Project Innovate was launched by the FCA in 2014 to foster competition and growth, as well as encourage companies to use technology to help consumers.
In a report published today to mark five years of Innovate, the FCA said it received 1,563 applications for support since the launch, with 686 companies receiving assistance.
A further 149 benefited from ‘informal steers’ from the regulator. These included NatWest, Nationwide, HSBC UK and Standard Life’s 1825.
‘Forty per cent faster’
The report showed that firms coming through Innovate were getting to market quicker than the FCA’s standard authorisation timings.
Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition, said: “Groups of firms coming through Innovate are being authorised on average 40 per cent faster than our standard authorisation timings. We are seeing innovation at scale benefiting consumers – incumbent firms are responding to new challengers to improve their own offerings, and firms we support are bringing beneficial innovations to market.”
The FCA also revealed that nine firms will receive support from Innovate via its Green FinTech Challenge.
Launched last October, to encourage businesses to find innovative ways to help the UK become a greener economy, the challenge was open to start-ups, incumbents and technology providers. It received 22 applications.
