supporting business growth and recovery

As we emerge from lockdown determined to experience the things we missed the most, we can also be confident that some of the developments we saw during the pandemic will remain.

I was reminded of this recently when I heard some of Scotland’s business community share their hopes, aims and ambitions for a post Covid recovery, while being candid about consumer expectations and the efficiencies digital interactions allow. Recovery and development in the ever-evolving digital economy was firmly part of the discussion as well as the role that fintech can play in enabling both.

Fintech is a key component in a developing digital economy that demands services and products to meet consumers changing habits, and help businesses deliver efficient and cost-effective operations. It is the thread that financially connects businesses with customers and suppliers and vice versa.

What’s exciting is the range of FinTech businesses in Scotland who are all working in this environment and here already, working with commercial and business customers.

They enable business owners to make truly informed decisions, using technology to analyse business and financial data to provide an accurate and up to date (often up to the minute) picture of their business. Float helps businesses make informed decisions about their cash. It’s an online cash management and forecasting tool that helps business leaders manage their business and make decisions with confidence.

Other fintech are providing a range of new digital tools to help businesses when it comes to managing payments, revenue, invoices, suppliers, and creditors. Know-It enables businesses to automate their credit control processes helping to manage credit risk, reduce debtor days improve cashflow and the businesses understanding of its customers.  Optimum Finance another fintech uses technology and data to unlock cash tied up in unpaid invoices supporting business with flexible invoice financing options.  Modulr works to simplify business payments including staff payments, merchant services, supplier payment workflows or payments reconciliation, helping to improve operational efficiencies.

FinTech’s in Scotland are also creating an accessible and transparent alternative to bank lending helping the non-bank lending sector to grow.  LendingCrowd has been working in this capacity since 2014. Authorised by the UK financial regulators it supports ambitious SME’s to grow their business by providing a range of funding and lending options including working capital loans, growth finance and the recent Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

I’m continually reminded of the dedication and profound purpose of fintech founders in Scotland. It’s even more apparent in the fintech’s focused on the business and commercial sectors. These fintech teams continue to inspire us at FinTech Scotland with their focus and determination to use fintech capabilities to help the business sector recover post COVID.

FinTech Innovation continues to grow, putting more spring in our step!

We all hope we’re starting to emerge from lockdown and see green shoots helping us get closer to what we refer to as ‘back to normal’. Those green shoots are hopefully giving us some cause for optimism coupled with the change in seasons and the firm feeling that spring is in the air.

That turns our attention to the opportunity for growth and potential change, new horizons and hope for the future. Growth is firmly on our mind at FinTech Scotland and in the last few months we have welcomed 22 new FinTech SME’s into the FinTech Scotland’s community. The new additions include start ups, established tech businesses applying their capabilities to fintech, as well as international businesses building a home in Scotland.

The FinTech Scotland Cluster continues to build and create the environment to help business develop, grow and scale, all enabled by the continued collaboration across industry, public and academic sectors. We will be working in continued collaboration as we consider the support needed to help FinTech SME’s to scale.

Supporting UK FinTech’s scale was one of the recommendations from the Kalifa Review that was endorsed by the UK Chancellor during UK FinTech week in April. The Chancellor outlined that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will take forward the concept of a ‘scale box’. FinTech Scotland will support the work to develop this idea further, working collaboratively to share experiences and needs for those businesses aiming to scale.

In addition Scotland is advancing it’s plans for a series of Tech Scalers following the Mark Logan review. Another conscious effort to provide support to scale tech businesses that aligns with our focus for FinTech SME’s in Scotland.

Both fit well with our ambition for Scotland to be a global fintech hub that enables business  development and growth, and has put an even more determined spring in our step.