Accenture has released their shortlist of Fintech startups that are tackling regulatory challenges with a digital solution. These Regtech firms seek to participated in Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab London to participate in a three-month fintech accelerator program running from January 2 – March 22, 2018. The accepted Regtechs and other Fintechs will be partnering with big banks and insurance companies to build out their business models and technology stack. The 20 companies on this year’s shortlist of startups come from the U.K., Israel, Croatia and South Korea. Over 270 start-ups from 42 countries applied to this year’s program.
The shortlisted firms will see eight of the startups go on to present to VCs and financial-industry executives at the program’s Graduation Day on March 22.
Accenture explains it launched the Regtech vertical in response to an increased pool of start-ups offering solutions for compliance. This comes at a crucial time for the finance industry. Massive regulatory shifts are in the queue – such as the revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2), which requires banks to make customer data available to third parties, with the customer’s consent; the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), which went into effect last week.
“The risk of non-compliance is what keeps financial boards awake at night,” explains Julian Skan, executive sponsor of Accenture’s Fintech Innovation Lab London. “As the drive for better customer experience and lower unit costs pushes data into the cloud, the price of getting things wrong has risen. It’s a pivotal moment for technology solutions to help banks and insurers not just to meet the needs of regulators, but make the most of the digital economy.”
Skan says that financial firms must improve their productivity. Fintech innovations can provide the “lightbulb moment” for banks and insurance firms.
“This year’s cohorts have shown how start-ups are learning to focus on problems that can be solved and to understand what they need to learn from incumbents who are facing the challenges of meeting digital customer expectations with legacy infrastructure,” adds Skan.
Dan Zinkin, a managing director at JP Morgan Chase, says financial firms must keep ahead of the rapid change taking place today.
“Financial firms have an important role in collaborating with start-ups to develop new technologies that can transform our industry … I am thrilled to be a part of a program dedicated to bringing financial firms and entrepreneurs together to navigate the future of the industry.”
Accenture has 32+ partners participating in the program. Big name financial firms include: AIB, AXA, BAML, Citi, Credit Suisse, Direct Line, DNB, Ergo, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMC, Legal and General, Lloyds Banking Group, LV=, Morgan Stanley, MS Amlin, Nationwide, Nordea, OP, Post Office Management Service, RBS, RSA, Santander, Societe Generale, Towergate, TSB, UBI, UBS, XL Catlin, Zurich.
The Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab London was launched in 2012, with support from the city’s mayor and other government bodies. Since its launch, 56 start-ups have participated in the London Lab, securing more than 50 contracts with global banks and creating more than 800 jobs.
The London Lab is modeled after a similar program that Accenture co-founded in 2010 with the Partnership Fund for New York City, the US$150 million investment arm of the Partnership for New York City.
In 2014, Accenture launched FinTech Innovation Labs in Asia-Pacific and Dublin. Globally, the Labs’ alumni companies have raised more than US$863 million in financing after participating in the program.
Shortlisted start-ups listed by financial services sector
Investment Banking & Asset Management
Retail Banking
Insurtech
Tech4Tech
RegTech