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The U.K.’s fintech’s response to the coronavirus pandemic so far might best be described as “move fast, and make things,” as multiple and sometimes impromptu teams roll out financial technology solutions to help combat the crisis.
Last month, I reported on “Covid Credit,” a project that saw dozens of volunteers from the wider U.K. fintech community build a working prototype to enable freelancers and sole traders to self-certify lost income, in a bid to help the government administer potential compensation. Since then, a U.K. government grant scheme for self-employed has been announced, prompting employees at Countingup to build a handy “Coronavirus Calculator” that lets you see how much support you could be entitled to and help with financial planning. Similarly, for U.K. companies — including startups — that need to furlough employees in a bid for survival, Pento’s team created a “Coronavirus Furlough HMRC Claim Calculator” to help you work out how much will be covered by the U.K. government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for each employee.
