The FinTech Impact Report: Working through the world’s to-do list #FinTechforPeople 05 | CURRENT IDENTITY VERIFICATION & CREDIT PRACTICES For 55% of people in the EU and EXACERBATE INEQUALITY The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) provides flexible guidelines for banks’ verification of customer identities. UK who don’t have a bank Whilst this offers banks freedom, it can also lead to exclusionary practices, deepening distrust and inequality. The account, the most common same can be said for lending solutions that have traditionally relied on credit history reports, with several FinTechs reason is insufficient funds to now offering more inclusive lending products by leveraging transactional behaviours to determine open and maintain an account; a creditworthiness. Both these areas represent a prime opportunity for collaboration between traditional finance further 21% cited lack of institutions with customer reach and FinTechs with innovative solutions. By integrating inclusive digital identity documentation.32 verification and lending technologies, we can create a more equitable financial landscape. 06 | ADDRESSING THE GENDER GAP IN FINTECH While the FinTech sector has made notable strides in many areas, there remains a pressing need to address the Only 14% of UK angel evident gender disparity at all levels – the proportion of the UK FinTech workforce that is female is only 28%, far behind the 44% of UK Financial Services workforce. This is even more out of balance at a leadership level, where 33 women hold only around 10% of all FinTech board seats and represent less than 20% of FinTech executives34. investors are women Given that innovation thrives on a diversity of ideas, it's paramount for the industry to recognize and rectify these gaps, ensuring a more inclusive and equitable landscape for all. If it does, the recent Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship estimates £250bn of new value that could be added to the UK economy if women could start and scale new businesses at the same rate as men do.35 07 | THE GROWING UNDERSERVED FINANCIAL MARKET 25% of UK adults have less than The widely reported ‘cost of living crisis’ is only likely to make this situation worse. There's a growing need for £100 in savings36 firms to develop business models that are attuned to the needs of individuals in more challenging financial situations, and this presents an opportunity for FinTechs to innovate. Clearscore and others have done this in addressing the growing underserved credit market with zero-cost access to their credit scores to help improve transparency for customers. 26