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Our Head of Fintech, Matthew Williamson has worked with a number of start-ups in the fintech space, assisting them with obtaining FCA authorisation. As part of this, he has recognised five key mistakes which can adversely impact any start-up looking to enter the financial services market. These include:

• Inadequate IT platforms – Before an application is submitted to the FCA, the applicant must be ‘ready, willing and organised’, which includes a fit for purpose IT platform which will be ready at the point of authorisation.
• Overlooking market research – Many firms looking to establish a new fintech business may not fully understand their intended model, how it works operationally and what competitors and the wider marketplace looks like. As such, firms should understand not only what the regulatory impacts may be but the commercial ones as well.
• Problems raising initial capital – As with any start up business, fintech firms should ensure that they adequately forecast the initial capital required in order to successfully launch, ensuring such capital will support the firm in reaching profitability.
• Improper policy & procedures – Firms need to have in place adequate policies and procedures which are appropriate for their proposed activities before they are approved by the FCA.
• Lack of knowledge & experience – Businesses should ensure that they have adequately qualified and experienced staff relative to the proposed activities they wish to undertake.

Watch the video below to find out more!

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