FinTech as a Force for Good
On Wednesday 13th October, Innovate Finance hosted FinTech as a Force for Good, in an ambition to showcase the power of FinTech to create real change, right now. It was a great day full of a number of thought-provoking speakers. We heard from FinTech founders, policy-makers, regulators, financial institutions and investors. They were all there to discuss and debate key problem areas facing society and develop an action plan with tangible outputs that showcase how the sector can help create and support a fairer, greener and more sustainable world for all.
As experts in the FinTech sector, we’ve dealt with a variety of problems, including financial crime, compliance and risk. But as sustainability and ethical concerns become more prominent, it’s imperative that we keep informed and recognise challenges that are arising. Above all, this ensures that we are always in the best position to help our clients.
There is a huge realm of possibilities within FinTech. FinTech acts as a catalyst for financial inclusion as it creates more opportunities for the unbanked population. The impact it has had is significant in rebuilding our economy in a more sustainable way.
The shared information helped unveil the sustainable finance directives that the UK is looking to master over the coming years. The UK government have asked the UK FinTech sector to step up to the plate and provide innovation to enhance their green finance agenda along with making the UK the top FinTech hub in the world.
However, for FinTech to continue to succeed, we need to collaborate with each other to stay one step ahead. As Nicola Ranger, Centre for Greening Finance, put it “connect, don’t collect”. `We should be sharing metadata to create a whole web of data to learn from. Eva Gustavsson, PayPal, continued this message of sharing data by saying that it will be critical to have comparable data to solve the challenges of AML KYC. Data should be created in a format that can be shared with a focus on what we do with it, not how and what is collected.
“The leaps in tech are remarkable. There is an opportunity to shape things for generations to come” – Anne Richards, Fidelity International.
We must continue to allow the FinTech sector to grow. For example, government and industry bodies are supporting start ups and scale-ups with more ways to test ideas and get them to market quicker than ever before. The introductions of regulation sandboxes and nurseries can be seen up and down the country. Secondly, continuing to develop technology will be key. Whether that means using AI to detect financial crimes or creating products which will drive sustainability. There are far too many possibilities to list, but now is clearly the time to act.
Project Partners can help you understand what change you need to make and how you can do that. Contact us today to find out more.
