Fintech industry body Innovate Finance announced its 2020 Manifesto last week, with the aim of advancing the UK’s standing as a leader in financial technology innovation.
Their vision for 2020 is for the UK to be the most investment-friendly environment for FinTech globally, attracting $4 billion of venture investment and $4 billion of institutional investment. Currently, UK fintech investment stands at $623 million, up from $264 million the year before.
Anders la Cour worked as a technology and financial M&A lawyer at a tier one law firm in Copenhagen, before co-founding the Saxo Payments Banking Marketplace. He fully agrees with the manifesto’s potential for UK fintech industry:
“There is no question that the FinTech sector represents a significant opportunity for the UK economy. There seems to be a growing appetite amongst a broad range of organisations to get involved in FinTech – from the creation of the UK Government’s FinTech special envoy, to investment in the sector by a number of traditional banks. And it’s vital that everyone understands the broader benefits that can be delivered to the economy by allowing this sector to grow.”
Saxo Payments are a fintech company who send and receive money internationally, sidestepping traditional banks and reducing fees in the process. Transfers occur instantly within the Saxo Payments community, even across borders. According to them, businesses are afraid to stand up and demand instant global transfers, cheaper international payments and better, more customer-centric service.
The payments company has just secured its fourth contract win in the space of a month. The latest partnership, with Valitor, a leading online and e-commerce payment solutions company, shows the hunger of start-up companies for a cheaper alternative to global bank transfers. Vidar Thorkelsson, Chief Executive Officer at Valitor believes its merchant clients will benefit from the deal.
“The Saxo Payments Banking Marketplace tackles the big challenge for our merchant clients of processing cross border payments quickly and cost-effectively, enabling us to significantly enhance our customer proposition.
“By joining the Saxo Payments Banking Marketplace we can also reduce the amount of extra time and money which is inevitably spent when working with multiple service providers. Now we can manage all the cross border payments for our merchant clients from one unique solution. We are looking forward to working closely with Saxo Payments to enhance the Valitor service offering, allowing us to build on an already extensive customer portfolio across various international markets.”
Miranda Wadham on 07/07/2015