SHIFT Open Finance Community

As we approach the end of the year here is a roundup of SHIFT in numbers. ⭐️ SHIFT Open Finance Community SHIFT now has grown to over 340 members representing over 218 Fintechs. Over 8,000 messages were sent in our community slack channel this year We hosted over 16 virtual and in-person events connecting over 1,000 people from Fintechs, Financial Institutions and VCs. Launched our SHIFT Youtube Channel with educational videos, event snippets and exclusive interviews 🚀 SHIFT+ SHIFT+ has been supporting 14 fintechs to effectively position themselves and engage with Financial Institutions. SHIFT+ was recognised as the Most Innovative Financial & Digital Management Consultancy Firm 2024 – UK. “Working with Shift has been such a great pleasure- they have supercharged our partner network and also helped position a strategic vendor to prospective clients. The team is super dedicated and great fun- we really make the most of our membership!“ - Daniel Rose, Doshi 🏆 Fintech Champions The Fintech Champions Community now brings together 21 individuals from Financial Institutions who are passionate about fintech integration and innovation. 🔥 Ignite Ignite our incubator programme supports founders to start their new fintech ventures. We launched our first IGNITE programme with over 70 applicants and selected Money Squirrel, who has now launched their Beta product. Congrats to Andreea Daly! Thank you to everyone that supported us this year and we are looking forward to an even bigger 2025

🌟 Navigating Fundraising Challenges for Fintechs 🌟 Last week, with Rare Founders we hosted a room full of fintech founders... At Google's Startup Hub, we hosted a morning event with the aim of helping fintech founders understand the difficult fundraising roadmap. The event featured a panel with the amazing: 🎤 Kyle Masterson, Head of SHIFT Open Finance Community 🎤 Johnnie Martin, Investor at Augmentum Fintech 🎤 Stella Buhalis, Investor at Nauta 🎤 James Fell, Founder and CEO of Credit Canary 🎤Daniel Rose, Founder and CEO of Doshi The conversation was packed with actionable advice and stories from both sides of the fundraising table. A big challenge many of our members face is trying to get funding without proven traction due to regulations holding them back. Some key insights on this topic were to work as close to the edge of regulation as possible (either a supplier, or become an agent of someone else's license) so you can start to prove the need without being regulated. It is also important to ensure a strong story to tell investors that proves there will be success down the road. Thank you to the incredible panellists for their candour and for everyone who joined us to engage, share, and learn from each other. #SHIFTOpenFinance #Fintech #Fundraising #RareFounders

Recently, we had the privilege of speaking with Andreea Daly, Founder of Money Squirrel, about how their mission to empower business owners to do more with their hard-earned cash🚀 Key Highlights: ✅Always be financially prepared; by 'squirrelling' money away for future transactions ✅Save time and stress; by automating your cashflow savings ✅Earn more; earn interest on your cash with market leading savings rates Here Andreea shares where the idea for Money Squirrel comes from🌟 🎥Want to learn more? Click on the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/ewFDHhxh #SHIFT #OpenBanking #Interview

🚀 Calling all ambitious fintechs! 🚀 NatWest Group has launched their Fintech Growth Programme and is on the lookout for five fintechs ready to explore partnership opportunities and scale in financial services. If you’re working on an innovative solution in payments, don’t miss this chance to take your business to the next level. 📅 Apply before the 10th January deadline. Click here to apply https://lnkd.in/eAHp8aVM What’s in it for you? ✅ Tailored 1:1 coaching ✅ Learning modules and events ✅ Access to a fintech peer community ✅ Direct engagement with NatWest decision-makers and the Innovation team The 10-week programme kicks off in February 2025, and this is your opportunity to unlock incredible growth potential. Huge thanks to our Fintech Champion Deodosia C. for her involvement in this exciting initiative! 🙌 #Fintech #Innovation

We’re thrilled to partner with Verticode and our Ignite programme! At the SHIFT Open Finance Community we are on a mission to move finance forward through active collaboration.🚀 Verticode, are experts in turning bold fintech ideas into reality through affordable MVPs. Together we can empower our community of 230 Fintechs to quickly iterate new Fintech concepts and products. Combining our strengths to empower founders, foster innovation, and transform the financial landscape. Our first collaboration was with Money Squirrel, and you can see the amazing work as their platform is now live: https://moneysquirrel.uk/ Here’s to driving progress and building a stronger Fintech ecosystem together! 🌍

Recently, we had the privilege of speaking with James Fell, Founder and CEO of Credit Canary, about how their platform is transforming lending.🚀 Key Highlights: ✅Streamlined Processes: Cutting manual review times from 45 minutes to 5 minutes for faster, smarter decisions. ✅Enhanced Insights: Leveraging data to create consumer-centric, real-time lending solutions. ✅Improved Outcomes: Optimising payment schedules and boosting collection rates through AI-powered experimentation. ✅Inclusive Innovation: Empowering underserved lenders to compete with advanced tools for better customer engagement. James shared his vision of using data to make credit systems more efficient, inclusive, and personalised for borrowers and lenders alike.🌟 🎥Want to learn more? Click on the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e2w8rBhC #SHIFT #OpenBanking #Interview

