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June 30, 2020

Leading Industry Report shows– small businesses’ need for flexible debt repayment solutions to survive the next 18 months

Funding Xchange’s Quarterly SME Lending Monitor highlights the need to address the stresses currently experienced by up to 40% of the businesses who have borrowed from alternative lenders.

Funding Xchange is the leading online portal appointed by the government to direct small businesses unable to access funding from their high street bank to other lending providers.

Data from March to June indicates that up to two out of every five businesses that currently have loans from ‘alternative lenders’ are now in discussion with the lenders as they are struggling to fulfil their repayment programmes as a result of the coronavirus lockdown impact.

‘Alternative lenders’ have provided another option for business who are unable to access funds from their high street bank. They have become established following the last financial crash as the market looked to introduce a more competitive business lending market.

Those very lenders are now facing issues themselves with limited capital to lend further to businesses. Without a flexible approach that ensures struggling borrowers make repayments, they themselves may be forced out of the market, reducing the competition that the government has been so keen to establish.

Chief executive of Funding Xchange, Katrin Herrling said, “It is no surprise that the data we have collected through the Funding Xchange platform over the past quarter indicates that many businesses are facing a difficult financial future in terms of their cashflow. To address this the government introduced the guaranteed loan support schemes, with repayments of these loans typically delayed by 12 months. Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of businesses have also sought concessions from alternative lenders as they their cashflow dried up during the crisis. There now needs to be a focus on how the repayment programmes are managed if we are to avoid putting businesses under further cashflow pressure, and potential failure, with a knock on impact to the lenders.”

Open Banking data does offer a solution according to Herrling. “The data that we are now able to draw from Open Banking sources, matched with credit and business performance data, lets us plot when and how a business can manage loan repayments without causing additional distress to the business’s financial position, and as such ensure the business’s ongoing viability. This is an area we are now working on with the ‘alternative lenders’ and the banks, and indeed are looking for the Pool E RBS Remedies Fund being managed by BCR to help us with, so that we can provide to them the models to help them with their decisioning and loan repayment restructuring.”

The monitor also draws out that many of the smaller businesses that needed financial support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic were actually unable to access it.

Whilst start-ups and sole traders have accounted for 40% of the requests for loans, less than 5% of these have actually been funded.

June 30, 2020

Alternative lender Capital on Tap expands to Spain using Marqeta API-powered platform

Marqeta, the leading global modern card issuing platform, today announced it has helped one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies, Capital on Tap, to expand its small business credit lending services to Spain. Capital on Tap will be using Marqeta to power payment processing for its small business credit card, offering a working capital facility of up to €50,000 for small businesses. Capital on Tap’s new Spanish users will be provided with a new, Marqeta-powered credit card, offering small businesses a faster and more transparent way to fund their business.

Using Marqeta, Capital on Tap allows Spanish SMEs to access funding in a more streamlined and frictionless way. Its online onboarding processes mean customers don’t need to visit their bank and wait weeks for a response; instead, decisions on funding can be made within a day. In addition, Marqeta-powered credit cards provide more suitable lines of credit, while enabling greater customisation, expense tracking, and categorisations to meet the needs of small businesses.

“As the world begins easing Covid-19 restrictions, SMEs will be looking for accessible funding to help them get back up and running again. But to date, businesses globally have faced several issues trying to access working capital from state-backed schemes, while banks are taking longer to respond and are more reluctant to lend. As a result, SMEs have been unable to access useful lines of credit focused on their needs,” said Ruben Vidal, the Spanish MD for Capital on Tap. “With Marqeta, we’re able to address several of these issues right away. Our quick and easy processing means SMEs can focus on running their businesses, instead of jumping through hoops to secure the funding they need. We expect to issue millions of Euros to Spain’s 3 million sole traders and small businesses within 2020 and beyond, supporting their plans to reopen, grow and prosper.”

Marqeta’s simple API-driven approach made it simple for Capital on Tap’s systems and developers to customise the card programmes to meet the needs of the Spanish market. The team was able to replicate its existing card programme in the UK with a few modifications – for example, switching currencies and lending criteria. This helped to ensure all customers and payments are configured and processed in the same way, through one central global platform, reducing operational overheads.

