“ No-one likes banks . However , despite damage to the sector ‟ s reputation following the financial crisis , everyone trusts their bank . Banks are built on the premise of trust ,” adds James . “ The whole business , the regulatory framework in which they operate , is built on the foundation of trust , reliance and security . As a fintech business , we aim to leverage the trust that users have with their bank and share that trust with other organisations .
“ We want to provide online users with the same level of convenience and security that a passport brings when you travel .”
Through its DirectID offer , The ID Co connects a user ‟ s online profile with their bank , in effect helping the user prove they are who they say are , and allowing them to control precisely what information they share with any third party .
A regulatory watershed
In his role as CEO , James has spent the past five years playing an active part in the UK ‟ s Open Bank Working Group ,
“ We began discussions with GSMA , the trade association for the mobile industry , as well as Verify . gov a number of years ago . As part of those discussions , we were invited by HM Treasury to participate in the development of the latest pan-European Payment Services Directive ( PSD2 ) programme , where I co-chaired the data sub-group .
For fintech businesses , the ongoing adoption of PSD2 across Europe – a two-year process that is expected to be complete by January 2018 – represents a watershed moment . The key requirement of PSD2 requires banks to provide access , via secure APIs , to their customer accounts and provide account information to third party apps , if the account holder wishes .
“ It establishes standardised interactions between consumers and their banks – seamlessly and securely .”
The implementation of PSD2 , which has been driven largely from the UK , will enable fintech businesses to accelerate disruption in a sector recognised for limited innovation and being understandably risk averse .
According to data from the World Economic Forum investment in fintech has soared in the past decade – from $ 1.8 billion in 2010 to $ 19 billion in 2015 .
The majority of that investment has targeted the most profitable areas of global banking – namely personal and corporate finance . While fintech investment continues to be dominated by Silicon Valley , London remains the undisputed fintech capital of Europe , while pre-Brexit research by Ernst & Young singled out the UK as a whole as the world ‟ s leading fintech centre .