Barclays, AIB and Standard Bank team up with FinTech firms through Matchi, a website linking worldwide banks with various digital pioneers.
Global banks such as Standard Bank, Barclays and AIB are signing up to Matchi, an online “matchmaking” platform, to join FinTech start-ups that are able to disrupt the retail banking sector.
In order to speed up its worldwide FinTech strategy, KPMG International teamed up with Matchi as well. “Fintech is revolutionizing the financial services landscape and it has created a new marketplace for innovation,” said Jeremy Anderson, Chairman, Global Financial Services, KPMG International.
“Matchi is at the forefront of identifying breakthrough fintech ideas, and through our alliance, KPMG firms will now use the Matchi platform and Matchi’s wider, global fintech communities in advising clients on the optimal innovations to help deliver on their strategic initiatives.”
Matchi was launched in 2013, and since then the firm has grown bringing to its platform innovations from lots of FinTech companies.
“We are delighted to join in this new alliance with KPMG,” said David Milligan, Matchi CEO. “Our Members now have access to KPMG’s extensive network of financial services professionals with on-the-ground experience in 155 countries to not only advise them in the fintech innovation matchmaking process and also in deploying new technologies.”
It’s worth mentioning that KPMG has been collaborating with Cambridge University’s Centre for Alternative Finance. “There is a wide disparity in the development of alternative, digital finance approaches among countries, and we believe the comprehensive global study we are undertaking with KPMG will help us to better understand why this is the case,” said Robert Wardrop, Executive Director, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.
“This exciting research will greatly enhance our knowledge of fast-developing alternative finance markets in different parts of the world. This will assist policy-makers, regulators and industry in monitoring, understanding and where necessary, taking the right steps to facilitate the growth of alternative finance markets, such as marketplace lending (peer to peer lending, crowd-funding, etc.),” added Ian Pollari, Global Co-lead of KPMG’s Fintech practice.
“Our alliance with Matchi answers key questions for financial institutions of how they find the right fintech, how they can better evaluate its quality, and how they engage with fintech companies, many of which are small start-ups,” also said Ian Pollari. “KPMG professionals will also be able to advise fintech firms on how they can advance their businesses, whether it’s help with M&A or other ways to bring their innovations to market.”
As for Matchi, the platform recently linked an Israeli fintech firm that provides customer authentication with a global bank in India.
“Over the past year, our Matchi membership has played an integral role in advancing our business banking ability to quickly source quality fintech innovations, which address our particular challenges, from outside of the bank,” said Evans Munyuki, a representative of Barclays Africa Group.
Eugenia graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University with a degree in Intercultural Communication, Translation/Interpretation (Italian, English). Currently she works as a business analyst, freelance interpreter and tutor. She’s fond of numismatics, photos, good books and sports, adores travelling and cooking.