“Launching a new card programme in a new region can be extremely complex. With other providers it would potentially involve an entirely new build, but with Marqeta it was surprisingly easy – we could essentially copy and paste our UK model across, with a few small but essential tweaks to ensure it was a perfect fit for the market,” added Zoe Newman, Capital on Tap’s head of international expansion. “Using our existing Marqeta sandbox environment we were able to begin testing as soon as we were ready. The Marqeta team was very responsive and on-call to help with any of our questions. If we’d had to start from scratch with another third-party provider, it would have taken over 6 months, but once we made the decision it only took a couple of days to get everything up and running. It has also provided us with a blueprint for future expansions across Europe and the US in years to come.”

 

June 29, 2020

Trade Ledger and Equifax extend partnership to support bid for Capability & Innovation Fund

Trade Ledger, the global banking platform, and Equifax, the consumer and business insights expert, have announced an extended partnership for the UK market which will bid for the BCR Capability and Innovation fund. The fund is part of the RBS Alternative Remedies Package, designed to improve the financial products and services available to small and medium enterprises.

Trade Ledger’s advanced loan origination and servicing technology, currently being implemented in a number of tier-one UK banks and alternative finance providers, has been purpose built to securely aggregate, store and transform any type of structured data directly from common SME applications like accounting packages to facilitate better digital credit products. It also combines transaction data from banks and credit history data from credit bureaus, such as Equifax to help better underwrite risk.

Building on an established data collaboration relationship, the two parties plan to work together to create a portable credit file solution for SMEs. The proposition will use breakthrough financial technologies such as Open Banking and Open Accounting to enable UK SMEs to build their credit profile.

If successful, the solution will be the first time a dedicated SME lending automation platform and a commercial credit bureau have collaborated on a fully interoperable credit passport for SMEs with the capability of being used to expedite and improve the entire credit application process for lenders and SMEs alike.

Martin McCann, co-founder and chief executive of Trade Ledger, comments: “Now more than ever, the UK’s smaller businesses need us to be on their side, so we’re delighted to partner with Equifax on the concept for a service which, if we are successful, will deliver tangible benefits to hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed SMEs and lenders simultaneously.

“By leveraging our unique open platform for SME finance and unique commercial data assets from Equifax, we have the chance to play a significant role in driving the UK’s recovery from Covid-19, as well as building a more sustainable and competitive financial services sector after.”

Jayadeep Nair, chief product & marketing officer at Equifax UK, said: “We’re acutely aware of the challenges faced by UK SMEs as a result of Covid-19, and want to play our part in supporting their recovery.

Using technology such as APIs and Open Banking, plus a combination of traditional and new data sources, we can build a better and more accurate picture of an SME’s financial health in real time.

“For SMEs, having a way of showing their stability and creditworthiness based upon the most current data is crucial to accessing finance as they look to rebuild after the pandemic.”

Equifax has been part of the SME sector in the UK for over 40 years, delivering credit reports, scores and credit limits. Equifax is one of the world’s largest information services businesses and, with circa 10,000 clients in the UK, has established relationships with the majority of the commercial lending market.

As part of the new collaboration, Equifax have also committed to joining Trade Ledger’s SME fintech taskforce, formed to establish a new business credit origination and underwriting infrastructure for lenders in the wake of Covid-19. Current taskforce members include leading UK fintechs Nimbla, Wiserfunding & Northrow.

June 26, 2020

PFS expresses its empathy for Wirecard customers and clients

PFS (a company of EML) has expressed its desire to support the cardholders and corporate clients of Wirecard at this time. The global fintech understands that steps taken today by the financial regulator in the UK may mean that Wirecard clients and programmes may have difficulty accessing the services that they had previously enjoyed.

Lee Britton, CCO at PFS stated: “Our first thoughts are with the customers and clients of Wirecard. Given our years of experience, reputation in the industry and sound financial footing, we stand at the ready to assist with a world-class payment solution suite. In all of my years in the sector, this has truly been an extraordinary week. We at PFS/EML enthusiastically work within regulatory frameworks worldwide to ensure we continue to positively shape and impact the digital commerce revolution.”

