Technology has accelerated so rapidly over the past decade that it has changed our relationship with various aspects of our daily lives. From ordering groceries and communicating, to booking holidays and managing our money.

Digital technology has made people’s lives more flexible, and enabled companies to better deliver the type of service their customers want. In terms of banking, the old ‘one size fits’ all approach to financial products and services no longer fits in this digital age.

Those businesses, large or small, that fail to embrace digital transformation do so at their own peril because, nowadays, customers are more discerning and have more options than ever before. Tech can provide faster, more efficient and more convenient services to to a business’s customers, but this is not enough for the modern consumer who is also looking for products and services that also reflect their values.

Incumbent banks are increasingly finding their apex position within the ecosystem besieged by new challenger banks, which are meeting people’s ever-evolving needs better than they are. This is where ethical fintechs come into their own. Through digital innovation, these companies have the scope to make financial services more inclusive, accessible, streamlined and better aligned with consumer values.

With Scotland home to a growing number of exciting new fintechs, DIGIT has compiled a list of some of the country’s most innovative and ethical organisations that embody the ‘Fintech for Good’ philosophy. From enabling easier charitable donations to supporting better mental health, these Scottish fintechs are promoting accountability, responsibility and sustainability in finance.

Sustainably

Founded by mother-daughter duo, Loral and Eishel Quinn, Sustainably’s app supports people’s desire to have a more meaningful and charitable impact on the world. The company’s Real Time Social Responsibility platform is encouraging and enabling the next generation of philanthropists by allowing them to do good on their own terms.

The app works by rounding up any leftover spare change when the user makes a cashless transaction, these digital pennies are then donated to a charitable cause of the user’s choice. For charities, the app makes fundraising much easier and lets them communicate impact with their supporters in real-time.

Renowned British business tycoon, Richard Branson, said of the company: “Sustainably is so simple, but effective, which most of the good ideas are. I loved the simple idea of rounding up everyday transactions and giving your spare change to chosen good causes.

“Sustainably is a great example of why I wanted to start Virgin StartUp in the first place – I knew there were entrepreneurs with ideas who just needed a little support who could go on to achieve incredible things and have a positive impact on the world.”

MoneyMatiX

MoneyMatiX is a platform that seeks to promote mental health through financial well-being. It does this by educating young people about financial literacy using gamification. The app also includes financial health checks, budget planning and financial profiles.

Tynah Matembe and Helene Rodger, the co-founders of Edinburgh-based MoneyMatiX, also want the app to be used by adults to help them reduce financial stress, which can have a devastating impact on family life and work productivity. 40% of the UK population experience financial stress which is the main contributor to mental health problems.

Speaking about the app, Rodger said: “Our app is going to be a family product, that encourages the adults and children to work together by doing savings challenges and to set attainable goals. We are trying to make the management of personal finance less isolated and make it available for both the parent and the child.

“We want to provide them with a conversation starter that challenges this notion that you shouldn’t talk about money. This dialogue will also help prepare the child for when they leave home so they can take care of their own finances.”

Castlight

Glasgow-based Castlight is a personal finance platform aimed at financial retailers, helping them to assess a customer’s ability to afford a financial product in real-time.

The company has created the first open-banking affordability score, which it says empowers both lenders and consumers to make better decisions in relation to financial products. This helps create a more stable business environment for the financial institutions, which in turn ensures greater job security for the company’s employees and will see it contribute more back into the ecosystem when it grows and creates more jobs.

Its technology platform drills down into the customer’s expenditure, across any number of accounts, into a range of categories, summarising essential costs and credit commitments and revealing a monthly disposable income.

It can help those with a thin financial history gain access to credit, as the technology creates a more accurate picture of their true ability to pay, and helps them make better decisions in regard to what financial products are best suited to their means. By making better financial decisions, consumers will better avoid financial stress and, ultimately, enjoy better financial mental health.

Women’s Coin

This fintech is unique as it is the first global women’s digital currency based on social value. The Women’s Coin Mobile Application is designed to enable the tokenisation of ‘volunteering’. The goal is to create “a virtuous circle of the investment and regeneration in local economies by inclusivity of business, corporates and statutory organisation”.

When people shop using the currency a charitable donation is made with no intermediary fee being deducted, providing “undiluted financial support to those in need to live a better life”.

With its micro-finance/credit it could also help women to establish small businesses to foster self-reliance and a sustainable future. Women’s Coin new generation micro-credit business loans for women will be supported through partnering with stakeholders and Glasgow Caledonian University – University of Common Good.

The company says 50% of its pre-tax profits will be donated to humanitarian work to support the United Nations SDG 5 Women’s Equality.

Soar

Funded by Scottish Enterprise, this Glasgow-based fintech helps to empower ethical financial institutions scale-up, operate efficiently, and compete more effectively in the financial services market with its technology.

It offers ethical and not-for-profit financial institutions an affordable method through which they can capitalise on the growing demand for digital banking services. Soar’s tech product offers members a central platform to manage their finances and allows detailed money management insights.

Its platform helps these organisations to make the most of their data by enabling them to better analyse and manage it more efficiently and securely. It also allows them to use AI to make better and faster loan decisions and provide “state-of-the-art” online and mobile banking products to their members.

• DIGIT’s Scottish Financial Technology Awards is due to take place in Edinburgh on the 25th of September 2019. For full details, visit www.scottishftawards.com