So, first things first: we hope you are all well and stay that way. We will adapt, we will go on.

The next thing to say is that we can help CEOs, CFOs, CTOs and COOs to get on top of things if it’s all gone a bit, well, tough.

Fintech startups suffer first and worst in a downturn (we’ve been through two such before…). It means you need to think outside the normal and get on top of things: people, code, money and customers.

There’s never a good time to have a crisis. But we’re always open. Call us when you have to.

Whose intellectual property is it anyway?

A lot of software is created through joint effort – requirements, prototype, enhancements, change requests; whether through a team or by a single individual. So whose IP is it anyway? And what happens when relationships go wrong and business partners separate?

We’ve seen many challenges in this space but also some useful conventions, mediation drivers and practical solutions that ex-business partners might want to consider before going to law. The key to understanding IP in software terms, as with many things in life, is to “follow the money”: who commissioned it, who built it, who paid for it and who makes money from it now.

Don’t stand by and let your IP potentially walk away from you in a dispute or in confusion about the technical aspects of the software. We can help untangle the mess and we work with IP lawyers too who can assist with your enforcement rights as well.

Something went wrong. Don’t be like TSB.

At times like these there a few words to describe the situation. But “Java.lang.NullPointerException” ain’t one of them. Our sweet spot is helping clients out of tricky situations like this: help is at hand. Call us.

Runaway CTO means you are locked out from your own software code

A key developer has left… and taken the code with them!

Absent code creates a particular sort of panic in the minds of partners, directors and investors. You’ve probably been there and know what we are talking about. The consequential financial, litigation and coding/programming costs to recover lost, stolen or absent code can be horrendous. Not recovering the code can in some instances threaten the very existence of a business. Who do you turn to for help with the financial, legal and technical expertise to restore the code and reassert your ownership? The challenge of course is to do so with as little disruption as possible.

Fintech Recovery is there for you when your technology is beyond control.

When technology or your systems become the problem, give us a call. It won’t cost you anything to get a second opinion and you may be surprised by the outcomes we can deliver.

Most of our introductions are via someone else – a friend, colleague, investor or family member.

We can help if you know someone like this.

When it comes down to it, running a fintech startup can be a lonely business. You are the general of a little army, and ALL the soldiers look to you for answers, solutions, and money. That can be quite a pressure. Most entrepreneurs are not able to ask for help – it’s not their style (we know). But concerned friends, family and investors often approach us and ask us to reach out with their blessing. Like all good cures, diagnosis is the key. We can help your project too – call us.

A fintech entrepreneur reacts to an unexpected creditor demand

Fintech entrepreneurs, COOs, CIOs all deal with investment capital, cash flow and the day-to-day running of their sometimes fragile startups. When things go wrong and creditors start calling it’s important to face into reality and take those calls. Not just as a matter of common courtesy, but the sooner the right information is given to all parties, the better.

Fintech Recovery Ltd has huge experience of this – we have helped ourselves and others out of many similar situations. The end result can be workable – most people are reasonable and will look for a solution. If you’re worried about your business and pressure is building from creditors and others, please call us. Don’t suffer in silence.

New regulations – improving or gold-plating fintech compliance?

From January 2018 new rules and regulations are being introduced covering businesses that provide services to clients linked to ‘financial instruments’ and the venues where those instruments are traded.

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) is an EU directive transposed into the home law of all single-market members. MiFID II imposes new rules designed to “give customers more protection and force greater transparency across everything from fixed income to swaps”, according to the Financial Times. The paper describes it as “the biggest regulatory shake-up of European financial markets in a decade” – and a much-delayed reaction to the 2008 financial crisis.

MiFID II’s goals are to achieve a shift in trading towards more structured marketplaces, to improve execution, encourage orderly trading within markets, and provide consumers with lower and more explicit costs of trading and investing. Not only will MiFID II have an impact on firms’ data storage resources to support this new, deeper reporting but the same will also have implications for the security of that storage.

MiFID II significantly updates current FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) sourcebooks on such activities as the secure recording and archiving of telephone calls with consumers, extending the records of conversations covered to include anyone involved in the chain of a trade, including financial advisers, both human and robotic. MiFID II stipulates a minimum period of data retention – albeit potentially at cross-purposes to its sister directive, GDPR. MiFID II will affect everyone engaged in the dealing and processing of financial instruments from finance business and their operating models, systems and data to data, people, and processes in companies classified as “investment firms” according to Thomson Reuters. The definition of these entities is deliberately wide and vague.

Fintech companies – especially those regulated in an EU home market – are struggling to comply with the new regulations in time for the deadline. Fintech firms big and small are inundated by the scope of change driven by the directive; the immoveable implementation date and the lack of specific detail and guidance on what has to be done and how, at a national and EU level. It does not help that a rolling pattern of consultation and discussion of some specific regulations remain under discussion. The UK’s FCA has frequently chosen to ‘gold plate’ EU directives in order to promote the UK as a stable and well-regulated location for financial services, adding to the regulatory burden of firms in the UK compared to their counterparts in the rest of the EU.

However, the FCA has published some guidance on its website https://www.fca.org.uk/markets/mifid-ii and a PDF guide to help businesses through what parts of the regulations are relevant to them. Fintech firms may also sign up for email updates from the FCA.

Weasel ways that fintech clients’ customers find not to pay

You probably know how this one goes… The tech has been built and delivered; it’s working. Securely in the hands of the client with passwords handed over. The final invoice is sent. The handover is done. But suddenly there’s a surprise: An alleged lack of functionality. A missing feature? It’s not built to specification. We wanted it green, not blue. The test certificate is missing. You had lunch trying to snaffle the competition, a supplier, a staff member. There’s no way we can pay you. Morally or legally. But we’re keeping the tech. Yes, it’s the weasel with a thousand faces. This particular rodent always pops up at the same time: when that final invoice needs settling. We know this weasel of old; we’ve caught him, skinned him and de-boned him too. Tell us where your weasel is and we can help. En garde!

A game of chicken.

Cockup. Chickens coming home to roost. The foul epithets flow when failure comes a’calling, chez fintech. We grill ’em. When fintech gets in a tangle there’s no way the CTO or internal staff can any longer cope. It’s hard, but outside help will make a difference, even as just a fresh pair of eyes. Take a break and call the experts.

We’ve all been there: the catastrophic event. A few months ago a distressed client crept into our London offices late on a Friday afternoon. “He’s gone”, he whispered to us, panicking. “The CTO has stormed off with the passwords and a demand for money but we’re supposed to be launching on Monday. What shall I do? I’m ruined.” Well, he wasn’t. One long weekend later, and with our help he had the ultimate reward. He coolly launched as if nothing had ever happened. Not everyone reacts like Dilbert, after all.