PRESS RELEASE – 12th May 2021
FinTech Innovation Roadmap to drive a digital enabled net zero economic recovery
FinTech Scotland is developing a ten-year research and innovation roadmap which will support the growth of Scotland’s digital economy and development of FinTech innovation across the UK.
This implements one of the recommendations highlighted in the recent Kalifa Review of UK FinTech which referenced Scotland as the second largest FinTech cluster in the UK and the opportunity to build on this position through strategic research and innovation.
The roadmap will advance the FinTech Scotland Cluster in a number of ways, including:
- Develop priority innovation themes such as financial inclusion, net zero and well-being
- Align research strengths and capabilities with innovation priorities and drive efficiencies
- Enhance Scotland’s national and global reputation for FinTech innovation
- Shape innovation challenges and influence future Government Innovation strategies
The roadmap is being developed in collaboration with the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence (GOFCoE) and together they have appointed Whitecap Consulting to progress the initiative. The work builds on the FinTech Scotland “Research and Innovation for UK FinTech” report published in January 2021 as well as the academic-led research and innovation roadmap recently developed by the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with regional Universities.
Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland, said:
“The roadmap will further advance and grow Scotland’s FinTech Cluster and it will bring insight and specific focus to accelerate FinTech Innovation. Working with Whitecap Consulting and across the Cluster we will identify a suite of progressive actions that will enable positive economic outcomes”.
Kevin Collins, Chief Executive of the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence, said:
“We’re delighted to be working with FinTech Scotland and Whitecap Consulting on this roadmap and is essential to ensuring we prioritise the needs of financial and FinTech businesses, including key skills gaps as well as provide an opportunity to align businesses and academics more effectively.”
Richard Coates, Managing Director of Whitecap Consulting, said:
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside FinTech Scotland and the GOFCoE team on this interesting project. The development of FinTech Scotland’s Research & Innovation roadmap calls for us to utilise a combination of our core strength in strategy and planning, our extensive work across the UK’s regional FinTech ecosystems, and our experience working with and connecting key stakeholders across public, private and higher education organisations.”
About FinTech Scotland
FinTech Scotland is an independent not for profit body established by the financial services sector, universities and Scottish Government to ensure that Scotland seizes the FinTech opportunities and achieves positive economic and social outcomes by encouraging financial innovation, collaboration and inclusion as part of the country’s broader digital economy objectives.
The organisation acts as a strategic enabler and cluster management body focused on leveraging the potential economic (i.e. productivity, business creation, employment) and social (i.e. financial inclusion, well-being and accessibility) benefits arising from becoming a leading global centre focused on FinTech innovation.
FinTech Scotland’s objectives are to develop an innovative community of FinTech firms, generate impactful collaborations between firms of all sizes and foster an inclusive cluster which is globally recognised.
In January 2020, FinTech Scotland was formally recognised for the development for the FinTech cluster in Scotland and accredited with the bronze label for Cluster Management Excellence by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis.
FinTech Scotland was initially founded in January 2018 as a joint initiative by Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. The organisation is now supported by a broad range of global financial services, technology and professional services firms as well as University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde, the Financial Conduct Authority, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
About Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence (GOFCoE)
GOFCoE is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) and FinTech Scotland to build a data innovation organisation, serving the public, private and third sector. In September 2020 GOFCoE received initial funding from the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation & Industrial Strategy through the UK Research & Innovation Strength in Places Fund.
Its mission is to improve people’s lives by safely unlocking the potential of financial data to enable research, innovation and skills development in Financial Services and FinTech’s. These objectives will be achieved by driving new data driven research through the development of a Global Economic Observatory, enabling faster, richer and collaborative innovation through a data-driven innovation environment and creating global technical standards in API security, digital identity and other technical infrastructure through creating a Global Technical Standards Working Group. GOFCoE will also champion consumer protection through research into economic crime and customer data protection.