The next stop on our tech tour of Scotland is Glasgow. The city has a strong fintech industry, bolstered by top-tier schools like the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde offering the option to focus on fintech studies.
The University of Glasgow even has a Fintech Society, a student-run organisation for anyone interested in applying technological advances to the financial sector.
As in our previous article on Edinburgh’s fintech scene, we’ll be focusing on newer additions to the sector – companies that have popped up since 2015. With that out of the way, let’s see what Scotland’s largest city has to offer.
Accountables
Through its platform, this company offers a variety of fintech software and solutions related to the fields of bookkeeping, financial planning, accounting, e-commerce and tax filing.
On top of its software, Accountables provides a team of accountants for when a personal touch is needed.
According to the firm, it has over 1,000 codified processes to manage workflows.
Founded in 2018, Accountables already has some international reach. The firm operates two offices in New Delhi alongside its home base in Glasgow.
Asura Financial Technologies
Possibly taking its name from the eternal enemies of the Devas in Hindu myth, Asura Financial Technologies’ focus is not divine, but very much digital.
It offers software solutions and a platform dedicated to providing stockbrokers and wealth managers with a suite of tools to manage their clients’ finances.
Established in 2017, Asura made waves that same year when it was the first firm given an investment under a then-new scheme from the Glasgow City Council designed to help small-to-midsize businesses grow.
It seems keen on some form of expansion as it is looking for a Full Stack Engineer.
CrowdX
Being founded in 2021, CrowdX is the youngest startup on this list, and as such, it hasn’t had the chance to make waves in the fintech scene quite yet.
In the enterprise’s own words, it is a “Capital Market for Private Companies”, and the services it provides paint CrowdX as a sort of middleman for private companies looking to go public.
The fintech startup aims to connect investors with these private companies, offer to list the businesses on their own market, and furnish client firms with platforms and software solutions dedicated to helping companies go public.
Whether CrowdX’s services are effective or not will hopefully be seen in 2022 as the firm enters the second year of ts life.
hubb
Founded in 2019, hubb’s name is in fact an acronym standing for “honest, usage-based broking”.
The self-described “challenger broker” says its services and software are by-and-large built around 24/7 transparency with its clients, allowing them to see what’s going on with their insurance policies whenever they want.
As a young startup, hubb hasn’t had the chance to make many waves in the industry quite yet.
However in December 2021, the company announced it had acquired insurance tech provider Digital Fineprint.
Know-it
Know-it was established in 2019 and offers credit risk and cashflow services to SMEs. The firm partners with various organisations – such as Companies House, Sage, Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent.
The company offers a digital platform with three services: Check-it to perform credit checks and monitor business, Chase-it for scheduling payment reminders, and Collect-it to retrieve overdue invoices through its partner, commercial debt recovery company Darcey Quigley & Co.
Know-it was founded by Lynne Darcey Quigley, who has worked within the debt recovery industry for over 25 years and is also the founder of Darcey Quigley & Co.
In December 2021, Know-it was named one of the five Scottish Rising Stars by Tech Nation.
OneBanks
Banking can be a complicated beast to handle at the best times, and online banking doesn’t always make it easier.
OneBanks’ mission is to demystify the world of banking for its customers. Through its OneBanksHub service, it provides customer service for anyone confused by their banking troubles. As part of its focus on accessibility, the firm offers wheelchair-accessible kiosks and sign language to individuals who need those services as well.
However, OneBanks is not a bank itself, more a middleman between customers and participating banks. These participating entities include Barclays, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, and others for a total of 21 banks.
In recent news, the firm won the 2021 Ozone API VRP Hackathon award for the Other category for a cardless cash withdrawal solution using VRP.
Soar
Soar got its start in 2017 and has spent the intervening four years aiming to digitise community banking.
The small firm received a £450,000 R&D grant from Scottish Enterprises in 2019 to help achieve its goals.
The Soar Banking Platform is focused on helping customers calculate, secure and keep track of their loans, essentially trying to be a one-stop-shop for loan applications and collections.
This year the fintech company announced a partnership with Experian to utilise Experian’s Decision Analytics solution on its platform.
Unlisted Ltd
Unlisted’s goal is to provide valuation services for brokers and firms interested in investing in private enterprise.
The entity does this through its platform, which automates the valuation process for its clients. Unlisted explains that by using machine learning it can offer “more precise, optimising valuation models”, and basing project valuations on the most relevant and recent information including public market trends.
The team behind the company has plenty of experience in financial services – such as Merrill, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Unlisted was founded in 2018.
Have a look at the previous features on Scottish firms in the cybersecurity and data sectors.
You can also check out ‘Eight Fintech Companies in Edinburgh to Watch’ here.
