Open Banking start-ups join Accenture’s fintech innovation lab
OPEN Banking third-party provider OpenWrks is among the 20 start-ups chosen to join Accenture’s 2019 Fintech Innovation Lab.
The fintech provides Open Banking tools and services to help businesses capitalise on the opportunities presented by the data-sharing initiative.
Two other Open Banking start-ups also made the cohort, Lifetise and Trust Elevate.
Read more: Open Banking set for 2019 surge
Other fintech start-ups selected include CreditEnable, which provides analytics solutions for lenders and small-and medium-sized enterprises; Investment Navigator, which provides investment advice for financial institutions; and data protection firm Exate Technology.
During the consultancy firm’s three-month fintech accelerator programme, running from January to March, fintech start-ups will be partnered with executives from banks and insurers to help develop their technologies and business models.
The 20 winners fought off competition from around 280 start-ups from 41 countries who applied to be part of this year’s programme.
Read more: RateSetter dips toe into Open Banking
The addition of the Open Banking stream this year expands the programme to companies that are capitalising on regulatory changes to serve banking and insurance customers, Accenture said.
The programme’s other streams include corporate and investment banking, regtech, tech4tech and insurtech.
“Open Banking is revolutionising the financial landscape, and we want to nurture the relationship with banks, insurers and the start-ups that are driving change,” said Julian Skan, executive sponsor of Accenture’s fintech innovation lab London.
Read more: New Open Banking platform for lenders aims to speed up income verification
“The UK is a hotbed for fintechs, which are starting to bite at banking revenues, but banks and insurers are also capitalising on the opportunity to work with emerging technologies and new talent to compete. With our accelerator programme in its seventh year, we’re looking forward to exploring how start-ups are using the changes to evolve the financial industry for the better.”
Accenture’s analysis has found that 63 per cent of banking players in the UK did not exist before 2005. Furthermore, investment in fintech ventures reached an all-time high in 2017, with the value of deals in the UK almost quadrupling to $3.4bn (£2.64bn), Accenture said, reflecting demand for new digital innovations.
