Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, a dynamic innovation hub
The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT Foundation) is a dynamic innovation hub at the centre of Luxembourg’s banking ecosystem that connects and engages with all stakeholders in the Fintech ecosystem including Fintech startups, venture capitalists, government, financial institutions and regulators. It has been collaborating with Temenos MarketPlace for a year.
The relationship between the LHoFT and Temenos MarketPlace has two core elements. First, the LHoFT is working to enable its broad network of Fintech firms test and certify their solutions using the MarketPlace sandbox – a cloud-based, fully functioning version of Temenos’s core banking software. Second, it introduces MarketPlace providers to leading global incubators and industry projects to help Temenos further develop their business.
“The LHoFT’s remit is to develop a Fintech ecosystem and innovation capability to ensure Luxembourg’s financial sector continues to thrive and remain competitive,” says Nasir Zubairi, its chief executive. “The collaboration with Temenos in delivering a testing and certification lab allows Fintech companies we host and work with to test their solutions in a credible and trusted environment, removing barriers in the procurement process with financial institutions. The result is better, more robust solutions that have a label of proof, lowering risks and costs for their institutional customers. We then connect those solution providers with potential customers and other partners from within our ecosystem based upon our knowledge of needs, helping everyone move forward in their business. The lab really enhances our ability to enable innovation projects at Luxembourg institutions.”
As well as offering LHoFT companies a testing ground, MarketPlace highlights promising solutions that the innovation hub may want to host in the future. Says Zubairi: “Working with MarketPlace helps us zero in on those who have real solutions to real problems. There are thousands of fintech firms out there. MarketPlace provides a valuable filter for us.”
The vision for the certification lab is to create a credible standard for testing that will shorten proof-of-concept processes and technical due diligence that institutions go through when partnering with Fintechs, providing a label of robustness, scalability and security. “It builds on the credibility already enjoyed by MarketPlace providers and we expect it to further speed up procurement cycles to deliver much needed agility to financial institutions; a capability that will surely be a key competitive differentiator over the coming years. This agility will also benefit fintech firms by shortening their sales cycle and the reducing the duplication of effort,” he adds.