Capgemini and Efma join forces to match corporates with FinTechs
With a growing number of FinTech players offering services to traditional financial players, there is an increasing appetite for services helping corporates find the right platform for them. A new partnership sees consulting firm Capgemini and global financial services non-profit Efma join forces to align clients with the FinTechs most suited to their needs.
Financial Technology (FinTech) platforms are increasingly being tapped by the banking sector, as international financial institutions bid to leverage innovative technologies, rather than fall victim to them. Digital disruption had been touted by many experts to see FinTechs eat directly into the market share of long-term market incumbents, however many banks have sought to sidestep this by instead collaborating with FinTechs.
As with many markets, including the consulting industry, the boom in independent digital innovators has led to a rise in the popularity of matchmaking platforms. These platforms allow corporates to search for a service tailored to their needs, while the results they find have a certain level of quality assurance to provide the best value for their money. One such matchmaking platform is part-owned by Boston Consulting Group, which purchased a stake in Opportunity Network in 2016.
With the FinTech market continuing to expand, and clients keen to explore new ways of exploiting this, while minimising the risk of a bad deal, Capgemini and Efma have announced the launch of FinTechVisor, which is designed to bring FinTechs and financial institutions together to collaborate. According to the two organisations behind it, the FinTechVisor portal offers a world-wide networking and collaborative community for FinTechs and financial institutions to become game-changers by co-creating the future of the financial services industry.
Launched at the CCX Forum in London, the portal, which connects financial institutions and FinTechs, will also boast a feature that allows bankers and insurers to rate FinTechs and comment on their solutions, helping users to see how their prospective FinTech’s results stack up against their promises. Another feature sees the portal host an in-site messaging feature, allowing for financial institutions to contact FinTechs directly through the platform, and a ‘FinTech library’ to showcase current FinTech news and trends, as well as stories of successful collaborations.
In order to further provide quality control, the FinTechVisor portal will soon feature Capgemini’s ScaleUp Qualification Program, in which ScaleUps are evaluated by Capgemini to earn their qualification as a FinTech, if they meet the characteristics necessary for sustained business success in collaboration with a large corporate. In order to meet this level of commendation, ScaleUps will need to excel on four criteria – people, finance, business and technology – in order to meet the vision of effective collaboration with a large corporate.
William Sullivan, Head of Market Intelligence at Capgemini, said, “As the financial sector undergoes significant transformation, the vision of the FinTechVisor portal is to create a single point of contact where all players can find their place and be a part of the future. With so many new players offering innovation, traditional financial services organizations need a method to sort through the clutter to find the innovative FinTech partner that is the best match to transform their business.”
Vincent Bastid, CEO of global non-profit Efma – which facilitates networking between decision-makers with over 3,300 brands in 130 countries – added, “The future is now, and with the FinTechVisor portal, financial institutions will have easy access to an extensive array of capabilities, bringing more flexibility and innovation to banks. Capgemini’s ScaleUp Qualification Program will take the portal’s value one step further as Capgemini has been at the forefront of the FinTech collaborative revolution and has the skills to assess what is viable.”
