9 Most Innovative UK Fintech Startups to Look Out For in 2022

1. Credit Kudos

The financial industry is infamous for having outdated processes that often don’t match the modern times. One example is the conventional approach to the credit score, a numerical record that is used to predict one’s likelihood of paying off a debt.

The credit score is normally calculated based on payment history, the amount of debt, and the length of a credit score past. For many individuals, especially in these turbulent times, the credit score requirements set by landlords and lenders are impossible to meet.

Credit Kudos has harnessed the power of open banking to provide a more comprehensive view of your financial situation, even if you don’t have little or no credit history.

Signal, one of the company’s products, uses machine learning to accurately predict your likelihood of repayment, allowing lenders to move beyond the limitations of traditional credit scoring and increase acceptances.

2. CloudMargin

Established in 2014, CloudMargin is a world-first, cloud-based collateral management tool, and moreover, the first collateral management solution provider to become a member of the SWIFT network.

Their single product combines anything you might want from a tool like this: it helps clients centralize and connect all of their workflows, and additionally reduces the operational risk. Furthermore, the tool can save up to 70% of the collateral management costs across the organization.

The automation that comes with migration to the cloud helps companies focus on the work that matters and get rid of redundant manual processes along with increasing positive changes.

3. Kani

Founded in October 2018, Kani Payments is a SaaS platform with a goal to make fintech reporting and reconciliation simpler.

The company brings automation, accuracy, and compliance to reconciliation and reporting—meaning the normally manual and time-intensive back-office processes performed by finance teams—to account for payment transactions.

Kani was awarded the Leading Financial Services or Payments Start-Up by the Emerging Payments Association and came second in the UK’s 50 most innovative financial technology creators for 2021.

This year, Kani is planning to expand globally and introduce new functionality merging machine learning technology with record matching solutions.

4. Molten Ventures

Molten Ventures is a London-based venture capital firm that is on a mission to invest in the most innovative technology companies.

This means that by following their actions, you can get as much inspiration in the realm of being innovative as possible. They’re working both with seed-stage startups and already established promising fintechs. You can get more insights from the portfolio on their website.

Another way worth mentioning in which Molten Ventures can inspire is their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policy, where they commit to minimizing the environmental impact of their work.

5. Reef

During the last few years, the cryptocurrency market has been booming. It’s a fast-paced, inventive, and constantly evolving field, so if you’re looking for innovation, this should be the area to consider in search of inspiration.

Reef, a fintech founded in 2020, is one of the most innovative companies in the industry we’ve come across. Their Reef chain is an EVM-compatible blockchain for DeFi. It combines the best features of traditional blockchains with low transaction costs and full smart contract compatibility.

The chain uses next-generation blockchain technology, including Nominated Proof of Stake consensus, EVM extensions, on-chain upgradability, libp2p networking, and state-of-the-art cryptography.

6. Fidel API

Another London-based fintech, Fidel API aims to unlock the potential of payment cards by helping developers avoid complex integrations with payment service providers and bring products to market faster and more efficiently.

The company offers a single point of integration through its API, so that developers can build on top of card transactions and create engaging experiences the moment a payment card is used.

Their solution can be applied in many use cases, such as rewards, attributions, insights, digital receipts, or expense management.

Fidel API was ranked among the 15 fastest-growing UK technology companies on the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list.

7. Money Dashboard

Innovation should make your life better. That’s the basic thinking behind Money Dashboard, a financial app to gather all your accounts in one place.

It’s a personal finance assistant that tracks your expenses and helps you make better financial decisions. It’s as simple as that, yet it can make a big difference to your way of managing personal finances.

If you work for an asset management company, a retailer, or a consultancy, you might want to check out the company’s Money Insights, a business intelligence solution that gathers transaction data of customers’ spending habits.

The tool tracks data related to your market share, customer loyalty, their share of wallet, consumer health, and the profile of the most valuable buyers—all of which can be useful for you to modify your product to fit the market needs.

8. Tradeteq

Tradeteq offers an AI-driven trade finance investment platform that powers global trade investments from end to end.

The company provides trading automation solutions that can automate the entire asset distribution process, repackaging it as a service that can transform any asset into capital market products or AI-powered analytics tools to accurately calculate risk. It promises “no more manual, error-prone processes, no more spreadsheets, no more cumbersome data aggregation.”

Founded in 2016, the British fintech was born out of the need to find the right technology to make successful investments, by the people who were looking for this solution for themselves. This makes Tradeteq a company that, instead of concentrating on a singular problem, searches for ways of answering all of their client’s needs.

9. Cashaa

Cashaa is the largest crypto-friendly neobank based in the UK that provides services to hundreds of crypto businesses around the world. Some of its partners include Paysafe Group and many other financial institutions regulated by the FCA, the Central Bank of Lithuania, and the Colorado Division of Banking.

Cashaa believes in an alternative to existing payments and banking systems available both for individuals and business clients. Through its services, the company is embracing financial decentralization and accelerating digital transformation.

The startup aims to become the world’s predominant and first-choice bank for businesses and individuals involved in emerging technologies by 2023, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for them!

Final thoughts on the most innovative UK fintech startups to look out for in 2022

Being innovative is a core value for many businesses—and in many cases, the only way of staying in business. That’s why this skill, or rather attitude, should be a priority for you when you think about your future growth.

2022 is shaping up to be another dynamic year for UK-based startups that embrace growth and innovation. Hopefully, this list gave you some inspiration and helped you discover several companies that really deserve to be on your radar this year.

If you’d like to learn more about visionary companies, check out some of our other articles about the UK’s fintech scene:

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With a keen interest and plenty of experience in fintech, we’re also a great tech partner if your project needs some extra help. Feel free to reach out to us—we’d be happy to support you as you create your next fintech product!