FAQ

We’ve answered some common questions below but if you have more please get in touch

Who can apply?

We’d love to have applications from fintech companies which promote financial inclusion and financial capability, by helping people to do one or more of the following:

Start actively saving and plan for the unexpected
Confidently manage their money and track day-to-day financial transactions
Understand and manage credit better
Identify and access more suitable financial products
Facilitate access to financial products through innovations in credit scoring and ID/address requirements

Applications are encouraged from both B2C and B2B companies who:

Are a fintech startup (by fintech we include all new business models facilitated by technology in the financial services sector such as regtech, insurtech, cybersecurity etc.)
Can demonstrate how their product or service helps British people in one of the five areas above. Note: you do not have to exclusively serve the financially vulnerable or underserved customers but you must include them in your strategic development plan
Have their HQ in the UK

Unfortunately we don’t accept applications from large, established financial services providers

What is the prize?

The prize package includes:

Customer insight support from the Money Advice Service, worth at least £70k. The Money Advice Service will pay for an independent evaluation of the impact your service has on the financially excluded consumers you target, using world-leading insight frameworks and standards. This will give you detailed consumer insight and evidence that is likely to be helpful in attracting backers to your product. The insight will be published on the Evidence Hub run by the Money Advice Service, the leading insight exchange worldwide for organisations aiming to reduce financial exclusion and improve financial capability
For products that demonstrate strong positive impacts on consumers most in need, the Money Advice Service will be interested in discussing white-labelling opportunities. As context, the Money Advice Service has in excess of 8m customers annually
The Experian Spotlight Award may be awarded by Experian to a company in any category and will recognise outstanding concepts, products or services. The discretionary prize will be designed in collaboration with the winner to accelerate the development of the company’s idea and could include data support and/or services
Collaborate with Citizens Advice to further test and refine your product or service by getting access to target customers in their user base
Stripe will offer winners $50k in transaction processing free, mentorship from Stripe Head of Startup Growth, business and technical workshops at Stripe HQ
2 complimentary tickets to Money20/20 Europe 2018 for each winner
The Head of Financial Inclusion and the Head of Digital Inclusion at Lloyds Banking Group will give mentoring to the winners
Expert mentoring sessions with Lloyds Banking Group, Money Advice Service, Mustard Seed Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Bethnal Green Ventures, Toynbee Hall and others
Promotion across key financial services institutions
Exposure for your brand across Tech City UK website and social media channels
And more to be confirmed…

What do you mean by HQ in the UK?

This competition is all about helping those in the UK who are left behind by financial services or could need help managing their money. We’re exclusively looking for companies who have their main center of operations in the UK.

My product or service helps people in developing countries can I apply?

You’re welcome to apply but your headquarters must be in the UK and you have to be able to demonstrate that you are testing with or already have customers in the UK.

We are a non-UK headquartered businesses, can we apply?

Unfortunately not this time around

What do you mean by fintech startup?

By fintech we mean all new business models facilitated by technology in the financial services sector such as regtech, insurtech, cybersecurity etc.

What do you mean by financially excluded customers?

There are many definitions of financial exclusion and financial capability, so we are not going to take a rigid view. We assume that you will have developed your own thinking about how you define and reach a segment of the population that has a need for greater access to financial products and/or a need to improve their money management skills (both problems overlap). We expect this to be reflected in your application. If you think your product or service can apply to this segment but want to check if it really does, look at the Financial Inclusion Commission’s Report on Financial Inclusion, and the Money Advice Service’s market segmentation based on financial capability. The Money Advice Service targets the “squeezed” and “struggling” segments within this segmentation.

Do I need to exclusively address financially excluded customers?

No you do not have to exclusively serve this customer segment but in your application you’ll have to give a clear explanation of how you intend to target this segment and where it fits into your business strategy.

Financially excluded people are often digitally excluded – why would you have a digital competition?

We are aware that financial inclusion and capability are vast, complex and multifaceted issues that technology alone cannot solve, particularly because many people in the UK do not have the ability to access internet-based services. This competition doesn’t pretend to portray fintech as a panacea for those difficult problems. It focuses only on the issues that can be alleviated through the use of the most advanced technologies. In short, it is meant to shine a light on those fintech-related businesses that are using technology as a force for good in the UK.

I have a question that’s not answered here

We are always happy to answer anything that’s unclear – get in touch with us at fintech@techcityuk.com