HOW WE’RE DRIVING INNOVATION FORWARD — BIRMINGHAM TECH WEEK AND BEYOND

2024-10-25 10:25:11.0

As this year’s Birmingham Tech Week, the UK’s largest regional tech festival and conference, draws to a close, we’re reflecting on an exciting week filled with innovation, collaboration and forward-thinking. 

Innovation is at our core

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK. 

As a leading personal finance provider, we recognise the importance of thinking differently to continuously evolve our products, services, and solutions. 

Attending events like Birmingham Tech Week 2024 gives us the opportunity to explore cutting-edge technologies and collaborate with fintechs, SMEs, and universities.

Exploring the future of finance with AI

Earlier this week, we hosted an interactive fringe event, "Exploring the Operational Benefits of Gen AI," at Alpha Works. The event brought together participants from fintechs, SMEs, and universities to discuss how AI can shape the future of the personal finance sector. 

Our Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Hunt, kicked off the event by welcoming attendees, and this was followed by a fireside chat led by SuperTech’s Executive Director Hilary Smyth-Allen, with Stephen Hunt and our Deputy CEO Ricardo Mantovani. The panel explored the impact of the organisations’ collaboration on two innovation programmes. 

Following the fireside chat, speed networking sessions allowed participants to exchange ideas and propose solutions to real-world business challenges. The collaborative environment sparked innovative discussions, demonstrating the power of collective thinking in tackling industry-wide challengesOur Director of Customer Experience and Development, Andrea Tittel, spoke at Birmingham Tech Week’s ScaleUp Summit, hosted at STEAMhouse and facilitated by Innovation Manager Vita Woods.

Joined by Hilary Smyth-Allen, and key representatives from this year’s SMEs, Andrea led a discussion on the benefits of Challenge-Led Innovation, using our incubator programme, the Innovation Lab, as a key case study. 

Driving progress beyond Birmingham Tech Week

Our commitment to innovation doesn’t stop with events like Birmingham Tech Week. At BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, we continue to drive progress through initiatives such as our incubator programme — The Innovation Lab — in partnership with SuperTech.

Building on the success of this year’s programme, where we trialled four innovative solutions with customers via the myCreation app, we’re now excited to focus on how Generative AI can keep us at the forefront of technological advancement in the financial services sector.

Our CEO, Stephen Hunt shared: “Witnessing the progress made by this year’s cohort throughout the Innovation Lab has been truly inspiring. It’s a testament to the power of collaboration and innovative thinking. We’re excited to build on this momentum as we explore the potential of Generative AI in our next Innovation Lab programme.” 

“Being involved in events like Birmingham Tech Week reinforces the importance of staying connected with emerging technologies and industry leaders to ensure we remain at the forefront of innovation.”

Ricardo Mantovani, our Deputy CEO commented: “As a trusted finance provider, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK is committed to remaining at the forefront of innovation. 

“Collaborating on open innovation programmes allows us to push boundaries and find solutions that not only benefit our business but also set new standards for the industry.”

Next steps

At BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, our journey to explore cutting-edge technologies and challenge conventional thinking continues.

We look forward to building on the momentum from this week’s events as we drive innovation forward through our upcoming initiatives. With a focus on harnessing the potential of Generative AI, we remain committed to evolving and delivering the best for our customers — a commitment which starts and ends with innovation.

Keep up to date with our we’re driving forward innovation in the financial services sector by following our LinkedIn and X