Leading consumer finance provider accelerates commitments to innovation in progressing UK Fintech Incubator

BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK has reaffirmed its commitment to supercharging innovation in the financial services sector by welcoming the latest cohort to its UK Fintech Incubator Programme to address insight and data-led challenges impacting the industry.

Following a competitive application process for this year’s programme, several tech organisations have been inducted into the programme and were recently invited to attend an event to formally showcase their proposed propositions and innovative, digital solutions and services.

Hosted at STEAMhouse, the event saw each of the eight fintech companies on the programme showcase their solutions to this year’s innovation challenge, which is focused on how harnessing external insights and data can enhance engagement with customers in the financial services sector.

Richard Newland, Chief Customer Officer at BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, welcomed attendees to the event and led a discussion on the importance of collaboration in the financial services sector. Each organisation was given the opportunity to introduce their business and concept and Senior Executives from BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK were invited to immerse themselves in demonstration areas to get hands on with the new products and services and experience the customer journey.

Participants then took part in a knowledge sharing session to gain insights into the financial services sector from multiple viewpoints, including that of a financial provider’s perspective. Following this, the latest instalment of the monthly steering sessions offered as part of the programme enabled 121 troubleshooting sessions. The day finished with peer-to-peer feedback reflection, enabling business opportunity to take action to further develop their solutions.

The eight companies participating in this cohort are: Autofile, Inicio, Financial Cloud, Furbnow, CarCloud, Voolu, Paylow and Wyser.

The event follows a successful collaboration between BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK and SuperTech, after which the two organisations extended their partnership and launched an incubator programme with ambitions of discovering digital solutions that will help supercharge the financial services sector.

In the coming months, the tech companies will continue to collaborate, gain insights into the financial services sector from BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, and develop tangible solutions to this year’s challenge that will be demonstrated at an upcoming showcase event in July.

Commenting on the programme, CEO at BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, Stephen Hunt, said: “For BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK to remain a leader in personal finance, it’s important that we implement new ways of operating, embrace new and emerging technologies, and develop better products and services to support our customers.

“Engaging with tech companies in sectors beyond our own helps us maintain an innovation mindset.   I look forward to seeing how the programme progresses in the coming months as we explore how we can add value to solutions we can provide for our customers.”

Vita Woods, Innovation Manager at STEAMhouse said: “This event was all about giving this year’s cohort a platform to showcase their propositions and gain valuable feedback from a customer and industry perspective. We believe by creating space for honest and open discussion that businesses can develop solutions which create value for all parties, and ultimately result in a better experience for customers.”

Hilary Smyth-Allen, SuperTech Executive Director, commented: “By launching a programme like The Innovation Lab and bringing together expertise from a variety of sectors, that’s how we make magic happen.

“Showcase events within these programmes are so important because they focus minds, not only for participants, but to challenge perceptions that impactful tech and innovation activity isn’t restricted to the Southeast of England. It’s happening right here in the West Midlands and with events like this, we’re shining a lens on the great work being done to advance the UK’s financial services sector.”

Find out more about the Innovation Lab programme here: https://www.bnpparibas-pf.co.uk/news/weve-joined-forces-with-supertech-and-steamhouse-to-launch-a-new-uk-fintech-incubator