Regional FinTech leaders unite in FinTech Review message to Chancellor

Representatives from six of the UK’s key regional FinTech networks have joined forces to deliver a letter to the Chancellor with more than 250 signatures from across the UK, calling for the soon to be released UK FinTech Review to recognise the important role of regional FinTech. The letter also calls for the outcomes of the review to specifically include the regions in next steps, and support FinTech in the regional economies in line with the ‘levelling up’ aspirations.

The letter was jointly written by the regional members of the FinTech National Network, a group co-ordinated by Innovate Finance that brings together the FinTech clusters from across the UK, enabling greater regional support and broader UK collaboration.  The member organisations behind the letter are: FinTech North, FinTech Scotland, FinTech Wales, FinTech West, FinTechNI, and SuperTech (West Midlands).

The signatories on the letter include public sector leaders, CEOs of banks and building societies, FinTech founders and CEOs, leading FinTech academics, investors, and senior figures in professional services firms. Signatures were gathered across all the regions with unanimous support to recognise regional strengths and for the outcomes of the review to enable economic growth and prosperity across the country.

Notable signatories across the UK included:

·       HM Treasury FinTech Envoys Chris Sier (England), Richard Theo (Wales), Andrew Jenkins (Northern Ireland).

·       Roger Marsh – Chair of Northern Powerhouse 11 (NP11) & Leeds City Region LEP

·       Tom Riordan – CEO, Leeds City Council

·       Suzanne Wiley – CEO, Belfast City Council

·       Kevin Holland – CEO, Invest Northern Ireland

·       David Stewart – FinTech Co-Leader, West Midlands, SuperTech

·       David Duffy – CEO, Virgin Money plc (Newcastle)

·       Louise O’Shea – CEO, Confused.com (Cardiff)

·       Stephen Hunt – CEO, BNP Paribas Personal Finance (Solihull)

·       Richard Wilson – CEO, Interactive Investor (Manchester)

·       Christopher Harrison – CEO, Furness Building Society (Cumbria)

·       Tom Woollard, CEO & Co-Founder, Bunk (Bristol)

·       Glenn Smith – Founder & CEO, Roqqett (Bath)

·       John Healy – Managing Director, Allstate NI (Belfast)

·       Myles Stephenson – CEO, Modulr (Edinburgh)

Writing in the letter, the group says:

“We write to collectively express our support for the development of FinTech across the UK, and to request that the outcomes of the current UK FinTech Review, led by Ron Kalifa, include specific measures to develop FinTech in the regional economies outside London in line with the ‘levelling up’ aspirations.”

The UK FinTech Review, led by Ron Kalifa, was announced last year and is due to be published this month. The review process has engaged with stakeholders across the UK, ranging from FinTech startups to established financial institutions and universities. The Review has five ‘chapters’, one of which has focused on national connectivity, and looks specifically at developing greater regional activity and connectivity to create economic growth.

The letter from the group concludes:

“We believe this is the moment to build on the global strengths of the UK’s FinTech sector, and aligning with the drive towards ‘levelling up’ can provide an opportunity to support FinTech entrepreneurs across the UK and internationally. We hope that our letter to the Chancellor will help ensure the opportunity to help develop the regional FinTech economies in the UK will not be underestimated.”