The latest in a long stream of centralised initiatives – whose current and future success remains to be judged – is reported today by our friends at AltFi. We’re keeping a weather eye on the situation. More, assuredly, is to follow.
Fintech industry body Tech Nation has today revealed the newest group of fintechs selected to join the Fintech Cohort 3.0.
Fintechs on the list include digital wealth and technology provider WealthKernel, revenue-based financier Uncapped, open banking provider Yapily and alternative lender CreditEnable.
The 31-strong list includes businesses from all over the country, with 60 per cent of the companies joining hailing from outside London, and from all sectors of fintech including a particularly strong insurtech presence, with 20 per cent of the fintechs featured being an insurtech.
Liam Gray, Fintech Lead, Tech Nation said: “The UK fintech ecosystem is truly world-leading and its strength is clearly demonstrated by the calibre of companies on this year’s Tech Nation Fintech programme.”
“Our third cohort will officially introduce insurtechs to the programme, a sub-segment of fintech that has matured significantly in recent years. This cohort will also be the most geographically diverse group of fintechs we’ve ever had, with 60 per cent located outside of London, highlighting the growing prevalence of regional fintech hubs.”
The judging panel for the latest cohort consisted of Catherine Wines, co-founder and director of WorldRemit, Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum VC, Richard Theo, founder and CEO of Wealthify and Amir Nooriala, COO of CallSign.
Following the success of previous programmes, with alumni such as the likes of Funding Circle, Credit Kudos, PrimaryBid and ANNA Money, there was a 20 per cent jump in the number of applications from the previous year.
The announcement comes just days after the industry body launched a new programme to help bolster UK fintechs, the Fintech Pledge.
Fintech Pledge, which has been backed by HM Treasury and the Fintech Delivery Panel, will help accelerate the growth of the fintech sector by opening up communications between banks and leading fintech firms.
Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide
That figure is the result of over £20 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.
All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.
So here’s our guide to the process:
The ISA allowance for 2019/20 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.
Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.
Risk: Security, Access, Yield
Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment. We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s one of several earlier articles on security, access and yield.