Tuesday 18 April 2017

NOW Money wins some award, apparently

Due to ill health, I'm doing another PR email this morning. 'You don't want the strain of looking around for news, do you, boss?' I certainly don't, Voice. I just want it handed to me on a plate by the lovely Bryony.

London, April 17, 2017 - NOW Money (NOW), has won the financial inclusion category of Pitch360, a competition at the Innovate Finance Global Summit 2017.

Fine. I'm sure they deserved it.

The competition took place on 11th April 2017 at the Guildhall in London, UK, and saw 24 FinTech startups compete for one of the eight winning spots covering different areas of FinTech, including Artificial Intelligence, Global Financial Inclusion, Block Chain, Personal Finance, Cross Border Payments, P2P Funding, Cyber Security and RegTech.

FinTech again. Bloody hell!

Ian Dillon, Co-Founder of NOW, gave the six-minute pitch, where he explained how the company's FinTech offering will bank the "unbanked" population of the UAE using mobile technology to solve the current problem in the Middle East. He also explained how the solution could be instrumental in increasing security and reducing money laundering.

Okay.

Ian was selected as the winner of the Financial Inclusion category due to his clear and concise explanation of the situation, and by showing how NOW is using the latest technology to provide a solution for this large, 26 million-strong neglected population group, which helps not only those who are excluded but will indirectly benefit their families overseas, including through access to credit.

Well done, Ian, mate! 'Don't he have nothing to say for himself, boss?' Oh, I'm sure he does. His type always do.

"It was a pleasure to introduce NOW to a whole new audience," said Mr. Dillon. "We've had lots of exposure across the GCC and there's currently a huge buzz around the FinTech sector. To be able to demonstrate NOW to industry experts in London and globally was so exciting for us. It's hard to explain the situation to those who don't live in the Middle East and experience the problem first hand, so to sum it up in six-minutes was a challenge to say the least! But we're thrilled with the overwhelming positive response; the support we receive from a network of partners, particularly Innovate Finance, is phenomenal and so important in helping us to be part of solving the financial inclusion problem globally."

All right, that's enough.

...

Anything else? Music? Guitar? Don't talk to me about guitar. I've been on the NHS website and I've got a fractured or bruised rib or something. 'Are you going to hospital then, Mikey?' No, Voice, I'm not. I'm going to deal with it using the "Lee Marvin Method" like last time when I had that fractured collarbone. 'A bottle of whisky and a broad?' Yes. That's all I need, man.

Talking of injuries ... I was watching The Sweeney the other week where some villain gets shot in the leg and has to be treated by a dodgy doctor. As good as the show is, the dialogue is often pretty rubbish, but there's a funny bit where the injured villain's co-villain or whatever is telling Mr Big about the shooting. He isn't actually called Mr Big. He's just the boss character, played by that brilliant Grouty guy from Porridge. Anyway, the co-villain says to Grouty, "He's in a bad way." And Grouty replies, with one of his superb menacing looks, "You're both in a bad way, son." Ha!