The fintech sector is growing at pace with more and more entrepreneurs launching their own innovative firm. Whilst starting a new company can be difficult, scaling one to the next stage isn’t any easier and comes with its own challenges. What makes a start-up different is its size, allowing it to be more nimble, faster and more agile which in turns allows for faster innovation. As it grows, employs more people, develops new operating models and uses more technologies, the danger is slowing...

Fintech innovation is powered by data. New solutions appear every day, always consuming new data to develop new services to help people and organisations deal with money. Innovators are constantly in search for new data sources. The Scottish space sector has developed to be one of the largest in Europe. This industry, thanks to technology advances, can generate an incredible amount of data, from climate data to supply chain data, and much more., The fintech sector in Scotland is developing...

As we transition to a more sustainable future, data, technology and innovation will help to drive and accelerate the insights, products and services to enable the changes needed. Earth Observation Data can enable new innovations that can help to advance financial inclusion, incentivise better climate related behaviours, and support the net zero agenda. Scotland has built significant experience in Space Tech and Space Data. Combined with the strength in FinTech innovation, this offers a...

Fintech firms around the world are becoming more and more vocal about how difficult they find it to hire new colleagues. Whether it is the skills gap or the increase in salary levels, start-ups and scales-ups are not always best equipped to compete in a global and highly competitive market. At the same time, many fintechs from around the world have and are still choosing Scotland to expand, finding it easier and sometime cheaper to recruit. So, is Scotland still attractive from a job market...

Financial Regulation Innovation (RegTech) was highlighted in the FinTech Scotland Research and Innovation roadmap published in March 2022 as an essential area of focus for the financial sector. Understanding and managing regulatory requirements costs financial institutions millions of pounds every year. As regulation evolves all the time to protect consumers, so do new tools and technologies. In recent years new solutions have emerged to help companies reduce cost, better understand...

The NFT movement seems to have taken the world by storm. For most people it came out of nowhere and when most people are grappling with the idea of digital currencies, they now have to deal with non-Fungible-tokens. Digital currencies are changing everything and not just the way we deal with money. However, it’s not just about coins anymore. Today, in the episode we’re speaking about how it’s affecting one of the oldest disciplines in the world. Art. And just like appetite for...

According to the Office for National Statistics, 87% of adults in the UK reported an increase in their cost of living in April 2022. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects household incomes after tax and adjusted for inflation to start falling in Q2 2022 and not recover until Q3 2024.Since Russia invaded Ukraine, economic forecasters have raised their expectations for consumer price inflation, not just in the near term but that it will be higher for longer.On 5 May, the Bank of England...

Whilst the fintech movement often makes headlines with those firms that are trying to replace traditional financial institutions, there are many more fintech firms out there trying to work, collaborate or sell to those incumbents to help them deliver better outcomes to their customers. In this podcast we discuss the opportunities for increased collaboration and some of the challenges? Has the pandemic changed the state of play and what are the solutions to accelerate fintech adoption by...

In March 2022, FinTech Scotland released its 10-year Fintech Research & Innovation Roadmap for the UK. In collaboration with leading universities, large financial institutions, fintech businesses, citizens, industry experts and senior officials this report explores the opportunities that will help the UK maintain its fintech leadership globally. In this episode we explore what this roadmap means for Scotland and what the next steps are to deliver on the roadmap recommendations.

The fintech movement hasn’t just disrupted the way customers and citizen deal with money and access financial products or large financial institutions digitise themselves. Fintech is transforming how SMEs work and organise themselves. In this episode we’ll explore how fintech is transforming SMEs. We’ll discuss adoption rates, opportunities and challenges faced by fintechs trying to sell their solutions to SMEs. Can collaboration with trusted financial institution be the solution to mass...

The Digital Banking Report Research by The Financial Brand shows that Customer Experience is the number 2 priority (just after digital transformation) for financial institution around the globe. New entrants and changing customer expectations have fuelled this need for a greater focus on customer led design. COVID-19 has accelerated this trend by requiring companies to adapt to a fully digital world with no branches for customers to go to and the need to make customer support more efficient...

