The new hub is part of the mutual’s £3m pledge to support open banking. It marks the beginning of the incubator phase, the second stage of the Open Banking for Good challenge, Nationwide’s own technology initiative.
Among the firms, Openwrks and Trezeo are developing apps that help those with inconsistent income and expenditure, such as self-employed borrowers, provide lenders with a realistic picture of their financial circumstances.
By asking a series of questions, the firms can smooth out the peaks and troughs of month-by-month earnings and outgoings to give a more consistent 12-month view, for example.
The other firms sharing the incubator space are Ducit.ai, Toucan and Tully.
The Convent Garden space is open until the end of the year, by which time solutions will have been tried, tested and ready to roll out to a wider audience.