As an authorised and regulated electronic money institution, PFS is required to take all necessary steps to segregate and safeguard all monies received and held before being returned to a client or paid away to a clients’ order in line with Regulation 20 (Electronic Money Regulations 2011).

PFS adopts this segregation approach to safeguard client funds at all times. Money is held in bank accounts with several third-party banking partners, all of whom are authorised deposit-taking institutions, in multiple currencies. Each bank account is designated as “client funds” in order to segregate it completely from its own funds. All relevant funds are deposited by a client directly into segregated bank accounts which are designated as client funds to ensure they are immediately safeguarded upon receipt.

In addition to its robust financial safeguarding policy, PFS has best-practice risk controls, monitoring and governance in place and acts in strict accordance with recognised industry standards and procedures.

June 26, 2020

UK fintech market powers through with a surge in specialist hires

With a 53% growth in the last three years, an active fundraising scene, and a 20% surge in-demand during lockdown – fintech has become the poster-boy for how an industry can be in a position to respond quickly to change and opportunity.

According to recruiter Robert Walters Fintech: Challenger to Competitor, these are the four factors driving the fintech market forward:

  • Prolific fundraising: Fintech investment in the UK has exploded by 500% in the last three years, compared to 170% for the USA and 133% for Europe.
  • Geography: London has built a name for itself as the most reliable fintech hub, with the City receiving 80% of the total fintech funding that comes into Europe. In the UK, fintech remains London-centric, where the growth vacancies has primarily taken place in the capital (+16% since 2019, and +53% since 2017).
  • Ability to remote work: 85% of fintech firms were able to transition to remote working immediately due to their investment in tech, compared to a national average of 71% of firms who were prepared for instant home working.
  • Strategic hiring: Traditional banks are now following the fintech model by ramping up recruitment of tech professionals to make up a third of their workforce. Whilst banks now contend with a skills shortage, the fintech sector has been aggressively hiring tech specialists for the past three years whereby they now make up 46% of the sector.

Tom Chambers, senior manager – technology at Robert Walters comments:

“Fintech’s have done a tremendous job of creating an entrepreneurial culture – encompassing fast-thinking and implementation, cross-department collaboration, true flexi and agile working, and soft-benefits geared around wellbeing.

“In no other industry does the product design, tech, marketing and finance departments work as seamlessly together as they do in a successful fintech company.

“As a result, they have been able to attract the kind of professionals that every company is in need of now – those who are hyper-aware of how to maintain a good work-life balance, solid tech proficiency, and staff who are passionate and dedicated towards achieving company objectives.”

With just 2% of jobs* within the fintech sector immediately under threat as a result of Covid-19, versus 22% of jobs in the wider high-growth economy, the Robert Walters UK Fintech Salary Survey 2020 shares insight into what the hotspot roles are within the fintech market.

TALENT HOTSPOTS

 Profess Hotspots in FintechYOY growth
1Regulatory Compliance+56.7%
2KYC+51.9%
3Stakeholder Management+48.8%
4Data Analysis+45.6%
5Fraud Investigations+42.8%
6Digital Marketing+38.4%
7Financial Modelling+35.3%
8Customer Experience+33.4%
9Customer Relationship Management+28.3%
10Risk Management+25.8%

 

 Tech Skills Hotspots in FintechYOY growth
1Computer Vision+ 85.9%
2ReactJS+81.7%
3Information Security+63.9%
4Machine Learning+59.4%
5DevOps+56.5%
6Natural Language Processing (NLP)+53.0%
7UX Design+52.3%
8AWS+51.1%
9QA+46.6%
10Cloud Computing+41.3%

Regulatory compliance
Roles within the compliance field have grown by +57% year-on-year. With just 7% of the fintech talent pool being from a compliance background, professionals within this area can command as much as £90,000 p/a.

Daniel Connors, associate director at Robert Walters comments:

“As regulated entities, fintechs are required to adhere to the same, if not more stringent, guidelines and decrees by regulators as traditional financial services firms. An ability to meet regulatory requirements is integral to starting and operating a successful fintech.

