Today, the world’s regulators are redirecting their focus away from the financial risks that have dominated since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and towards non-financial risk management and resiliency issues. And, this trend has been further accelerated due to the pandemic.
This is where Acin has stepped up and it looks to revolutionise the way financial institutions manage their non-financial risk and controls.
Raised €10.3M
London-based Acin has raised $12M (about €10.3M) in its Series A round of funding led by European SaaS investor Notion Capital and supported by Fitch Ventures, the investment arm of the US-based Fitch Group.
Besides, investors also include Cris Conde (former president & CEO of SunGard), Christopher Carter (chairman of Artorius Wealth Management and former vice-chairman – Institutional Securities at Morgan Stanley), and Carlos Gonzales-Cadenas (COO at GoCardless and ex SkyScanner CPO).
Acin will utilise the raised capital to expand its cloud-based Terminal by adding additional risk and control inventories and integrated benchmarking, as well as adding extensions to other software. It also plans to expand its platform to other sectors beyond financial services in the future.
On a mission to make banks safer using data
Acin was founded by Paul Ford in 2018. The company’s core product is the cloud-based Terminal, which enables financial institutions to manage operational and non-financial risk across front and back offices.
As per Paul Ford, the company uses defined metadata to digitise and map risks and controls, so that gaps and overlaps can be identified for each individual firm and benchmarked against their peer firms. The Acin network connects these firms together to share data and knowledge, hence keeping all participants up-to-date and able to demonstrate to regulators that they are in control.
Acin’s solution has received widespread industry recognition, including being named one of the most innovative RegTechs in 2019 and 2020.
The startup’s system was created for and in collaboration with, the world’s largest financial institutions. It enables firms to standardise non-financial risks and controls, improve efficiency, and reduce the cost of their risk and control operating model.
Paul Ford, CEO, and founder of Acin says, “The need to digitise operational and non-financial risks is now more important than ever for the financial services sector, with the COVID-19 crisis shedding fresh light on the need for data to manage existing and emerging risks. We are seeing a collective desire from the industry for a solution built on collaboration and sharing of information and Acin’s approach is transformative in its ability to deliver this. This funding will enable us to accelerate our growth to meet the demand and needs of our clients.”
Acin was advised by Zelig – an independent investment bank providing M&A and fundraising advice to entrepreneurs, corporates, and investors in the FinTech sector globally. It was also supported by international law firm Withers, through its specialist VC and technology team at Withers tech, which advises founders, companies, and investors.
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