FINKIT FOR OPEN BANKING SOFTWARE

I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s actually my dream job, being that close to the cutting-edge and getting to be a driving force in it too, in the way that everyone at FINkit is.ĥ. FINkit as a business went through a huge transformation process, building the business from the ground-up again to focus on bringing out products that are innovative and serve our clients in a way that no one else in the market can.

We were using a legacy platform and weren’t really matching the pace of the market and that has completely changed. When I left about two and a half years ago, it was a completely different business. We understand that this isn’t your first time working for the company, having worked for Monitise back in 2011. Tell us a little bit about your career at FINkit. I think for me, I’m most excited about refining that platform so that it continues to evolve with our client’s needs – needs that are, in many ways, very difficult to predict at the pace we’re going!Ĥ. The platform allows financial organisations to think more deeply about what their customers want and to get their products out quickly and safely – meaning more innovation in shorter timescales and still without the risk. The competition is far more reactive and far more creative than anything we’ve seen before and that means that banking and financial institutions are having to act quickly too. I think it’s a really exciting time to be in the financial industry – previously, it’s been quite a tricky sector to innovate in because of how heavily regulated it is but that’s changing as more SMEs and start-ups enter the mix. You’ve been the Head of Engineering at FINkit for almost a year now what things are you most excited about bringing to the market and where do you see the industry going in the future? That real life understanding around enterprise application development is something that employers look for too it can really help you to stand out from the crowd.ģ. I spent my third year at university on an industry placement at British Steel and the practical experience you get is invaluable – at the end of the day, university can only teach you so much. I would also recommend getting as much industry experience as possible, be that work experience, apprenticeships or placements. There’s some really good meet-ups in Cardiff that I’ve been to like Equal Experts – who provide UK-wide networking events on a range of different subjects – and the South Wales Agile Group meetup – who have monthly meetings on Agile best practice. Honestly, if you’re interested in it, get involved! There are meet-ups all over the country where you can talk to like-minded people and universities in particular have some great social events for women in tech. What would be your advice for someone looking to follow in your footsteps? We hear a lot nowadays about encouraging women in STEM. I’ve now been doing it for 20 years so I think I have the BBC to thank for that!Ģ. I started coding and that carried on throughout school and then onto university where I studied Computer Science. I was so interested in it, in fact, that the following year my parents bought me a Commodore 64 for Christmas.

The BBC Micro was part of the BBC’s initiative to improve computer literacy in the UK and get the next generation interested in programming by providing these computers to every school in the country – and in my case, it worked. It all started when my school got its first BBC Micro in 1984.

FINKIT FOR OPEN BANKING SOFTWARE

Can you tell us a bit about how you got into engineering and software development? Hi Anouska, thank you for taking some time out to join us today.ġ. We caught up with Anouska Streets, Head of Engineering, to find out how the team is growing and what the future has in store for FINkit. This includes the expansion of FINkit’s existing team in Nantgarw, Wales (on the outskirts of Cardiff). A growing team, a government grant and a dream career: we talk to Anouska Streets about working at FINkit and how South Wales is set to become the hub for FinTech’s latest innovation FINkit has recently been awarded a grant from the Welsh government to support the development of FINkit, a cloud-based platform that enables financial services organisations and banks to transform and accelerate the delivery of their digital services to customers.

Finkit for open banking