On 5 November, FINTECH Circle hosted its Investor Network Evening at the Fox Williams offices in the City of London. Angel investors met eight pre-selected fintech startups, chosen from our twice-yearly applications, and heard them pitch directly.

Why the Investor Network matters

Early-stage founders need more than capital. They need investors who understand the sector, the regulation and the route to market. Angels need access to vetted, investable companies without sifting through noise. The FINTECH Circle Investor Network closes that gap, pairing a rigorous selection process with a trusted, practitioner-led community of 260,000+ professionals.

Keynote: UK payments regulation overhaul

Chris Hill of Fox Williams opened with the Treasury consultation, the first major rethink of UK payments regulation in a decade. He covered international alignment, liability gaps in agentic AI payments, tokenised payments, open banking and the shift of rulemaking towards the FCA Handbook, which he sees as a strong positive for UK innovation.

Chris Hill of Fox Williams presenting the keynote on the proposed overhaul to UK payments regulation

The pitches

Beat Money helps underconfident savers move from cash to investing. It sits between robo-advice and traditional advice, with personalised portfolios, human guides backed by an AI dashboard, and a simple subscription model.

Beat Money presenting on stage: millions of UK adults holding surplus cash that could be invested

Alvesta embeds white-labelled behavioural AI in existing banking apps to turn savers into investors. It builds a dynamic investor profile and recommends the next best action, adapting to life events.

Alvesta founder and CEO Tamara Kostova presenting on turning bank savers into confident, long-term investors

Nobo Finance is building digital trade finance for African SMEs, combining reusable verified identity, open finance-based credit scoring and a deal and payment layer as intra-African trade grows under AfCFTA.

Nobo Finance founder presenting at the Fox Williams lectern during the Investor Network Evening

Reserve BTC offers regulated Bitcoin-backed lending, letting holders borrow sterling without selling their assets, with transparent on-chain collateral.

Reserve BTC presenting The Bitcoin Lending Company during the Investor Network Evening

BanxLocal is bringing multi-bank physical stores to high streets that have lost their branches. Acting independently for the customer, it offers savings, lending, payments and investment products supported by an AI layer.

BanxLocal presenting its multi-bank, multi-service high street stores at the Fox Williams lectern during the Investor Network Evening

Eftapay (Bisaldo) is a modular management platform for hospitality merchants, replacing fragmented systems with only the modules they need. Operational data fuels embedded finance and marketplace services.

Eftapay (Bisaldo) presenting its modular business management system for hospitality merchants at the Fox Williams lectern during the Investor Network Evening

Swal.ly is an AI-powered social media safety app for families. Instead of blocking content, it brings parents and teens together through a shared dashboard and harm filters, keeping each feed private.

Sway.ly presenting its social media safety app for families at the Fox Williams lectern during the Investor Network Evening

Serene provides behavioural transaction intelligence for banks. Using anonymised data, it detects life events and predicts risk and resilience early, supporting early warning, responsible lending, fraud prevention and retention.

Savannah Price of Serene presenting the Customer Context Layer pitch at the Fox Williams lectern during the Investor Network Evening

After startups pitches networking followed over drinks & canapes leading to many interesting conversations, building new relationships.

What next

We are now connecting interested investors with the founders and sharing feedback from the evening. Fintech startups looking to raise capital in 2027 can apply here to our next FINTECH Circle Investor Network in 2027.