SHIFT Community Update #38
New Events, Easter Egg hunts and Gen AI in fintech
Hey SHIFT Community, here’s your update on all things SHIFT.
I hope you all had a lovely Easter. For some banks they have the joy of an Easter Egg hunt every time a customer submits an application - how fun!
SHIFT Updates
🚀 There is just ONE week left for ambitious early-stage Fintech Founders to apply to Ignite! Ignite is our exclusive incubator designed to transform fintech ideas into reality through financial support, expert guidance, and extensive networking. Apply before the 2nd May.
💰EVENT: SHIFT is hosting a discussion on the different funding options for Fintechs. Wednesday 21st February, 08:30 - 11:30 GMT, Shoreditch. As part of the London Venture Capital Networks events week, we will be exploring the stories of founders and funders from VC, CVC and Angel. Don’t miss out!
🛍️ SHIFT will be at the Building Societies Annual Conference on the 7th & 8th May in Birmingham. We’re super excited to be exhibiting with D·One, Doshi, Eleos, FintechOS, Nivo, Wollette. We will be at Stand 7, if you’ll be attending the conference, let us know!
Member Updates
👋 Some awesome new SHIFT members, so make sure to say hi on Slack:
Shriya Johari, Product manager at Syndesi - offering a wide range of tools including a financial well-being tool designed for accountants to provide to their clients.
🤖 MQube hosts AI in Finance: The Future of Banking, Lending and Mortgages with awesome speakers: Stuart Cheetham, CEO @ MQube, Tey Bannerman, CPO @ Planda, Tom Gustinis, CEO @ 4th-IR. Registration is free, please join them at 17:30 on May 15th at Level 39.
📈 Startup Coalition launch a new report, The Growth Vision for Fintech, mapping out what the UK Govt should do to unlock growth across the UK through fintech innovation. Hosted at the Wise Headquarters in Fintech Week. Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
‼️Don’t let risk hold you back: five steps to ditch the fear and unlock innovation a new blog by WealthOS
If you have news that you want to be included here then make sure to post it in the #news-and-views channel on Slack or tag Kyle in your posts!
Partner Updates
📣We are hosting a panel at London’s Largest Demo Day. Focused on how to smartly spend your first £100,000 in fundraising, make sure to grab your ticket and join us!
⭐We are partners for IFGS! Make sure to join the ultimate Innovate Finance FinTech gathering during UK FinTech Week 2025 - bringing together CEOs, industry leaders, regulators, and investors to explore the future of financial services. SHIFT members get 20% with code: BULYLN
🌐 The SHIFT community is exclusively invited to participate in the Data Intermediary Roundtable, taking place on Thursday 25 April 2025, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm, at Pinsent Masons, 30 Crown Place, London EC2A 4ES. This Roundtable has been requested by officials from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), in response to the Government’s recent Call for Evidence on Data Intermediaries. If you would like to join the Roundtable please register here https://www.smartdataforum.org/data-intermediaries/. Further details will be sent prior to the Roundtable.
Resource Recommendation
Barclays Fintech Embraces GenAI
The Barclays "Fintech Embraces GenAI" report highlights how Generative AI became a major force in fintech during 2024, and it’s growing importance with two-thirds of surveyed companies viewing it as essential to growth in 2025. Most firms are using GenAI for productivity, marketing, and customer support, though adoption is still exploratory, with less than half fully deploying tested use cases.
Adoption varies by sector and geography. Payments and wealth management lead usage, while Regtech and FinCrime remain cautious due to regulatory and security concerns. US fintechs are ahead of the UK in implementation, driven by higher investment and a stronger focus on proprietary model development. UK firms, meanwhile, are more concerned with regulatory compliance.
Despite widespread enthusiasm, firms are wary of risks such as cybersecurity threats, AI-washing, and skills shortages. Guardrails are becoming a priority, including bias mitigation, security integration, and staff upskilling.
Looking ahead, Agentic AI—capable of making decisions independently—is on the horizon. While still early, it could contribute up to $4.4 trillion to global GDP by 2030. The report concludes that strategic, secure, and human-centered AI deployment will define fintech success in 2025.
If there are any resources you find enjoyable, useful, or interesting then let me know :)