“As regulations continue to change and become more stringent, experienced regulatory compliance professionals will become increasingly valuable to the sector.”

Know your customer (KYC)
Roles within the KYC field have grown by +52% year-on-year, representing 9% of the fintech talent pool.

Daniel Connors comments: “Firms having an understanding of who they are transacting with, and on behalf of, is critical to ensuring transactions are compliant with rules and regulations set out by regulators.

“As an increasing number of customers engage fintech firms, there is a direct need to increase the ability to on-board them in an efficient and compliant manner.

“This is accelerating recruitment of compliance professionals that can perform KYC checks to limit a firm’s likelihood of being involved in any illegal activity.”

Fraud investigations
Demand for fraud investigation experts has gone up by +43% in the last year, now representing 10% of jobs in the fintech sector.

Tom Chambers comments: “AI and machine learning capabilities have given rise to a breadth of financial transactions online, and with it, an alarming increase in financial crime.

“While AI is helping fintech firms detect fraudulent activity, specialists in fraud investigation with experience in leading intricate payment investigations are helping fintechs to improve their fraud response and boost their fraud prevention strategies.”

Customer experience
Customer experience has been hot on the agenda for the financial services sector for the last 18 months – with job roles in this area growing at +33%. A particular role to watch is customer experience manager where demand has skyrocketed within the fintech sector by +89%.

Customer experience managers within the VC-backed fintechs can command up to £80k, and for start-up or SME fintechs as much as £50k.

Daniel Connors adds: “As the fintech sector becomes overwhelmed with new products entering the market at a rapid pace, those best placed to succeed will be the fintechs with clear points of differentiation.

“As products offered become less differentiated, the need grows to acquire new customers via strong reviews, CRM, and customer experience, as does the requirement for specialists within this area.”

Risk management
Job roles within risk have grown by +26% year-on-year, representing 14% of jobs within the sector.

Risk analysts roles have increased by +27% and can command an average of £45k, and credit risk analysts have grown by +23% with professionals being paid an average of £52k.

Daniel Connors comments: “As fintechs continue to become more engrained and adoption rates increase, the need to have robust risk structures in place is essential.

“The balance of providing a fast, fluid and responsive service to compete in the fintech space, with robust risk controls will continue to be a challenge. As a result, professionals that can manage enterprise risk in a prudent manner will ensure the ongoing success of a business.”

UX and UI Design
The value of a good application and interface is evidenced by the rapid growth of UX (+52.3%) and UI (+40.4%) design skills within the industry – with professionals being able to command up to £76k in this field.

Tom Chambers comments: “Fintech has continued to challenge the banking industry with its upper hand in providing ease of use and simple, stylised user applications. No matter how good the tech is behind the scenes, a fintech product propels in value according to a firms’ continued investment in UX & UI Design talent.”

Product management
Demand for product management skills remains steady (+15% YOY growth) as fintechs at points of scale require product owners or managers with the right balance of technical know-how, stakeholder management capability and strong customer mindset. As a result, product managers are able to command up to £70k p/a, or 500 day rate as a contractor.

Tom Chambers comments: “As fintechs continue to scale their product teams, a growing number are hiring a chief product officer (CPO) to head up this function, acting as the organisational ‘bridge’ between the technology and the customer interface.”

Data scientists and machine learning engineers
Leveraging big data is becoming increasingly key to both the fintech and banking sectors as customer behaviour continues to evolve and become further segmented. With this, adopting Machine Learning and developing predictive analytics enable payments providers to make strides in areas such as understanding customer spending patterns, automating fraud detection and customising product offerings.

With this trend, we’re seeing banks and fintechs race to hire data scientists – demand is increasing by +71.2% annually within the fintech space, and +78% in the banking sector.

Machine learning engineers on average earn £80k for a large/VC-backed firm, and £66k for fintech SME’s.

Software engineers
The financial services space continues the ongoing battle to hire the best engineers in the constant push for improvements in availability of services, reduction of latency and real-time updates.

In particular, the industry is witnessing exceptional growth (+81.7%) of ReactJS talent, and DevOps professionals (+56.5%).

More generally, a continued focus on the use of APIs, Micro Services engineering, Containers and Cloud platforms are expected to be in force across the development space.

