Future Finance Demo Day

Had a ball at Future Finance Demo Day where I spoke on the Fintech and Financial Inclusion, Chaired by Chris Pond, Financial Inclusion Commission. A number of challenges were raised such as, is it too ambitious to assume that all consumers will want to use digitalized financial services? There is much that providers can do in terms of design to help those who are not digitally savvy but there will be a minority who will prefer in-person interactions and they should all be catered for. The work of Plend was called out as a an example of what can be done, when old credit scoring models are broken down and those on low unstable incomes are given appropriate loans along with financial coaching. Alongside me on the panel were Kirsty Davies from Nationwide (doing excellent work with vulnerable consumers), Professor Hazel Conley from UWE (enlightening us on the women tech leaders' experiences) and Gabriela Isas from Good With. Good With's product is currently being tested in the FCA sandbox. Do check it out!