British company makes last 10 in international fintech competition

The London-based fintech company ipushpull has fended off global competition to reach the last 10 companies competing in the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) Interbank Fintech Innovation Contest in Shanghai.

The shortlisting follows a trade delegation that included ipushpull and that was led by the lord mayor of London visiting China in March.

As a result of the visit, the British fintech company has partnered with CFETS to deliver real-time trading and pricing information directly into the iDeal instant messenger and CFETS trading platforms, an accomplishment that impressed the competition's judges.

The CFETS, as part of People's Bank of China－the nation's central Bank－accounts for about 80 percent of China's financial sector's trading volume and supports 25,000 interbank members, making the relationship a huge opportunity for the British fintech company.

The contest attracted the participation of more than 50 global and domestic teams that were selected to make presentations to a full panel of industry experts and market leaders in China.

The range of submissions included fintech applications that use artificial intelligence, visualization, cloud computing for workflow improvements, and operational efficiencies, particularly those that target cases surrounding interbank dealing.

Matthew Cheung, CEO of ipushpull, said: "We are very excited to represent Britain in the final and for the tremendous opportunity it provides into the Chinese market. We thank the lord mayor and the City of London Corporation for their help in opening up business in China through the UK-China Fintech Bridge."

Cheung said he believes the reason ipushpull made the top 10 lies in the innovative way the company allows live data sharing in chat and messaging platforms such as iDeal.

Lord Mayor of London William Russell said he was delighted to see the company strengthen ties between London and Shanghai in the wake of his predecessor's visit earlier this year.

"ipushpull is a fantastic example of British innovation at its best, and I'm confident the company will bring huge benefits to China's interbank bond and FX markets," he said.

The company offers a live data sharing and workflow automation platform that improves efficiency for both the buy side and sell side by connecting data, applications, and people in real time.