FinTech as a Force for Good 2023

Building on the success of last year’s Forum, Innovate Finance reconvened the UK ecosystem this week to energise FinTech ambitions for an ever greater impact through new technologies, disruption and partnerships.

Opening the conference Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, launched our new FinTech Impact Report developed together with Accenture, Vested Impact and The Data City, to quantify the impact and potential of the sector as a force for good for the economy and society.

The analysis showed that UK FinTechs are overwhelmingly making a positive contribution to the UK’s economic productivity and growth, and are boosting regional economies in their search for wider access to talent. A quarter of UK FinTechs are having a significant impact on increasing financial inclusion through greater access to financial services, and a third are using technology to thwart fraud and organised crime.

Climate action was identified as an area where FinTech should focus further, both in ensuring their own operations are sustainable, and providing solutions to reduce the negative environmental impact associated with financial institutions' activities. Overall, the conclusions determined collaboration between industry stakeholders and policy makers will be essential to realise FinTech’s full potential.

Collaboration continued as a key theme throughout the day’s discussions. From Zilch CEO Philip Belamant championing the supportive approach of the FCA sandbox, to Ravi Bhalla FCA Head of Innovation, emphasising the regulator’s support for innovation with genuine potential to improve the lives of consumers, and Visa’s Vice President of Sustainability Solutions Stephen King’s mantra “sustainability is a collaboration game” given ecosystem change won’t happen without partnerships. Powerful partnerships - across industry, but also with the charity sector - were showcased underpinning the 2025 FinTech Pledge to improve consumer’s financial resilience, and Lloyds Banking Group and MoneyHub lifted the lid on the reality of working (successfully!) together to produce better consumer outcomes.

There were sobering statistics on the impact of the increasing cost of living from Citizens Advice CEO Clare Moriarty, as firms like Incuto and Totally Money shared their work to help underserved groups, complementing the case studies in Innovate Finance’s study earlier this year jointly with EY. Consensus emerged that Open Banking is a game changer, from the ability to prompt people into action to increase (or not decrease) their credit score, to better, quicker lending decisions. Marion King, Trustee of Open Banking Limited, was optimistic on the future of Open Banking, calling for pace in establishing the regulatory framework to put the next phase on a firm footing.

Financial education and financial literacy were also on the agenda, with GoHenry CEO Louise Hill celebrating “the power of fintech in removing fear, demystifying, and couching previously complex ideas in simple, easy to access language”. Lord Mayor Elect Michael Mainelli was clear “commerce is only working if it is working ethically”, and Joanne Dewar shared recent efforts to ensure the recruitment pipeline includes those with disabilities, highlighting the benefits that flow from this inclusive approach.

From an investor perspective, Tim Levene reiterated Augmentum is actively wanting to fund businesses with purpose, building profitable viable propositions to make financial services more accessible. London Stock Exchange CEO Julia Hoggett emphasised the need to understand and to value carbon impact, and that only in doing so will value propositions change, helping us genuinely get to net zero. In a similar vein, Icebreaker One CEO Gavin Starks outlined the foundations and next steps of Project Perseus, looking to automate carbon reporting for businesses in the UK.

For their roles in the success of this latest event, Innovate Finance would like to thank:

• The 70+ speakers across 20 sessions who gave their time to share their inspirational experiences and informative examples
• Gold sponsors Visa and Rise by Barclays, Silver sponsors Level 39, Lloyds Banking Group, NTT Data, WS Group, TransUnion, and Bronze sponsors Zilch and Google Cloud
• And finally, the 400 people who joined us from across the ecosystem to listen, learn, debate and discuss how best to advance our collective objectives to ensure FinTech truly is a force for good.

At the start of the day Innovate Finance CEO Janine Hirt issued a challenge to participants about creating a better world, asking “What more can you and your firm do to drive an even greater impact on more people and on our planet?

At Innovate Finance we look forward to continuing to support the sector on this important journey, and hope you’re inspired to take that next step towards being a firm that facilitates and drives change for the better.

If you attended, it would be great to get your feedback on the event by filling out this 2 minute survey. If you leave us your details, we will enter you into a draw to win a ticket to IFGS 2024.

Thank you from the Innovate Finance team!

P.S. Watch this space for links to watch the sessions on demand, photos of the day, our on the day interviews and our highlights video.