Fintech Scotland announced on Friday it secured £22.5 million innovation funding for the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence (GOFCoE) to be established in Edinburgh and the Central region. According to the organization, GOFCoE will provide a trusted environment for participants from around the world to research and develop innovative solutions aimed at delivering social and economic benefits through open banking and financial data.
“The initiative will present opportunities to conduct research into public earning, spending and saving to allow innovative enterprises to create citizen focussed financial services as well as enable policy makers to understand the economic and social impact of policies and regulations before implementing them.”
Fintech Scotland further revealed that the concept and development of the initiative over the last two years has been led by the University of Edinburgh, FinTech Scotland, the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), and Scottish Enterprise with the support of a broad range of organizations. Stephen Ingledew, Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland, stated:
“The news reinforces the value of cluster collaboration between the diverse range of entrepreneurial enterprises, academics, large institutions, government and citizen groups in embracing the role of data in driving financial innovation to benefit all. With engagement across Scotland, UK and globally, the initiative will further reinforce the inclusive international approach in developing the fintech cluster which is focused on delivering better consumer financial outcomes and sustainable economic growth through innovation.”
Linda Hanna, Managing Director of Scottish Enterprise, added:
“The Centre of Excellence project sets out to help Scotland maximise the societal benefits of Open Finance, such as enabling quality financial services in disadvantaged areas – in line with SE’s increasing focus on inclusive growth and tackling inequality.”
