THE UK’s FinTech sector is undoubtedly driven by London. With its strong financial hub, access to investment and pool of technical talent, the capital is undoubtedly the UK’s, if not Europe’s, FinTechleader.
Now the appetite to develop FinTech- the application of technology to improve financial products and services- is growing around the UK. And businesses in Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire must embrace it if they are to flourish in the future.
FinTech’s role in shaping the northern Powerhouse and how its success can be applied locally was the subject of a breakfast briefing by independent consultancy Whitecap to Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership members.
Directors Julian Wells and Lal Tawney delivereda case study on Whitecap’s work within FinTech across the north and how the success of the model can be exploited by companies in the Milton Keynes region.
Based in Leeds, Whitecap has been heavily involved in the FinTech sector, including the co-founding of a thriving events-based community under the FinTech North brand. Mr Wells detailed the company’s work with Leeds City Council, which has supported and invested in the city’s tech sector, laying the foundations for Leeds to become a FinTech hub of the future.
“The UK is seen as the FinTech capital of the world, with the north becoming recognised as a key UK FinTech hub and an increasingly important contributor to the national and international FinTech economy,” Mr Wells added.
He likened the UK FinTech economy to a Formula 1 car, whichwill continue to drive forward quickly, and set the global agenda. FinTech is rapidly transforming the way companies across all sectors does financial business and companies in Milton Keynes need to take advantage of the technology, he said
Whitecap opened an office in Milton Keynes in 2017, as part of its plans to grow its regional presence, to cover the Midlands and South of England. It is headed by Mr Tawney, who told the briefing at The Brasserie restaurant on Milton Keynes College’s Bletchley campus: “It is vital that Milton Keynes companies adopt FinTech as it will continue to impact our lives at a fast pace as recent technologies develop.”
MKBLP members acknowledged that, while Milton Keynes does not have the sizeable banking community that Leeds boasts, there is a compelling case for local companies to take advantage of the technology to shape their businesses.