June 25, 2020

NatWest launches new open banking payments service

NatWest has today announced the launch of a new online payment service, Payit by NatWest, which allows customers to make instant online payments to participating retailers, without the use of a debit or credit card – resulting in a fast, fair, simple and safe payment experience.

Payit uses the Open Banking infrastructure to allow customers of UK banks to pay for products and services offered by retailers who use the service, which is targeted at mid to large corporate companies.

Open Banking was introduced in 2018 by the CMA to allow licensed financial service providers to share customer data, and NatWest’s use of the technology means it’s the first major UK bank to utilise open banking to facilitate payments in this way. In the coming weeks, Payit will also be introducing capability to allow merchants to process refunds.

With customers of the UK’s nine largest banks eligible, consumers don’t need to bank with NatWest to take advantage and can use the service by selecting the Payit button on the merchant’s payment page and then selecting the bank they wish to pay from. The consumer is then automatically redirected to their bank’s mobile or online banking to complete the payment.

Developed in partnership with Pollinate, built by Endava, and in pilot since 2018, Payit has won a host of accolades including Retail Banker International’s ‘Best Customer Facing Technology of the Year’ award, the Celent Model Bank Innovation Frontier Award and the Best Open Banking initiative at the 2019 Financial Innovation Awards.

Payit has also been named as a supplier to the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Payment Acceptance framework, meaning it is now available to UK government and the wider public sector. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2018/19, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth £945m.

Accountancy software provider FreeAgent, will also offer Payit on its online and mobile platforms imminently, allowing customers to make instant payments from any bank or building society.

Paul Thwaite, CEO, Commercial Banking at NatWest said: ‘As the largest supporter of UK businesses, we are thrilled to launch Payit by NatWest, allowing mid to larger businesses with an online presence to accept payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts in near real time, providing them with an effortless and safe payment experience.

We are especially pleased to have used Open Banking technology to achieve this, allowing customers of the UK’s main banks to use this new payment option. Payit joins our growing portfolio of digital innovations for businesses, showing NatWest’s commitment to helping them thrive and achieve their potential.’

June 25, 2020

EQ partners with Encompass to bolster KYC offering

EQ (Equiniti), an international technology-led services and payments specialist, is delighted to announce that it has partnered with Encompass to further bolster its KYC proposition.

EQ will work with Encompass to automate and use artificial intelligence to analyse data that helps build a dynamic picture of a company or individual in just minutes, enhancing EQ’s technological capabilities alongside their fully managed service.

EQ provides a highly personalised, end-to-end service for customers’ KYC challenges, from customer onboarding and complex due diligence investigations through to large scale remediation projects. The addition of greater automation and data analysis further streamlines the KYC process for EQ’s customers, saving them time and money.

The partnership will also future proof EQ’s access to third party data sources through universal connectivity and allow for consistent compliance across jurisdictions.

Together, EQ and Encompass solve many of the critical challenges of KYC corporate onboarding, combining automated data and document discovery, workflow, and client outreach. Combined with EQ’s leading managed KYC service, this proposition revolutionises very complex, costly processes.

Chris Adams, head of product at EQ Digital commented: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Encompass, who have proven success in delivering greater automation and access to data to their partners within the KYC sector.

“We consider ourselves experts in handling KYC cases that can’t be automated, in cases of complex ownership structures and screening hits for example. This partnership will help us in our wider market offering in delivering a truly comprehensive, efficient KYC product for our customers.”

Nick Ford, VP, distribution and alliances at Encompass, commented: “At Encompass, we have developed strong partnerships with a number of industry-leading providers, and we are delighted to now count EQ as a valued partner.

“Together, EQ and Encompass solve many of the critical challenges of KYC corporate onboarding. Combining automated data and document discovery, workflow, and client outreach. Combined with EQ’s leading managed KYC service, this proposition evolutionizes very complex, costly processes.”

