8 Days Until the PIMFA Fintech Competition Closes

 

After two successful years, PIMFA is holding its third open competition in search of the most innovative start-ups that can provide FinTech solutions for corporate and enterprise customers in the personal investment and financial advice industry.

This year’s competition is now open and an exciting number of applicants from all over the planet have already entered. The competition will close on 31st May at 5pm and finalists will be selected the following day. These finalists will then present in front of a committee of PIMFA IT Directors on either the 5th or 6th June 2018.

The winners will have the opportunity to demonstrate their FinTech solution at the PIMFA Fintech Conference held on 12th September 2018. This one-day event which provides over 200 delegates from the investment management and financial advice industry with a platform to explore the advantages and how to mitigate the risks of bringing together technology providers.

To give an idea of the possibilities, a staggering US$31 billion was invested globally in the Fintech space in 2017, with the UK in third place on the investment table behind China and the US, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report. In a recent sector report, the head of Capgemini’s Financial Services Global Strategic Business Unit, Anirban Bose, says;

“With more than 75 percent of FinTech firms identifying their primary business objective as collaborating with traditional firms, it is essential that both FinTechs and traditional firms transform their business models by collaborating to drive innovation while retaining customer trust”.

The PIMFA Competition clearly offers an ideal environment for this type of collaboration to take place, where Fintech companies and more traditional practitioners in our sector can connect, discuss their needs and find strategies to cope with what has become a rapidly-changing landscape. With inward investment in the Fintech sector at an all-time high and forecast to grow exponentially for the forseeable future, an opportunity to present to key UK financial industry leaders is a prize indeed.

Rachel Bentley, Fintech specialist with KPMG’s innovative start-ups practice in London, highlighted a positive regulatory climate and a strong Fintech ecosystem as positives in attracting new start-ups in this space, adding to the diversity of the UK market as a whole, concluding that;

“London was one of the earliest Fintech innovation centres so it now has a large number of mature businesses with good traction in the market, clear paths to profitability, and strong value propositions for investors. This maturity has helped the UK market to remain resilient in an uncertain economy”.

One of last years’ winners, moneyinfo ltd’s Business Development Director Sim Sangha, had this to say about their experience at last year’s PIMFA Fintech Competition;

“Winning the PIMFA Fintech competition significantly raised our profile with COOs and Heads of Digital at leading wealth managers.  Most disruptive fintechs have limited marketing budgets but PIMFA found a great way to create opportunities for moneyinfo and wealth management firms to interact and learn how we could benefit each other.  We now proudly support some high profile DFMs, Wealth Managers and Family Offices with our client portal technology.  This is down to PIMFA recognising what would appeal the most to its members“.

One of PIMFA’s key focus points for the next 5 years is Digital Business Transformation. In the creation and continuation of this competition, providing a dedicated and structured environment for Financial Services firms and tech providers to come together to discuss aims, opportunities and inherent challenges, we are giving our finalists the chance to become a part of that transformation, and thrive.

If you would like to learn more about the PIMFA Fintech Competition or the Conference itself, please click here

Nigel Ross-Scott