Edinburgh fintech firm looks to strengthen position in lending market with senior appointments

Edinburgh headquartered fintech firm The ID Co. has strengthened its position in the market with the appointment of new chairperson, Lazaro Campos, and chief technology officer, Scott Leckie.

Established in 2010, the firm supplies technology to lenders such a retail banks to improve the lending decision process using real-time financial data, rather than a traditional credit score.

It said Mr Campos brings over 30-years C-level experience in banking technology, having previously served as a non-executive director of The ID Co. from 2014.

He is also co-founder of innovation ecosystem company FinTechStage, member of the advisory board of financial services company Payoneer and senior advisor to management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

Elsewhere, Lazaro served at SWIFT, the global banking network, in various executive roles and was its CEO from 2007 until 2012.

He said: “The ID Co.’s strong customer acquisition in the last 12-months confirms the attractiveness of its product set and unique positioning ahead of regulatory changes in privacy and bank data access in Europe next year. The ID Co. is leading the way when it comes to financial technology that proves identities and predicts financial behaviours.”

Meanwhile, new chief technology officer Scott Leckie brings over 20 years’ senior level experience to the business. Previous roles include CTO of FinTech provider HotDocs Corporation, where he was responsible for product strategy across the group. Prior to that Scott served as CTO and VP of support services for Axios Systems PLC, and VP of Operations for Nasdaq-quoted FutureLink.

Mr Leckie said: “The kind of technology we are developing is becoming more and more central to financial operations. There is no getting away from the fact the processes surrounding critical transactions, such as mortgage lending, can be drastically improved using banking data. It is vital that consumers are empowered to use their data in such a way that they are confident decisions will be fast, safe and convenient as lenders onboard new customers and remain competitive.”

James Varga, chief executive of The ID Co. said: “Both appointments are key to strengthening team through their considerable knowledge and experience of technology and financial services. We have undergone significant growth in recent years that will only be further accelerated with PSD2 and Open Banking and I am confident we will be able to sustain and build on this success as a result of our exceptionally high calibre of staff and understanding of how to make lending both painless for the consumer and easier for the lender.”