June 24, 2020

Zenobē secures up to £20m of contracted receivables funding from NatWest

Zenobē Energy, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of battery storage, has secured up to £20m of contracted receivables funding from NatWest Specialist Structured Finance, to support the continued growth of the company in the EV sector. This follows on from last year’s successful raise of £35m of equity from JERA Co. Inc. and TEPCO Power Grid Inc. and the arrangement of the first non-recourse debt facility from a high street bank secured against battery storage projects that trade predominately on a merchant basis.

Zenobē is a UK market leader in battery storage, with 73MW of operational grid-scale battery capacity. The company focusses on the innovative use of storage, investing in bespoke software to optimise the monitoring, utilisation and dispatch of its batteries. It was the first battery owner to develop software to enter the Fast Response and Reactive Power markets and recently won a contract with National Grid ESO to provide reactive power on the transmission network utilising battery technology – a world first.

Zenobē applies the expertise gained through its grid-scale battery operations combined with its financing capabilities to provide fully funded services to transportation and other customers turning their clean energy ambitions into a reality, while reducing costs, increasing flexibility and improving the resilience of their power supply. Its proprietary grid-scale battery software has been further developed to optimise bus charging costs, battery warranties, and generate new revenue opportunities, as well as support telematics for the vehicles themselves.

This NatWest funding is the first financing arrangement to support electric bus and charging infrastructure provided under service contracts to bus operators. NatWest provides funding which is secured against the cashflows generated by Zenobē’s contracts with the operators to provide charging infrastructure and EV bus managed services. Combined with Zenobē’s technical expertise, this NatWest funding enables the company to offer competitively priced end-to-end services to the bus operators including the design, installation, financing and operation of electrical charging infrastructure in the depot, the financing and optional replacement of the battery in the bus and the financing of the non-battery components of the bus (‘the chassis’).

Zenobē’s innovative solutions for the bus sector are enabling the faster take up of EV buses in the UK, helping to meet legally binding climate change targets and improve air quality across the country. These services will be particularly important as the UK comes out of lockdown and bus operations return to normal with an emphasis on the adoption of zero emission vehicles. Zenobē’s services work alongside the government’s Ultra-Low Emission Bus (ULEB) grant offering for transport operators as a match funder which enables the available grant finance to support the financing and deployment of more buses than can be achieved without this service offering. The NatWest funding will support the financing and further deployment of EV fleets across the country.

The funding was led by Nicholas Beatty and managed by Bradley Fox at Zenobē and led by Piers Johnson at NatWest. Legal advice was provided to Zenobē by Lisa Marks of Stephenson Harwood. NatWest was advised by Andrew Maskell of Addleshaw Goddard.

Nicholas Beatty, founder director, Zenobē Energy, said: “This facility with NatWest demonstrates Zenobē’s continuing leadership in the battery sector with its focus on innovation and provision of solutions to customers which combine the company’s technology, operational and financing capabilities. This funding will be crucial in allowing us to achieve our growth ambitions and support our fast developing EV fleet businesses as our clients adopt zero emission fleets both in the EV bus sector and the wider EV fleet market”.

Piers Johnson, head of corporates, specialist asset finance said: “We are very pleased to be supporting Zenobē Energy by providing funding that will help to increase the use of electric vehicles and create a greener transport system for all. We have set out an ambition to play a leading role in helping to address the climate challenge and this deal is a clear demonstration of how we are supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.”

Lisa Marks, partner, Stephenson Harwood said: “We were really pleased to advise Zenobē – one of our key clients – on this innovative and strategically significant funding. With the changing legislative landscape, where electric busses now form a core part of the country’s environmental efforts, investing in green technologies is more important than ever. Having previously advised Zenobē in relation to its bus operator contracts for battery and charging services, and the provision of bus chassis, it was particularly satisfying to have been able to support them in realising this novel and complex funding arrangement. We look forward to continuing to support them as they realise their long-term strategic priorities.”

Andrew Maskill, head of asset finance said: “We were delighted to work with Zenobē Energy, their lawyers and our client Natwest on this project. We all worked closely as a team to create an innovative structured receivables based product which will hopefully assist Zenobē roll out their Bus battery product in the UK. We look forward to working with them and their team again in the future.

June 23, 2020

US-led M&A and investment is set to drive digital transformation in 2020

Digital Transformation in the finance sector will be the sweet spot for M&A and investment for the remainder of 2020, according to technology-focused investment bank, ICON Corporate Finance.

