The song ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ has many meanings for many people. 

For some, it is synonymous with politics in 1997 as Tony Blair’s Labour swept to power. For others, it’s a statement of defiance that circumstances are rock bottom and can only improve from this point onwards.

For me, it means something different: progress. Technology and society keep marching on and – but for a period post-Roman Empire where the medieval age appears to have taken backwards steps in terms of innovation – we’re pretty good as a species at constantly improving and transforming.

FinTech 50 – UK’s most innovative financial tech creators for 2023

FinTech is a great example of that. Following the implementation of open banking, we’ve seen our sector flourish with more products and services being offered than ever. However, there is a risk that we become too introspective – focusing too much on frameworks and standards whilst our purpose becomes lost. 

Earlier in the year, the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation wrote an OpEd to the tech sector. In it, she issued the clarion call that tech should make people’s lives’ better. This is our purpose – this is what we do best. 

Judging the FinTech, InsurTech and RegTech 50 innovation rankings, I kept this call to the industry in mind. It’s the purpose of innovation – to improve what we have. Faster. More efficient. Enablement. Better outcomes. 

InsurTech 50 – UK’s most innovative insurance tech creators for 2023

With the recent discourse on technology featuring many voices about the potential for bad outcomes, it is up to us to make the positive case for tech. These awards are a great way of celebrating the best innovators in the sector and I congratulate all of those who made the three 50 rankings. But it doesn’t stop there.

I take great pride in the sector and there are so many great firms operating in it. As a trade association, it’s our job to be the collective voice of tech and to champion it wherever we can. And I believe that this is just the beginning in terms of what we can achieve – with more smart data schemes on the horizon, enabling technologies like digital ID and the exciting opportunities through the implementation of quantum and AI. We move.

It’s these things that get me out of bed each morning, going in to bat for the tech sector with confidence and relish. And it’s the work you do as innovators that give me reason to D:Ream.

RegTech 50 – UK’s most innovative compliance tech creators for 2023