The heart of the TISAtech story

TISAtech was launched with a single vision – to accelerate the pace of innovation across the financial industry. But despite the continued rise of fintech, many legacy institutions have yet to embrace these innovations. To change this, we designed our platform to alleviate the barriers to innovation adoption- unnecessary risk, excessive cost, and the difficulty of using the technology of tomorrow to meet the problems of today.

The advisory board addresses this latter point. By assembling a first-of-its-kind panel of experts across finance, big tech, regulatory bodies, and trade institutions, TISAtech leverages unparalleled industry insight to identify the most pressing problems facing industry, government, regulators, and beyond. The result was our first set of ‘problem statements’- the concrete issues that matter most to industry leaders, and a clear list of objectives for fintech’s across the world to solve. 

It is clear the financial industry needs fintech innovation. But all too often this need is in the abstract. By clearly defining the problems to-be-solved, fintech’s have real-world use cases for their technologies. At each advisory board, fintech’s can present tangible solutions to our advisory board. This gives fintech’s the opportunity to showcase their solutions to some of the global financial systems biggest names, whilst giving these industry figures immediate access to fintech innovators with concrete solutions to these problems.

Removing the friction, opacity, and guesswork involved in fintech adoption is at the heart of what we do. And with two successful advisory boards already completed,

fintech’s and financial institutions are already reaping the benefits. With our next advisory board fast approaching, on April 26^th now is the perfect time to celebrate our progress so far- and look forward to what comes next.

The first advisory board: a roadmap for the future

July saw our first advisory board meeting. A hugely productive session saw the assembled leaders and experts narrow down our problem statements, and align on the TISAtech approach. From a list of over 100 problem statements, seven were identified. This exemplifies the benefits of this cross-industry group. Firms across the financial system know they need innovation, but often this innovation requirement is described in terms that are either too granular and fragmented, or too broad and abstract.

The statements selected give fintech’s clarity, and assurance that the problems they are developing solutions to are representative of the needs of industry. And for industry, defining these issues sets targets for fintech’s to aim for. The seven statements were: 

1. Leverage government authentication infrastructure for people identification (digital ID).
2. Embed tech to encourage investors and retail consumers to make sustainability considerations in investments or consumption.
3. A solution, with data and technology, to demonstrate that regulated firms are embedding ESG into their investment processes.
4. A technology that automates the insurance claim procedures, resulting in shortening filing time, speedier reimbursements, and reduced fraud.
5. A new approach to understand consumer requirements and provide better and real-time financial advice.
6. A solution with technology to help regulators determine the key areas and data points to consider as part of their methodology for designing a robust, reliable and accurate sustainable investment label so that consumers can better understand their choices and compare the ESG characteristics of different financial products and providers.
7. A platform to help the most vulnerable – whether due to mental health and/or low-income families – to manage their money better during a pandemic or global crisis.

With the advisory board assembled, and the problem statements defined, a roadmap for the adoption of innovation had emerged.

The presentations: a successful proof of concept

So far, the advisory board has convened three times,  fielding submissions on problems statements one, two, and three – bringing together fintech’s from France, the UK, Spain, and the US.  Fintechs including Model Office, Contengo, TrustID, 2RSquared and ESGwize have all shared their propositions with the board, forging connections and provoking debate.

Lord Ed Vaizey, Chair of the Advisory Board shares his thoughts on the boards progress so far:

“The advisory board was founded to establish a dialogue between innovative disruptors and top financial leaders.  The benefits are clear to both groups. Fintechs are exposed to high-level outside experts, who can give them invaluable critical insight and advice. And our members are given a real-world perspective on the direction of fintech travel across the globe.

What sets these sessions apart is a clear focus on real world policy and business priorities. Our most recent session showed how fintechs can help our members audit their ESG portfolios, and provoked discussion of potential obstacles that might hinder adoption. Insight into each groups needs and capabilities is ultimately what will accelerate the adoption of these solutions, generating the alignment needed to both create and adopt turnkey solutions. “

Looking forward

On April 26^th, we look forward to welcoming new fintechs from across the globe, as they present their innovative solutions to problem statements 4 and 5- centering on insurtech and the provision of real time consumer insights and financial advice.

Our advisory board already includes leaders from Vanguard, Innovate Finance, the Association of Foreign Banks, and more. But we are expanding, and hope to announce new members, who will strengthen the expertise of the board. 

Get involved

We’re just getting started. In less than a year, the advisory board has shaken up the relationship between fintech’s and financial institutions. Over the coming months there will be many opportunities for talented fintech’s to directly present their solutions to industry leaders

If problem statements, 4, 5, 6, and 7 sound like problems you’re equipped to solve then get in touch- or follow us on LinkedIn to be sure you don’t miss future advisory board calls. And if you’re an industry leader, looking to shape the innovation agenda, you could play a part.