Top 10 Fintech Innovation Labs | 7: Citigroup - Global Innovation Labs

In May’s edition of FinTech Magazine, we counted down our top 10 fintech innovation labs, in at number 7 is Citigroup: Global Innovation Labs

Last year, Citigroup celebrated the first decade of its Global Innovation Labs project. However, the seed for financial innovation was sown as late as 1975 with the advent of ATM machines, prompting the company to establish a research centre investigating market trends and consumer expectations.

“The financial services industry has historically been a large user of technology. We have always invested heavily in digital, but what we are seeing now is a step-change in both the investment we dedicate to technology and the pace of the evolution.”

- Paco Ybarra, CEO, Institutional Clients Group, Citi

Aware that the amount of digitally-linked devices is increasing exponentially year-on-year, Citi’s approach with its Labs has been to acclimatise clients with the latest technology and help identify ways that it can benefit their business. To attain this level of capability, the company partners with academics, industry leaders and fintechs to gain a holistic picture of the financial market. 

Citi’s Markets and Securities Services business continuously invests in a wide range of global FinTech and market structure companies with recent investment in UK-based companies including distributed ledger technology providers Cobalt and R3. In 2018, Citi launched its London-based innovation lab.

“A critical part of our innovation strategy is to establish strong partnerships and attract the industry’s top talent in technology to deliver the best financial services platform to our clients. Our Innovation Labs are a powerful way to achieve this goal and plug into the local innovation ecosystems. As we look to further increase our investment and develop more cutting-edge technologies for our clients, we are thrilled to launch a new Lab in London and tap the U.K.’s deep pool of diverse talent to hire advanced technologists with a strong business background.”

- Stuart Riley, Global Head of Institutional Client Group (ICG) Technology and Operations, Citi