ICON believes that Digital Transformation across all industry sectors has accelerated to become the most pressing priority for organisations in the aftermath of Covid-19. ICON predicts, this will drive future growth and appetite for acquisition of tech companies worldwide, particularly those involved in finance.

Its assessment is underpinned by a recent ICON survey of some of the most active UK M&A buyers. This showed that there has been no drop in appetite for acquisition in the tech sector in 2020, which remains high, with key areas for expansion expected to be in fintech, cloud, managed services, healthtech, cybersecurity, AI and enterprise software. This is further backed up by research from Pitchbook*, which showed that in Q1 fintech VC exit value surpassed 2019’s $4.9bn.

As organisations adapt to new ways of working, companies in the US tech market tech and will continue to be amongst the most acquisitive as they continue to seek out deep tech and disruptive young companies that are reshaping the world.

To capitalise on future growth in the sector and US market appetite, ICON has extended its footprint into the region with the opening of an office in San Francisco. Providing unrivalled access to the world’s tech and deal hub, it will bring clients in Europe, Africa and Asia direct access to the epicentre of the world’s tech community, where appetite for investment and acquisition in disruptive technology is unrelenting. For US clients it will present new possibilities in both domestic and international markets.

With the West Coast central to its future expansion plans, ICON, which led US-based IQVIA’s acquisition of UK-based Optimum Contact, and JP Morgan’s funding of UK-based Mosaic Smart Data, has appointed former industry analyst at 451 research and datatech expert, Ben Kolada as head of US Tech investment banking. Ben has over a decade of experience in the sector and a deep knowledge of the West Coast and US markets.

According to Pitchbook Data’s Emerging fintech research* increasing cybersecurity threats are forcing organisations to turn to technology to mitigate against business interruption, protecting both systems and remote workers. This is particulary acute for financial institutions, where new areas of risk and regulation have been introduced to address expanding cyberthreats and data security concerns. It sees regulatory buy-in as a driver of RegTech solutions.

Pitchbook’s report also shows that banks seeking to address changing consumer expectations will continue to innovate, with smaller banks seeking partnerships and larger banks more likely to make acquisitions or invest in capabilities in house. BaaS platforms are seen as a particularly strong growth area for fintech companies providing ways for banks to increase their competitiveness in the digital economy.

CEO and founder of ICON, Alan Bristow, adds: “As the world discovers the new normal, it is the tech sector that will drive societal changes and enable new ways of working. The US West Coast’s innovative approach and its dominance in deals origination, is the core driver for our new presence in San Francisco. We are excited to be bringing US markets to Europe’s doorstep, and vice versa.”

• Pitchbook Data Inc Emerging FinTech Research Q1 2020

June 22, 2020

Equiniti rebrands as EQ

Equiniti, the international technology-led services and payments specialist, is delighted to announce that it is becoming EQ.

EQ provides accessible digital services for regulated markets. It specialises in equity and investment products, pensions, payments and regtech, and performs administration and payment services for c.70 of the FTSE 100.

The new label, EQ, aligns the company’s branding with its three core divisions: EQ Paymaster, EQ Boardroom, and EQ Digital; alongside the US division, EQ US.

EQ seamlessly serves the needs of over 3,000 companies and, through those companies, more than 30 million shareholders, investors and pensioners across the world. The rebrand is one of numerous initiatives underway to connect EQ more closely with the 30m customers it serves. These also include the launch of a far-reaching vulnerable customer programme and a supplier code of conduct to drive sustainability through EQ’s supply chain.

“The change to EQ is strongly symbolic: as we enter a new decade, and a new era for Equiniti, we’ve been considering what this means for us,” commented Guy Wakeley, Group Chief Executive of EQ. “It means a stronger purpose; a more collaborative, sustainable business; it means investing to protect vulnerable customers.

“Our new brand represents the simplicity of our operations, the quality of our service, and our everincreasing digitisation. We continually strive to care for every customer and to simplify each and every transaction. EQ embodies our motivation to achieve this.”

The company’s legal name will remain Equiniti Group plc.

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