UK fintech startup competition seeks to further financial literacy initiatives

Financial institutions seek startups to deliver cutting-edge, innovative solutions in The Future of FinTech competition from Innovate UK.

The latest competition to hit the FinTech scene comes from Innovate UK’s IC Tomorrow program and works with some of the industry’s leading financial firms. It challenges startups and small businesses to come up with commercial, creative and technical innovation that deals with any of a range of themes, such as financial literacy and compliance.

Those entering the competition will compete for part of a £175,000 prize fund, which will be split between five winning entrepreneurs who could receive a maximum of £35,000 each. Furthermore, the winners will have the chance to trial their technology with one of a number of partners (while keeping their intellectual property) and includes financial giants such as RBS, Lloyds, American Express and Accenture.

According to an article in City AM, Lloyds will be looking for a startup that finds an engaging and intuitive solution to improve financial literacy and skills among consumers. RBS will seek proposals that increase cyber security and efficiency, while American Express and IC Tomorrow will search for creative methods to execute hyper-local transactions that can help small businesses and retailers improve digital payments.

It seems that government initiatives, coupled with some private sources of funding, are creating an ideal environment for FinTech startups in London and the UK as a whole. In fact, a recent report from the UKTI suggests the FinTech market is already worth £20 billion in the UK every year.

“The UK has become a hotbed for financial technology innovation, with many of the world’s fastest growing companies basing themselves here,” said Matt Sansam, IC Tomorrow program manager.

“This collaborative contest aims to support and accelerate their growth by providing commercial introductions to industry leaders. It also enables UK-based global players to harness the creativity of startups and help bring their ideas to market.”

Promotion, support, and advice is also offered to winners of the competition, not to mention access to the services of Digital Catapult, an organisation focused on advancing the UK’s best digital ideas through collaboration.  

The contest has already opened and the deadline for applications is on April 21st. To find out more click here.