FinTech Scotland has pledged its commitment to the FinTech For All charter alongside a host of Scotland-based companies.

The charter is an industry led initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in fintech. It was established in 2020 and is a commitment to use diversity and inclusion as a force for innovation and growth.

Led by InChorus, the initiative is supported by a steering committee comprised of members from the Financial Conduct Authority, Innovate Finance, FinTech Alliance and Level 39.

Alongside the cluster management organisation, 23 sector firms based in Scotland have signed the pledge and committed to making fintech a sector where diversity is encouraged and businesses continue to build inclusive cultures.

By signing the pledge, the Scottish financial technology community became the biggest contingent of signatories since the pledge was launched, reaffirming that fintech is a force for good.

Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland, said: “FinTech Scotland was established in 2018 around the values of innovation, collaboration and inclusion. The charter aligns to those values and demonstrates the ongoing commitment for diversity and inclusion.

“The FinTech Scotland cluster creates an environment of connection and belonging, welcoming a wide range of diverse participants and we’re stronger for it. Scotland has a strong reputation for fintech for good and we’re looking forward to seeing this continue to grow.”

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📅 #MarTech Summit https://t.co/JkViHnOzbF Wed 24 Feb
📅 ScotSecure #CyberSecurity Summit https://t.co/JaD886wGh9 24/ 25 Mar
📅 #DigitalEnergy Summit https://t.co/thGSfrBqlM 22 Apr
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Amongst other things the charter aims to:

• Support companies in promoting diversity and building inclusive environments
• Ensure the at least one member of the senior team is accountable for Diversity & Inclusion
• Develop employee awareness around what constitutes inclusive practices

The signatories include Scotcoin, DirectID, Gcex, Polydigi, Nude, Float, Exception, Pour, Bellrock, Level-E, Amiqus, LendingCrowd, Zumo, FastPAYE, Caseblocks, Broker Insights, WomensCoins, Hubb Insure, Blockchain Technology Partners, Gobbill, Modulr and Lightbox Rewards.

James Varga, CEO at Scottish fintech DirectID commented: “The fintech community is crucial to the success of tech within the UK, and we must show leadership in every area we can – including in our workplace culture.

“As a company DirectID has taken steps to ensure that all employees have an equal voice, and an environment where colleagues are free to speak up. We encourage breadth of contribution and inclusion is vital to our future success. The culture within the company is very important to us, and one we have taken years to foster.”

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Phyl Meyer, Head of Business Development at Inclusion Scotland added: “There is widespread recognition that we need to do a lot more to ensure people from all parts of society aren’t excluded from employment.

“We know from experience that it’s real action that counts, which is why we welcome ambitious efforts to make meaningful progress such as those being taken by Fintech Scotland, recent hosts of one of our Inclusion Scotland internships.”