The FinTech Five – 23rd July 2021
23 July, 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. Backbase release ebook on Banking Transformation Case Studies
First this week, Backbase has recently released a new ebook titled ‘Banking transformation Case Studies’ – described as the ultimate guide to reinvention for banks big and small. The ebook contains 10 case studies and seven chapters which contain insights from leading banks from around the world with actionable lessons on their transformation journey.
Backbase’s ebook includes everything they have learnt about banking transformation with 150+ banks around the world, broken down into the following brief chapters to guide you on your own journey:
Chapter 1 — Launch a digital bank from scratch
Chapter 2 — Modernizing banks for a digital generation
Chapter 3 — Small vs big: compete with giant & new players
Chapter 4 — How to acquire new banking customers, FAST
Chapter 5 — Retail banking: 5 star experiences & ratings
Chapter 6 — Digitization of business banking
Chapter 7 — The VIP treatment in private banking
2. Sonovate investigate ‘key trends and news: the future of work and funding growth’ in new blog post
Next, Sonovate have released a blog post exploring ‘key trends and news: the future of work and funding growth,’ including news about Sonovate’s funding growth, future unicorn status and fintech awards shortlists.
Record-breaking funding, future unicorn, fintech awards finalist:
As reported by AltFi, Sonovate had a record-breaking March with £55m in funding for businesses. In the 12 months from March 2020 Sonovate provided more than £500m of funding to keep the contract labour market moving.
Sonovate has also been identified as a future unicorn in an independent report from the UK Government’s Digital Economy Council and Dealroom.co. As Insider Media noted, Sonovate could become the first Welsh fintech unicorn – an exciting accolade.
Sonovate has also been shortlisted for several awards, including:
- Credit Excellence Awards – finalist for ‘Responsible Lender of the Year Award’
- Fintech Awards Wales – finalist for ‘Fintech Company of the Year’ and ‘COVID Hero Award’
- Tiara Talent Tech Star Awards – finalist for ‘Contractor Solution of the Year’, ‘Optima Talent Tech Leader of the Year’ and ‘Talent Tech Scale Up Award’
Future of work: flexible, hybrid and tech-driven:
Sonovate has seen the digital transformation of recruitment and rise of contractors and freelancers pioneering flexible ways of working, even prior to the pandemic.
Tech has quietly been reshaping the future of work – from enabling recruiters to prospect businesses and source candidates, to streamlining hiring and people management, business financing, timesheets and payments.
Tech will play an increasingly critical role in recruitment, freelancing, contracting and financing strategies in our new hybrid approach to work.
Sonovate predicts that the next stage will involve connecting these disparate systems, processes and data. Taking an integrated, tech-driven approach – leveraging AI, data and automation – will increase efficiency, extract intelligence and provide actionable insights.
You can read the full blog post, here – OR, to find out more about Sonovate’s flexible funding solutions and consult their team of experts, you can get in touch, here.
3. LexisNexis to host Complimentary webinar: Digital Trends for Contracts
Next, LexisNexis have announced an upcoming webinar in partnership with DocuSign, titled ‘Digital Trends for Contracts’, which is to take place on 37th July 3p.m. BST and will be facilitated by Genevieve Loveland, Professional Support Lawyer, LEXIS®PSL.
As the speed of business and the need for functional remote work increased in 2020, it became even more important to solve modern agreement problems in a way that set the stage for sustained, scalable digital transformation.
All industries had to quickly adapt to get contracts signed digitally in a virtual world. This was particularly true for Legal, Real Estate and Finance, who were relieved when HM Land Registry made changes last year that allows the use of electronic witnessed signatures (WES) on land registration deeds and HM Revenue & Customs who recently introduced electronic signatures for stock transfer forms.
This webinar will explore:
- Legal trends for contracting workflows
- How legal professionals modernised during the transition to remote work
- Which technologies are legal teams adopting to increase internal influence
- Latest guidelines for witnessed electronic signatures for Land Registration deeds – directly from HM Land Registry.
Speakers include:
- Doug Luftman, VP & Deputy General Counsel, Docusign
- Michael Abraham, Product Manager – Digital Services, Digital, Data And Technology Directorate, HM Land Registry
- Emily d’Albuquerque, Deputy Director, Central Legal Services, HM Land Registry
Click here for more information or to register for your tickets to LexisNexis’ upcoming webinar!
4. UK vehicle subscription business, Wagonex has released its list of the five popular models searched for by British families planning their summer staycations
Next up, UK vehicle subscription business, Wagonex, has released the following list of the five popular models searched for by British families planning their summer staycations:
- Peugeot 5008
- Range Rover Discovery Sport
- Audi A6 Avant
- BMW x3
- Kia Sorento
The most requested features suggest most users are looking for a car with extra space for passengers and luggage and technology to help keep the kids entertained on long journeys.
Wagonex offers:
- The choice of thousands of new cars available for subscriptions of anywhere between one and 24 months
- Deposits are refundable at the end of the contract
- All parts and maintenance are included for the duration of the contract, meaning no unexpected repair bills
- Fully comprehensive and totally transparent insurance is included in the monthly subscription payment
Toby Kernon, founder and CEO of Wagonex, said: “We’ve seen a noticeable shift in the cars users are enquiring about over the past few weeks.”
“Earlier in the year, the most searched for vehicles were pure electric models and highly desirable brands like Tesla.”
“At the moment though, with families planning their summer holidays, enquiries for SUVs, people carriers, estate cars and crossovers are all on the rise.”
Read the full blog here, – OR click here to explore some of Wagonex’s all-inclusive flexible vehicle subscriptions on their website
5. Trust Payments release guide exploring 5 Powerful Ways Data-Driven Decision Making Can Help Your SME
Last but not least this week, Trust Payments has released a guide exploring 5 Powerful Ways Data-Driven Decision Making Can Help Your SME.
Data has become the lifeblood of customer conversion – its analysis can help companies make intelligent decisions, including how to market their products and services, who they should target, which channels or payment methods to use and how to measure success.
The rise of the data-driven leader is an exciting shift for organisations. As our information sources become more numerous, it’s essential to make data-driven preparations for wiser decisions that could lead to more efficient processes and higher customer satisfaction.
As a small business owner, it simply isn’t enough to follow your gut instinct when it comes to big decisions. Building and nurturing data-driven outcomes in your SMEs growth strategy is a critical component of success.
How Data can help your business:
- Targeting customers intelligently
- Understanding your customer journey
- Diving into spending behaviours
- Staying on top of trends
- Empowering your workforce
Big data has taken over, and data-driven decisions are transforming how companies do business. Data science teams are becoming a usual presence in both large and small companies – this shows the importance of this new commodity and its real potential to make your decisions better.
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.