Finance Monthly July 2019 Edition

women? Perhaps not. Perhaps I needed that reassurance and push to get me to take the leap into FinTech. There’s certainly more work to be done to really show the outside world that FinTech is a place where women could thrive. Although there are fewer women at the top of these companies, they are still inspiring and powerful and they are innovating in the same way that men are. Movements like Women in Data, Women in FinTech and Women in Finance are a great start, but I think that we need to encourage more of that in order to address gender imbalance in FinTech and show more women that the industry is changing. Does the fact that Starling Bank was founded by a woman mean that the company has a focus on ensuring that there are women at the top within the organisation? 40% of senior managers at Starling are female, so yes, the company definitely has a focus on ensuring that there are women at the top. However, I would like to think that this isn’t just because Anne is a woman – I would like to think that Starling would have this mentality regardless of our CEO’s gender. We are an inclusive workforce and we don’t discriminate based on gender - both for our customers and our staff. As part of the RBS’ Alternative Remedies Package which we were fortunate to be awarded earlier this year, we talked about the fact that we would actively work across the industry to increase the number of women working in technology roles in the UK and we also pledged to continue having 40% of our senior management occupied by women in 2021. So we really do seek to embrace fusion in all forms, but particularly on the gender front and I really do believe that this isn’t just because Anne is a woman, but also because Starling as a whole is a company that is eager to reshape the FinTech space. What’s your piece of advice for other women wishing to work in FinTech and how can they make it to the top? My piece of advice would be to take the leap. As I mentioned earlier, I moved from a large corporation into a tech start- up and back then, this felt like a very brave move. However, I’ve never looked back. I enjoyed my job before Starling but I’ve also always had the desire to innovate, code and make changes faster and in a more impactful way. Thanks to the wonderful world of FinTech and the ecosystem it’s created, I am now able to do exactly that. So, I feel that women and girls who are in the same position I was a while back and are looking at FinTech as a potential, need to give it a chance - take the leap and I think you’ll be as excited about it as I am today! And as for making it to the top, we need to really leverage the networks that exist to encourage and support like-minded career-focused women. Perhaps we need to increase schemes like mentorship in order to encourage female innovators to speak more and discuss ways to elevate the position and prominence of women in FinTech. How is AI implemented at Starling Bank? Today Starling uses AI mainly for operational purposes across credit, lending, fraud and optimisation of customer service operation. It’s very much an operational focus and this obviously has two main benefits - efficiency for the bank but also better customer experience. “ “ I rarely speak to people who say that it’s really difficult to be a woman in FinTech, the main issue, however, is getting here in the first place. “ “ There’s certainly more work to be done to really show the outside world that FinTech is a place where women could thrive. COVER STORY - STARLING BANK 14 www.finance-monthly.com