Housing, money management and insurance are to be addressed by the latest list of start-ups shortlisted in Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab London.
During a 12-week programme the start-ups will be partnered with some of the largest financial organisations in the world to fine tune their technologies and business models.
Narrowed down to twenty from a list of three-hundred, eight will pitch to venture capitalists and financial industry executives from organisations such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs and more. This group represents the largest class in the London Lab’s five year history, with has seen increased interest from start-ups from the Middle-East, Turkey, Russia, the Nordics and North America, according to Accenture.
The societal focuses of these start-ups will be considered timely and necessary by many who share the beliefs of Tom Graham, who has put forward the idea that the “transformation requirements of the financial services industry must undertake” are crucial to remaining relevant. It is thought that the opportunity could offer “light-bulb moments” in making the financial services “work better for consumers and the broader economy”.
The programme aims to highlight London as helping to lead the way in developing start-ups in the financial community , alongside sister programmes in New York and Hong Kong. The Head of Customer and Innovation at Santander has considered the action to be “defining the global Fintech innovation agenda”.
The FinTech London Lab has been gaining considerable momentum, with $386m funding to date. With a focus on building relationships during the programme, strong foundations are formed for development at home and abroad.
Twenty-eight mentors are involved in the process; these include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide, RBS, Intesa Sanpaolo, Santander, Société Générale, UBS, Rabobank, Standard Chartered, OP Financial Group, IF, MS Amlin, AIB, AXA, RSA, AIG, TowerGate, Ageas, Liverpool Victoria and XL Catlin.