Fintech is a wide-ranging, multi-sector, global industry, whose growth influences not only the banking world, but society at large. Our deep dives, interviews and coverage looking at the evolution of payments, finance and banking are fuelled by constant updates, news and commentary on deals, funding rounds and partnerships.
This fortnight, fintech continues its hold on the gender pay gap, Mastercard offers extra trust in blockchain networks, ChatGPT takes over fund management, Nomo Bank finds a fintech partner, and both Griffin Bank and FinTech Wales add to their ranks.
This is getting tiresome…
Higher gender pay gap in fintech driven by lack of transparency
A recent survey published by EY and Innovate Finance, ‘Changing the face of UK FinTech: from glass ceiling to open doors: championing equality and career progression for women in FinTech’, found that a lack of salary transparency and low female representation in senior roles are driving a higher-than-average pay gap in fintech.
The EY report estimates that the gender pay gap — the difference between men’s and women’s median hourly earnings — in fintech is around 22%, compared to 14.9% for all types of employees across all UK industries, based on UK Office for National Statistics data.
The research, which was UK-focused and included interviews with 120 nominees of the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist, found that barriers to success still exist within the sector, with top female leaders in UK fintech citing a lack of industry recognition for their contribution (27%) and non-transparent promotion processes (25%) as particular challenges to career progression.
The report found the UK fintech industry to be less gender diverse (72% to 28% male/female representation) than the broader financial services sector (56% to 44% male/female split). However, fintechs were more diverse than the tech sector in general.
I thought trust was baked into the blockchain?
Mastercard wants to bring more trust to blockchain transactions
Mastercard has launched Crypto Credential. It will establish a set of common standards and infrastructure that will help attest trusted interactions among consumers and businesses using blockchain networks. There are several use cases that Mastercard Crypto Credential can unlock, as consumer and business verification needs vary widely based on market and compliance requirements.
For example, the Mastercard Music Pass NFT, which was launched as an extension of the Mastercard Artist Accelerator, requires different verification criteria than Mastercard’s work with Immersve, which offers consumers the ability to use crypto from their Web3 wallet to pay for everyday goods and services.
According to Mastercard: “Simply put, the level of verification needed for someone to receive an NFT differs greatly from the authentication required of someone to transfer digital assets from or receive assets to crypto wallets.”
I’m buying gifts for our robot overlords now
Is ChatGPT outperforming the top 10 most popular funds in the UK?
Finder.com created a fund managed by ChatGPT. The results are predictable.
A fund consisting of 38 stocks chosen by ChatGPT has risen 4.93% in the first eight weeks since it was created by Finder, on March 6. The ChatGPT fund has outperformed the top 10 most popular funds in the UK.
When averaged together, they are currently at -0.78% over the same period. The ChatGPT fund has outperformed the top 10 most popular funds for 34 of the 39 market days the experiment has been running, or 87% of the time.
And the bank/fintech partnerships keep coming…
Paymentology Powers Nomo, a digital sharia-compliant international bank
Paymentology, a global issuer-processor, has entered into a strategic partnership with Nomo Bank (Nomo), which claims to be the world’s first fully digital sharia-compliant cross-border bank.
Nomo, part of the Bank of London and The Middle East, and backed by Boubyan Bank, offers Middle East customers a range of international banking services, including current accounts, fixed-term deposits, property finance, multi-currency services and international transfers.
Customers can access these services through the Nomo app, which is available for download on iOS and Android devices. The app provides a seamless and intuitive experience, allowing customers to manage their accounts, track their spending, and make payments with ease via a Nomo debit card and Apple Pay.
Fintech bank continues to grow
Griffin strengthens leadership team with Marina Gorey joining as chief people officer
Griffin, a UK-based full-stack banking-as-a-service platform, has appointed Marina Gorey as chief people officer.
David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin, commented: “Continuing to cultivate a talented and engaged team is essential to our future success. We are thrilled to welcome Marina as our new chief people officer and believe her expertise will help us further enhance our culture and internal operations, accelerating our growth trajectory and better serving our customers and employees.”
Ms Gorey has an impressive track record of building winning cultures at ambitious organisations. She co-founded kid-tech start-up SuperAwesome in 2012, which was acquired by Epic Games, and has more than 15 years of experience in tech, specialising in creating high-performing organisations through effective hiring and a focus on empowerment.
Welsh fintech also grows…
FinTech Wales welcomes PwC as its newest enterprise member
The independent members association and champion of the Welsh fintech and financial services industry, FinTech Wales, has welcomed one of the largest professional services networks in the world, PwC, as its newest Enterprise Member.
By joining the organisation, PwC will have full access to the FinTech Wales community and the resources it provides. PwC will sit alongside several key Welsh financial services organisations including Admiral, Confused.com, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Principality Building Society, Hodge, Yoello, Sonovate, Sero, Delio, Go.Compare and many more as fellow members.
