EY has launched its fintech lab, based in London, with a second one planned in Edinburgh in 2023. The labs have been designed to collaborate with startups and scale-ups focused on innovation and creating solutions to financial challenges, such as fighting financial crime and financing a sustainable economy.

The labs form part of EY’s UK fintech growth plans which includes several million pounds worth of investment over the course of the next twelve months. According to EY’s official press release, the new lab will be a dynamic workspace designed for collaboration, experimentation, and rapid test-and-learn prototyping. Fintechs, potential investors, clients, established financial services firms, regulators, and other partners will be able to connect to share information, brainstorm big ideas, and develop real-world solutions to serve markets and customers more effectively.

As fintech is believed to be the future, EY has clear and very ambitious plans to grow their fintech business in the UK. Their objective is to connect fintechs, established financial services players, potential investors, and the official sector and collaborate to bring new products and services to market. Innovation hub Alongside the new labs, EY is also launching its fintech growth programme aimed at early stage and growing businesses helping to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed for success.

 EY has also announced the launch of a financial services innovation hub in Bristol, combining design, data analytics, and engineering capabilities. The hub will partner with fintechs across the South West and Wales to help serve clients locally, throughout the UK, and internationally. EY has also announced further measures to grow capabilities in the Scottish market, with a second fintech lab planned to open in Edinburgh in 2023.

In addition, EY has become a strategic partner of FinTech Scotland. EY Seren, the firm’s global research and design consultancy, will also establish a dedicated presence in the Scottish market, led by Mary MacPherson who joined the firm over a year ago, in addition to its London and Bristol offices. Scotland developments EY is dedicated to building out its capabilities to support Scottish entrepreneurs as they design and develop financial products, services, and solutions.

EY’s new strategic partnership with FinTech Scotland will help them achieve their objectives while supporting Scotland in becoming a FinTech cluster, creating high-skilled local jobs, and driving economic growth. Focused on fintech, Scotland has developed a ten-year sector road map that ultimately seeks to create up to 30,000 jobs in the country and increase economic value by more than 330%. Up 50% from January 2020, there are more than 200 companies operating in Scotland’s fintech sector, and 84% are business-to-business operators.

Yet just five years ago, there were only 28 fintech companies in Scotland. The country is committed to research and innovation across four main segments: Open Finance data, climate finance, payments and transactions, and financial regulation. .