What a Monday. Today we soft launch Money Squirrel. 🐿️ It started life as a way to solve my own problem - manually splitting and moving incoming funds to squirrel the VAT + another 20% away for HMRC bills, while earning interest 🐿️ I've been working on this for the past year. I've put blood, sweat and tears (almost literally) into this. We're gradually onboarding cohorts of early adopters - and I'm extending the early access offer while we do. So snap up discounts while you still can! Get squirrelling: https://moneysquirrel.uk/ (I'll just be here, testing, onboarding and internalising my excited screams.)

🎄 SHIFT Fortnightly Update #30 is Here! 🎄 The final update of the year is live! Here's a quick rundown, but you can dive into the full version here: 👉 SHIFT Fortnightly Update #30 Upcoming Events: 📅Navigating Fundraising Challenges for Fintech Companies, Wednesday, 11th December, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm 📅Building Societies Annual Conference 2025, Birmingham,7th & 8th May 2025, reach out for details! 📅APIX Press Release Opportunity, reach over 134 financial institutions across Asia and the Middle East. Reach out to join. 📅UK FS Market Entry & Expansion Programme. Helping fintechs thrive in the UK FS market with tailored expertise. Contact us to learn more! New Members: 👋Sagi Avitan, Co-founder & CEO of Paylow 👋Wojtek Buczynski, CFA, FRM B., Co-founder of Fast Fast Audit AI 👋Mohamed Omar, Founder of Tokunize Member News: 🎉Money Squirrel launches Beta product. Congrats to Andreea Daly! 🎉 Multiple SHIFT members featured in Sifted’s Startups to Watch report! Jinesh Vohra (SpriveApp), Yaseen Rostom (Incredible), @Jake A. & Raza Sadiq (MBA/IRMCert) (MQube), Joy Joseph Abisaab (Mast), Chuyao WANG & Evangeline A. (Noggin) 🎉 Love Ventures Christmas Padel Event for Founders. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eVdaKnhe 🎉 Elite B2B Sales Bootcamp for Founders. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eRs8-yJa Kick-start 2025 with Advanced Sales Skills. Resource Recommendation: 📘Check out the Open Banking and Cash Savings Review: https://lnkd.in/eUKCkZw6 Thank you for an incredible year—here's to an even brighter 2024! 🚀

🌟 SHIFT Fortnightly Update #29 is LIVE! 🌟 Here’s the quick summary, but don’t miss the full version 👉 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/e5MQM8zk SHIFT Updates: 🚀 Navigating Fundraising Challenges for Fintech Companies 🗓️ Wednesday 11th December | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM 🎟️ Register here: https://lu.ma/ur08yy5u New Members: 👋 Tahir Farooqui, founder of Smartlayer.ai 👋 Pietro Arina, MD, PhD candidate, founder of Lapis AI Studio Member Milestones: 🤝 Doshi partners with Market Harborough Building Society – Congrats to Daniel Rose! 🤝 Menna launches Beta Small Finance Assistant – Kudos to Dan Mines! Partner News: ❄Get your SHIFT-discounted ticket for the VC Winter Ball – 5th December here: https://lnkd.in/eY2xQAp3 🎟️ ❄Love Ventures Christmas Padel event for founders: https://lnkd.in/eGN4q7Zk ❄SHIFT x FinTech Connect – Uniting world-leading FinTechs and Financial Institutions: https://lnkd.in/eGN4q7Zk Resource Highlight: 💵 Kick-Start 2025 with Advanced Sales Skills – Elevate your B2B sales game: https://lnkd.in/eRs8-yJa Recommended Reading: 📚 Why Nations Fail – A must-read for anyone exploring economic systems and innovation: https://lnkd.in/dwUUKBCZ Stay tuned for more updates, and let’s keep building the future of FinTech together! 💡

🌟 Join Us for the Venture Capital Winter Ball 2024! 🌟 The most anticipated event of the year is just around the corner! Secure your (SHIFT discounted) ticket now for the VC Winter Ball on 5 December 2024 at 7:30 PM. Here's what to expect: ✨ 30 Family Offices ✨ 150 Investors ✨ 250 Other Attendees ✨ A keynote speech by the CEO & Co-founder of fintech unicorn, Thought Machine ✨ Champagne, canapés, and networking in a stunning venue. 🎩 Dress Code: Strictly Black Tie 🎶 Enjoy an unforgettable evening of drinks, music, and networking with industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs. 🎶 Whether you’re seeking funding for your startup looking for new investment opportunities, or just eager to connect with like-minded professionals... This is the place to be this festive season!🎄 🎟️ Get your ticket today and join the London Venture Capital Network community for an evening to remember: https://lnkd.in/eB8TGpdD #VCWinterBall2024 #Networking #VentureCapital