The FinTech Five – 27th May 2022

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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. Welsh Tech Companies Pitch to Delegates from the Mubadala Capital’s Sovereign Investment Partnerships (SIP) at Tramshed Tech 

It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Mubadala Capital’s Sovereign Investment Partnerships (SIP) at Tramshed Tech earlier this week. 

Mubadala Capital’s Sovereign Investment Partnerships (SIP) have been managing commercially driven co-investment programs between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government and foreign counterparts since 2013. 

We’re delighted to have supported the Welsh Government in partnership with other ecosystem members Tramshed Tech, and the Department for International Trade (DIT) for this event, where we discussed the thriving tech ecosystem in Wales and how it’s increasingly becoming a prime destination for starting and scaling a business. At FinTech Wales we’ll continuously support inward investment initiatives for Wales.

The following companies had the opportunity to meet and pitch to delegates from the Mubadala Capital’s Sovereign Investment Fund and start to develop exciting international relationships: 

Jonathan Morgan, CEO of Object Matrix

Daniel Sawko, CEO and Cofounder of Ship Shape

Julian B. Mensah, MSc, Founder of Voltric

Sina Yamani, CEO and Jason Brickell, COO of Yoello

Peter Allan, Founder and CEO of Surple

Marco Oliver, Cofounder and CEO from Configur

Toby Kernon, CEO and Founder of Wagonex

George Bellwood, CEO and Cofounder of VIRTUS TECH

Tej Randeva, Founder and CEO of Add to Cart

Gary Piazzon, Founder and CEO of Porter Travel. 

2. Capital Law’s Employment Law Diploma is back for its 11th year

Next, the Capital Employment Law Diploma, brought to you by Capital Law, is back for its 11th year.

The Capital Employment Law Diploma is a professional development programme that provides pragmatic employment law advice for the workplace. It covers all day-to-day employment issues including recruitment, absence, discipline, performance and business change.

The course is taught by experienced employment lawyers with significant practical knowledge and experience of advising on these issues and successfully dealing with claims in the Employment Tribunal. It is run in conjunction with Cardiff Law School at Cardiff University, who set and mark the assessments. On successful completion delegates will receive a certificate from the Centre for Professional Legal Studies at Cardiff Law School.

Places are available for the next cohort which is taking place at Capital Law’s offices in Cardiff and London. The course fee is usually £2,995 + VAT per person, but if you book before September the cost is £2,295 + VAT.

Click here for more information on the course. 

3. Business News Wales Share article on Wagonex: The Welsh Start Up Changing How We Drive

Next this week, BusinessNewsWales shone a spotlight onto Wagonex in a recent article titled ‘The Welsh Start Up Changing How We Drive.’

“In 2016, Wagonex was created, the UK’s first car subscription company with one big ambition: to make car ownership fair, flexible, and fun.”, the article reads. 

Toby Kernon, Wagonex Founder, and CEO created the business after years of frustration with car ownership,

“Having owned, leased or contract-hired more than 20 cars and suffered the pain involved, I thought there had to be another way.”

This was a huge problem. Owning a car has its advantages but for many people it’s a long term burden with very few alternatives.

Wagonex wanted to change that. We scrapped the long term commitment for flexible monthly subscriptions, and instead of paying thousands of pounds to get the car, you pay a comparably small refundable deposit.

Insurance, road tax, breakdown cover, maintenance, and servicing are all part of the subscription package, so that our subscribers have everything they need in one simple monthly payment.

After months of pitches and follow ups, Toby had the basis of the Wagonex platform – utilising integrated payments, affordable embedded insurance, and first class customer service.

Toby then met up with the Development Bank of Wales,

“We got to know the Development Bank of Wales well before, during, and after our move to Wales. They completely supported us in creating local jobs. In Cardiff, you aren’t treated like any other company, you are valued and supported.”

Wagonex has now grown several times over, and moved our office to Tec Marina in Penarth with plans to expand in North and South America, UAE, and across Europe.

None of this would have been possible without the support networks that Wales offers. From Fintech Wales and their Foundry Accelerator to the support of the Development Bank of Wales.

This just goes to show what is being built here, and we’re grateful to be part of a startup and scaleup hub that attracts businesses from around the world and brings them to Wales.

Sarah Williams-Gardner, CEO and Founder of Fintech Wales, also founding member of Starlink Bank had this to say about Wales’ growing Fintech sector:

“FinTech Wales has community and collaboration at its heart. We act as a voice for the Fintech sector in Wales and are passionate about establishing Wales as globally recognised as a Fintech hub of excellence. Having launched our Fintech Foundry, a no equity accelerator program in the 2nd half of 2021 we were delighted to have Wagonex join this program. Wagonex is a great example of Wales’s next generation of Fintech Start-ups. As a member of the first foundry cohort, we were able to establish partnership opportunities, investment introductions and Trade mission inclusion.”

Read the full article on BusinessNewsWales’ website here. 

4. Wombat Partners With Currencycloud To Launch Free Instant Investment Service 

Next, UK-based micro-investment platform Wombat has partnered with Currencycloud, the experts in simplifying business in a multi-currency world, to launch its new, free, Instant Investing account to give investors the ability to invest instantly in the UK, and in US stocks during opening hours.  

By partnering with Currencycloud and integrating its APIs directly into their app, Wombat is able to offer its customers instant access to popular US stocks and shares by executing instant buy and sell orders with unlimited commission-free trading and low FX rates. These customers can trade regularly in real time, and instantly convert USD to GBP and vice versa when it suits them and without incurring any hidden FX fees.  

Kane Harrison, CEO and Co-founder of Wombat said: 

“The addition of Instant Investing is really exciting for us as it gives our users the opportunity to further their investment journey. For those who want to be able to trade shares more regularly, our new instant account will give them flexibility and greater options with access to real-time investments and live market pricing. These new features are fundamental to the next stage of our development and give our users the tools they need to invest the way they want.”

Nick Cheetham, Chief Revenue Officer at Currencycloud, commented: 

“The growth of Wealthtech over the last couple of years has been meteoric. Working with a brand like Wombat, that provides investment opportunities to the layman is a perfect example of our mutual goal of levelling the playing fields within financial services.” 

Click here to read the full announcement on Currencycloud’s website.

5. Phoenix Group launches 2 new challenges today as part of their Innovation Programme

Last but not least this week, Phoenix Group (previously Standard Life) has just launched 2 new challenges as part of their Innovation Programme, and are keen to get fintech applications from across the UK.

Phoenix Group is a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s largest long-terms savings and retirement business with a deep-seated culture of innovative thinking.

This programme builds on the innovation work already underway at Phoenix and creates a purposeful pathway for them to build partnerships with FinTech and Tech SME’s.

For successful applicants the programme offers the opportunity to work with one of the leading pension and investment groups in the UK, where they will have access to business leaders, designers, industry experts and mentors.

The Innovation Programme

 The challenges are set around themes:

  • Financial Resilience – Using Gamification to support Digital Literacy
  • Customers’ financial lives – Getting customers curious about their savings

We’d like to encourage our members and any fintech’s from Wales to apply for this fantastic opportunity. 

More information on the challenges and the application process can be found here.

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.

If you want to join our dynamic FinTech Wales community, then click here to learn more about the exclusive benefits FinTech Wales membership has to offer.