14 businesses from across the globe faced their industry peers last week as they presented cutting-edge solutions at the Isle of Man's highly-anticipated FinTech Innovation Challenge Finale event on 29 June 2023. 

The winners are SQR for their product that quickly and seamlessly verifies clients' identities, Crucial Compliance for their monitoring system that provides safer gambling strategies, and finally Cygnetise for their blockchain technology that enables businesses to digitally manage and share authorised signatories in real-time.  

The Challenge, aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration in the financial technology sector, attracted a diverse international cohort of participants, showcasing the Island's commitment to becoming a global FinTech hub.

Following a rigorous selection process, 14 finalists were selected from a global pool of applicants, with solutions to some of the Island's pressing FinTech needs. The finalists were chosen by the esteemed panel of judges who are drawn from leading financial and digital technology businesses in the Isle of Man.

The finalists, from the Netherlands, to Switzerland, to the USA, were selected for their ambition and potential, and over the last six months have worked to develop new products which meet a selection of key challenges.  

The panel of judges evaluated the presentations based on criteria such as market potential, scalability, and the potential for positive impact on the Isle of Man's financial sector. 

Run by Isle of Man Government Executive Agencies Digital Isle of Man and Finance Isle of Man, with the support of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and Deloitte, the initiative aims to help these businesses scale up their operations and expand into new markets, by launching products which address crucial issues facing businesses in the Island and around the world every day. 

Lyle Wraxall, chief executive of Digital Isle of Man, said: 'We witnessed first-hand the transformative solutions presented by the participants and the innovation displayed by the finalists was extremely high. 

'The event was an exciting culmination of months of hard work and dedication, and I would like to congratulate our three worthy winners for their cutting-edge solutions that will help accelerate the growth of the Isle of Man as a thriving FinTech ecosystem.'

Michael Crowe, chief executive of Finance Isle of Man, added: 'The FinTech Challenge showcased groundbreaking digital solutions, marking a significant leap forward for the industry and helps to put the Isle of Man on the map as a leading global destination for businesses in this space‘. 

The Isle of Man further said in the statement it will now seek to build on the success of the FinTech Innovation Challenge, and develop a strategy to support a flourishing FinTech structure on the Island.

The 14 finalists were as follows:

  • Codos
  • Crucial Compliance
  • Cygnetise
  • Digidentity
  • ID-Pal
  • OneID
  • Kiya.ai
  • Nettle
  • ONBORD
  • SQR Group
  • Sure (Isle of Man)
  • Staple/Trust Stamp
  • Whitespace Global
  • Yoti