Open Finance is set to unlock a new level of transparency, accessibility, and control for consumers, businesses, and financial institutions. But what does this mean for the future of the financial ecosystem, and how will key players navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with it?We discuss what Open Finance really means, the progress m…

In this episode of the Fintech Scotland podcast, host Mickael Paris discusses the rise of digital wallets with guests Tim Sabanov, Maxim Galash, and Bill Buchanan. The conversation explores the definition of digital wallets, the key drivers behind their rise, the role of digital identity, and the impact of regulation. The guests highlight the impor…

In this episode of the Fintech Scotland podcast, host Mickael Paris discusses the intersection of open finance and generative AI with industry experts. The conversation explores the potential of generative AI to provide personalized financial advice, the regulatory challenges that accompany these innovations, and the importance of maintaining consu…

In this episode we speak with Mark Hadfield from "Meet the 85%", Manuel Maqueda from Harvard University, strategic adviser Max Nokhrin and Victor Milligan from Cairnbridge Advisors about the current state of ESG and associated regulations. What are their insights and recommendations? What the FinTech Scotland's Financial Regulation Innovation Lab c…

In this episode Richard Nicol from the Phoenix Group and Tom Mcfarlane from EY speak to us about the ESG challenges they are facing and why they decided to join the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab programme to find solutions to those challenges as well as what they are looking for with applicants. To apply for this innovation call visit this pa…

In this podcast, our partners at Label Sessions interviewed Antony Brookes and Ruairidh Patfield from abrdn to hear about their experience of getting involved in the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab's first innovation call. Alongside Tesco Bank, Virgin Money, Morgan Stanley and Deloitte they worked with the University of Glasgow and the Universi…

We're at Money2020 and we sat down with Maysara Hammouda, Founder and CEO of Scottish fintech Predictiva. We spoke about his solution that uses AI in the trading sector, his views on the future of AI and the future of trading and the real benefits and challenges poised by the development of AI.

In this episode we spoke with Megan Grant from Edinburgh-based fintech Appointedd about Consumer Duty and the role that new innovative technologies can play in supporting established financial firms meet those new requirements. At the end we also mentioned Megan's next challenge, swimming the channel to raise money for charity. To support her follo…

In this episode, we explore the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in streamlining compliance within the financial sector, showcasing the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab. We discuss the future of financial compliance, enriched by AI's capability to automate and innovate. This episode is for anyone interested in the intersection of technology,…

Episode recording with Fintech Australia. Fintech has emerged as a transformative force in the financial sector, offering innovative solutions that not only enhance financial services but also address broader societal issues, including environmental sustainability, customer vulnerability, and overall financial well-being. Those objectives are heavi…

In the ever-evolving landscape of fintech, securing Series A investment is a crucial milestone. Raising investment is much more than just about the money and we’re going to explore what that means in this episode. We will delve into the crucial stage of Series A fundraising for fintech companies and speak about investor mindset, pitching, challenge…

During this special episode of Fintech Scotland's Podcast we recorded live from the Fintech Summit, the opening event of Scotland Fintech Festival that took place between the 21st of September and the 12th of October 2023. In this episode we spoke to Bryn Coulthard, Chief Product and Technology officer at Smart Data Foundry. We discussed the role o…

In this special fintech festival episode Fintech Scotland and Findr spoke with Rebecca Midgley, Innovation Manager, at the Phoenix Group. We spoke about their innovation forum, how they partner with fintechs and how they are looking to tackle societal issues such as the gender saving gap.

In this special 2023 Scotland Fintech Festival episode we spoke with Mike Teall, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Scottish fintech Snugg and Adam Betteridge, Partnerships and Open Banking Lead at TSB. We discussed TSB Innovation Labs that saw Snugg secure a partnership with TSB, helping the bank's customer make their homes greener. We foc…

Scotland Fintech Festival took place between the 21st of September and the 12th of October. With over 50 events the festival was a real success this time again. During the launch event, the Fintech Summit, we recorded special episodes in collaboration with collaboration platform Findr. In this episode we speak with Nicola Anderson, CEO at Fintech S…

Lending money is a process that has long been around and for many years it was left undisrupted. People are very familiar now with credit scores and the idea that to get credit you need credit. New solutions and technologies are coming to disrupt this market to make financial products more accessible to a greater number of people. In this episode w…

By Now Pay Later is not something new. Offline, it’s a process that goes back several decades. Online we’ve started to see offers develop in the last 10 years with a real acceleration powered by fintech innovation in the last 5 years. In the UK this market represents $27Bn and is expected to reach $55Bn by 2028 according to Payments Cards and Mobil…

On November 10th, 2022, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) was approved by the EU. It is designed to standardise IT risk requirements in the financial sector to ensure that all participants of the financial system are subject to a common set of. Amongst other things it introduces an oversight framework for critical third-party providers.…

In this special episode with speak with David Tracy, Head of Data Science, at Smart Data Foundry on the week they presented their new Aisle proposition at Innovate Finance Global Summit. What is synthetic data is? How is it different from real-world data? We'll explore how it will speed up innovation and collaboration in the fintech world, what the…

Scaling up a fintech business is a crucial part of a company’s life, moving from launching and validating a proposition to growing, onboarding clients and driving revenue. At that stage companies will focus on marketing, sales, recruitment which are all important considerations. It is however paramount to also look at resilience to protect customer…

In July 2022, the FCA published its Consumer Duty. Regulated firms need to implement the new rules by the end of July 2023 for open products and July 2024 for closed books of business. Firms will need to review their products, communications and customer journey. It will impact most areas in those organisations such as governance, reporting, produc…

When thinking about payroll generally most people would assume that it is something that works well. You work, you get paid. However, payroll is being disrupted like never before. According to software company Intuit, one in four workers say they have had paycheque errors. And cloud company Kronos found almost half of workers who have had two or mo…

The FinTech Scotland Research and Innovation Roadmap highlighted the growing focus on climate considerations for the financial services sector. Whilst this is in part driven by consumers, demanding better transparency for the products they invest in, this is the launch of new regulations that is accelerating the move to a more sustainable financial…

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 …

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, …

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 age…

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…

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…

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, …

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 rai…

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 coll…

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…

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 cha…

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 r…

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.…

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-founde…

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 Re…

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, E…

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 wh…

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 tempor…

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…

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 w…

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 specifica…

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