Innovate Finance published their annual list of women in fintech and while progress has been made, more work is needed; Innovate Finance CEO Charlotte Crosswell said "We’ve still got work to be done. When you look at statistics of women in fintech — it’s not there yet.”; other leaders like Anne Boden of Starling Bank said we all need to try harder; studies also show that the more diverse a team the better they perform. Source.
[Update: The webinar replay is now available here.] This Wednesday LendIt and Innovate Finance are teaming up with some the leading...
Innovate Finance is planning to move from Canary Wharf to a new location in the Square Mile; the industry body also plans to provide space for startups; Mark Boleat, the City of London's policy chairman, also noted they plan to bring broader and faster wireless coverage in order to attract small businesses stating that the Square Mile was a "natural place for fintech to coalesce." Source
The UK has triggered Article 50 and the 27 European Union countries will now begin negotiating with the UK for new terms; Innovate Finance's Lawrence Wintermeyer provides comments on the effects on fintech; says Brexit will make it more challenging for the UK to attract global investment and talent; Wintermeyer also says Brexit could potentially create new opportunities for regtech which will become increasingly important in cross-border activities. Source
Innovate Finance has released a report on fintech investment showing global investment in fintech increasing but decreasing in the UK; global fintech investment increased by 10.9% in 2016 to $17.4 billion; in the UK, fintech investment decreased by 33.7% to $783 million; fintech investment in China and the US accounted for $13.9 billion of the total $17.4 billion. Source
Innovate Finance's CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer has left the association to pursue other opportunities; Wintermeyer served as CEO for two and a half years and helped the association increase its membership to 250 members; Charlotte Crosswell, former CEO of Nasdaq NLX, has been appointed as the association's interim CEO while it searches for a successor. Source
Implementation of blockchain operations for the finance industry is still ten years away according to UBS executive, Veronica Lange; speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London, the UBS head of innovation says blockchain is still primarily in a research and development phase; there are a lot of positive reports about pilot programs and solutions and the finance industry is moving toward greater utilization of the technology but discussions at the Innovate Finance Global Summit report that new infrastructure will be required for full deployment and that will take time. Source
Innovate Finance and the Financial Conduct Authority have published a preview report on the UK Fintech Sandbox with a full report planned for May 2017; the preview report provides insight on the benefits of fintech sandboxes and how they can promote innovation while also helping to facilitate regulation. Source
Innovate Finance has announced eight industry leaders for a new ambassador program; Innovate Finance is one of the UK's most active trade associations for fintech; it's led by CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer; some of the program's industry leading ambassadors include Anju Patwardhan from the CreditEase FinTech Fund and Mike Sigal from 500 Startups; the ambassadors will be actively involved in the organization's upcoming Global Summit on April 10 and 11 in London. Source
Innovate Finance is encouraging the creation of two new fintech hubs in Bahrain and the UAE; Innovate Finance's CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer spoke on the potential benefits of a fintech hub for Bahrain on Monday at the FinTech Enterprise Excellerate (E2) conference; while in Bahrain, Innovate Finance will also meet with Bahrain fintech regulators; later in the week Innovate Finance plans to meet with fintech supporters in the UAE. Source