According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) cyberthreats are on the rise, with more and more Phishing attempts, Identity Theft, Ransomware. The COVID-19 seems to have been an accelerant with attacks on homes, businesses, governments and critical infrastructure. In this podcast we’ll discuss the issue with cybersecurity experts. What are the current threats and those to watch out for in the next few years? What are the new solutions being developed by innovative firms to...

Saying that women are under-represented in fintech is an understatement. According to a 2018 LendIt survey, only 37 per cent of fintech employees are female, with representation dropping to just 19 per cent at C-suite level. There are however some great success stories. Anne Boden, CEO at Starling Bank or closer to home Jude Cook, CEO and co-founder at ShareIn, Loral and Eishel Quinn at Sustainably and with us today Ana Galitsyna co-founder at fintech Baby Ready. Whilst not being the...

With COP26 taking place in Glasgow later this year, there is a real focus on the climate change issue. As all participating countries are asked to submit their new long-term goals to address the global climate emergency, we are asking ourselves today how fintech can participate in this global movement. The United Nations, in their Principles for Responsible Banking, have recognised Financial Services as one of the components that will help tackle climate change. Fintech, as a movement, is...

Fintech is a movement that focusses on customer outcomes, transparency, and democratisation of the financial services sector. Using data and technology, fintech firms are looking at tackling societal and economic issues. Together with our guest we’ll discuss the role of fintech in tomorrow’s world. With Duncan Cockburn, Founder & CEO at OneBanks, Eishel Quinn, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Sustainably and Dominic Chalmers, Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow Adam...

The world of payment is being disrupted like never before, accelerated, in part, by the recent economic and societal changed imposed by COVID19. Contactless payments, rise in online transactions coupled with increased concerns around fraud and cybersecurity mean that the sector is undergoing some unprecedented changes. In this episode we explore what those changes mean in terms of innovation and from a regulation perspective with 3 fantastic guests:  Genevieve Marjoribanks, Head of Policy...

Cryptocurrencies are regularly featured in the press. Sometimes it’s about Bitcoin reaching a new high, sometimes about a new ICO launching. More recently we learnt that tech giant Elon Musk had bought into the digital currency movement. There have been many debates since Bitcoin launched in 2008. There are those who believe crypto is just a temporary craze and those who believe it’s the future of money. With global tech giants launching their own coins and new crypto reaching new highs, we...

On the 22nd of March 2021 Scotland’s AI Strategy was published. AI is playing a growing role in the development of fintech solutions. In this special episode that launches during the UK fintech week we hear from two fintech firms that have built their proposition around AI as well as Gillian Docherty, OBE, CEO at The DataLab, member of the Steering Committee that led to the creation of Scotland’s AI strategy and Chair of the AI Alliance in Scotland. We’re also joined by Simon Pink, AI &...

In this episode we welcomed:  -Chris Turnbull, CEO at Airfunders -Ross Laurie, CEO at Visible Capital -Iain Niblock the newly appointed CEO at Money Dashboard.  We spoke about new innovations impacting the world of Wealthtech from Open Banking to AI. The conversation also took us to Open Finance as a natural and needed evolution of Open Banking and what it means for the future of digital financial advice and guidance.  Finally we asked ourselves whether people would ever move to full...

An introduction to the fintech sector in Scotland with: -Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland -Kent MacKenzie, Partner and Global Head of Fintech & Regtech, Advisory Services at Deloitte -Alberto Macciani, CMO at fintech Paysend Together our guests covered what makes Scotland a great place for innovation generally and for fintech more specifically. The recent UK Fintech Sector Review commissioned by the UK Treasure highlights Scotland as the second UK fintech hub in number of...

FinTech Scotland's CEO, Nicola Anderson, welcomes you to our new podcast and tell you about all the great things we'll be discussing.