Top Birmingham employer extends its partnership with Fintechs
Leading finance provider BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK has announced the extension of its partnership with SuperTech to build on the legacy of innovation in the financial services sector.
In partnering with SuperTech � an organisation supporting tech innovation in the West Midlands � on its second incubator programme, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK hopes to compound learning from their 50 years ' experience in the field with insight from emerging Fintech companies.
The leader in finance entered the programme as a founding participant, recognising the importance of sharing expertise to drive collaboration between the global bank and Fintech companies, for the benefit of the local economy and financial services sector.
Following the first programme, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK has implemented digital solutions to solve complex challenges around data visualisation, automated underwriting and chatbots from collaboration with Fintechs. Consequently, the finance giant � who was recently recognised as a Top Employer for the third year running � has now pledged its involvement in the next phase of the SuperTech incubator Programme.
As part of the global bank 's mission to transform the customer experience, the two new challenges requiring Fintech collaboration are open finance and new sources of data and insight. This follows developments in the wider fintech industry, with attention turning to open finance, fintech for good, and quantum leaps.
Data and digital transformation is a fundamental part of BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK 's strategic plan and working with fintechs on these topics will help further fuel growth in these areas. This comes at an exciting time in the company 's ambitious growth plans as they celebrate their 50th anniversary this year.
Commenting on the announcement, Hilary Smyth-Allen, executive lead at SuperTech, said: “The demand led innovation programme embodies the value from serendipitous moments that stem from facilitated exchange of knowledge and ideas that produce brilliant outcomes. None of this is possible without anchor institutions taking the lead and so we 're very excited that BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, as the originator of the first fintech programme in Birmingham are returning for more challenges this year.
“In our role as regional representatives in the FinTech National Network and been part of UK Fintech Week, the challenges set by BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK couldn 't be more relevant. Through these new challenges, the organisation can share knowledge and gain insight from the West Midlands Fintech community � which is estimated to have around 11,000 employees, generating almost half a billion to the UK economy.
“There are also great benefits for Fintechs involved in this programme. Having access to a global bank like BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK and their knowledge of the sector will serve as a catalyst for innovation, accelerating the development of their Fintech solutions. ”
Stephen Hunt, CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, added: “After more than 30 years in this business, I can 't recall a more exciting time for the financial services sector. By engaging with Fintechs, we have the opportunity to explore and implement different ways of working, using data and technology to accelerate innovation. As a major employer in the region, we 're also looking to bolster our team in key areas such as data, digital and customer experience to support our growth ambitions.
“As 2023 marks our 50th anniversary, we 're planning big transformations in our digital, data and decisioning capabilities, to boost innovation within our business and help drive our partnerships forward. The SuperTech incubator programme, which transforms great ideas into reality, will help us achieve this by building on our already-existing innovative practices. We can 't wait to see what creative solutions the Fintechs propose to help us turbo-charge our business. ”
To hear news from BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK and get updates on the next phase of driving innovation, follow along here. Fintechs interested in collaborating in the upcoming challenges can express their interest via [email protected].
View BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK 's latest job opportunities here.
Pictured: Stephen Hunt and Hilary Smyth-Allen