The FinTech Five – 17th December 2021
17 December, 2021
Welcome to the FinTech Five, the part of the week where we take a closer look at the best articles, news, and features from over the past week from our FinTech Wales members.
1. FinTech Wales Foundry Season 2: Validate, Raise & Scale Now Open for Applications
First this week, we are thrilled to announce that applications are now being accepted for Season 2 of the FinTech Wales Foundry accelerator programme.
The 12-week, no equity programme, this year titled The Foundry: Validate Raise & Scale, returns with new partners, new mentors, and a new programme director, the vastly experienced entrepreneur Neil Cocker.
Our first cohort raised £9m in investment, created 20 plus jobs and signed corporate deals with our program partners. Our Foundry 2022 program will be aiming to surpass these milestones by helping a cohort of startups validate their propositions, secure investment and prepare for growth.
With the support of our partners in both the private and public sector, and combined with access to academia, we know we have a winning formula. I’d encourage all eligible FinTechs to apply before the closing date of applications on December 24th, 2021.
P.S. Do you know of an exciting startup that would benefit from our programme? If so, share this opportunity with them today!
Click here for more information or to apply today!
2. LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Shift Technology Enter Strategic Alliance
Next, LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data and analytics for the insurance industry, and Shift Technology, a provider of AI-driven decision automation and optimization solutions for the global insurance industry, announced on Wednesday that the two companies have entered a strategic alliance.
As a result, insurance carriers can now seamlessly incorporate LexisNexis® Claims Clarity data and analytics into Shift’s insurance decisioning artificial intelligence (AI) models, allowing carriers to better predict fraud and risk at the first notice of loss.
To achieve greater workflow efficiency and deliver optimal customer experiences, insurers are increasingly adopting low-touch and straight-through claims processing strategies. For these initiatives to be successful, it is critical that claims professionals have the right data to know when claims can be fast‑tracked or when they require further triage and closer examination.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions makes this possible by providing insurers with system-to-system, actionable party and vehicle data in near real-time. The data and analytics leader delivers more accurate and robust, third-party data sets that insurers can leverage to successfully fast-track more than 80 percent of claims with a high degree of confidence. This allows insurers to focus on more complex claims and accelerate more straightforward claims through the claims process to achieve a greater customer experience.
“As the insurance industry shifts from batch to transactional data delivered in near real-time, carriers want deeper insights into potential fraud and risks at the first notice of loss in order to lower claims expenses and shorten cycle times,” said Tanner Sheehan, vice president and general manager of U.S. claims solutions, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
“Combining LexisNexis Risk Solutions data and analytics with Shift’s AI creates a powerful resource for our shared customers to process claims effectively and efficiently in the digital economy and, most importantly, deliver exceptional customer experiences.”
Click here to read the full article from LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
3. GS Verde Group insight: Fintech continues to lead equity market funding
Next this week, Fintech continues to lead equity market funding, data from Beauhurst indicates. The GS Verde Group are business focused experts in getting deals done, combining multiple disciplines to provide end-to-end support as a complete advisory team. Exploring the latest investment trends, the fintech sector looks set to continue earning high levels of investment.
The GS Verde Group has advised on a number of fintech deals: from the acquisition of an IT service provider specialising in cybersecurity to the acquisition of a transformative consumer lending platform to the leading provider of compliant software solutions in Credit and Debt Recovery.
With the aim of providing an innovative alternative to traditional industries in mind, the number of fintech companies operating in the UK (and globally) has boomed, as has the number of people incorporating financial technology into their daily lives. It comes as no surprise then, that fintech sees more investment than any other high-growth industry in the UK.
According to data platform Beauhurst’s Equity Investment Market Update for Q3 2021, a number of the UK’s major tech sectors saw an increase in deal numbers between Q2 and Q3, but none quite met the record figures seen in Q1 2021. Fintechs secured 77 deals in Q3, worth a combined £2b. This marks 80% of the total raised throughout 2020. The UK’s second-hottest start-up sector, artificial intelligence, saw 57 deals completed during Q3, amounting to £703m.
In fact, £5.05b has been invested into fintech companies so far this year—more than double the £2.51b reached in 2020. As it stands, £17.1b has been invested across all sectors between Q1 and Q3, with Fintech accounting for 30% of that total. Investments announced during Q3 2021 were worth a combined £6.32b—the highest amount of equity deployed in any single quarter.
In line with the ‘tech for good’ movement, an increasing number of fintech companies are focused on minimising their environmental impact and providing green alternatives to traditional financial services. Going forward, it looks likely that sustainability will be at the forefront of future fintech innovations in the UK.
Click here to read the full article on GS Verde Group’s website.
4. Yoello merchants can save a minimum of 10% off their insurance policy
Next, as a Yoello user, the concept of ordering what you want from a menu, at a pre-determined price, is second nature. But for the insurance industry, it’s something of an alien concept.
Currently, brokers don’t have to itemise your bill or disclose how much each service costs, unless directly asked. So, many customers are overpaying for the service and coverage they’re receiving.
That’s how hubb are changing the insurance market forever; by operating a menu-like approach to insurance broking. We identified an acute imbalance between high and low-touch clients and the prices they pay.
For example, a takeaway pizza should not cost the same as a table service steak dinner. Nor would the delivery charge for someone one mile away be the same as someone in a different county. There should be a correlation between the service received and the fee paid.
Usage-based/service-based is becoming increasingly normalised across all areas of commerce. hubb believe that business owners should pay only for the service they consume and that those costs should be agreed and disclosed upfront.
A recent hubb study revealed that 76% of business owners had no idea what commission they were paying to their broker. In any other industry, the idea of not knowing what you were paying would be insane.
But as they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It’s time for a new way to buy business insurance!
To prove the point, hubb are guaranteeing all Yoello customers a saving of 10% or more on their renewal price. With the average restaurant policy costing business owners £3,500, it looks like you’ll be able to throw the Christmas party on us.
Click here to read the full article on Yoello’s website.
5. Chetwood Legal Counsel, Emma Udi, recognised in 2022 Northern Power Women ‘Person with Purpose’ shortlist
Last but not least this week, Chetwood Legal Counsel, Emma Udi, has been nominated for the 2022 Northern Power Women ‘Person with Purpose’ for her work with the charity Dive In Education.
Emma and her partner Seno founded Dive In Education in 2020 with a mission to provide children with books that have central characters from minority backgrounds to help increase representation and to challenge biases and prejudices.
In a recent interview, Chetwood asked Emma to share a bit more about the charity’s purpose and her reasons for setting it up.
As part of the interview, Emma shares more about Dive In Education, it’s goal, how Emma’s role at both Dive In Education and Chetwood fit together, and why diversity in children’s books is so important.
Click here to read the full interview with Emma on Chetwood’s website.
Until Next Week
And that’s it for the FinTech Five this week. Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to join us next week for more of the best content from across our FinTech Wales membership.