EXCLUSIVE: ‘And the winner is….’ – FF Awards 2021 in ‘The Fintech Magazine’

Fintech Finance literally rolled out the red carpet for its first Fintech Oscars in London in November 2021… and a star-studded cast of players stepped out in style to sweep them up!

Not every production is – or, indeed, wants to be – a blockbuster… but every one of them deserves their red carpet moment. That was the premise for our first Fintech Finance live awards show, for which our 50 top-tier judges – hands-on financial experts, tech evangelists and big thinkers – broke out the popcorn and sat through 200 hours of video submissions from 170 entrants before casting their weighted votes. Simultaneously, the fintech community got to select its 15 winners from 75 finalists.

This was their chance to bask in the spotlight with the greatest and the best – Hollywood-style. Or, perhaps we should think of the Awards as more the Sundance of fintech: a festival where great creativity is surfaced from bootlaced projects, driven by sheer determination and passion. Because, while the final line-up showcased big hitters such as ACI Worldwide and SmartStream – the Spielbergs of fintech – they were appearing alongside comparative newcomers such as the UK’s first all-digital mortgage lender, Molo, founded just three years ago, and Norbr, the up-and-coming payments integrator.

Like many of the fintechs there on the night, Ali Paterson, the video-native founder of Fintech Finance and the only man to rock a kilt at the Awards – is disruptive by nature. He was determined to do away with complicated entry criteria and preconceived ideas, and create instead an accessible awards event at which, ultimately, the winners were decided by their peers, not by how much buck they were able to pay for their bang.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of entries we received for this new format – something crazy like more than a million minutes of videos were watched by the judges. And I’m glad I wasn’t one of them, because I couldn’t possibly choose! ” says Paterson. “I feel a deep sense of pride whenever I see them used on various marketing campaigns and social media channels now.

“It was our first show and a steep learning curve for all of us, but the team stepped up to host one amazing night and I thank them, the judges and all our worthy entrants. These will always be awards worth winning!”

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This article was published in The Fintech Magazine #22, Page 66-67