According to Lawrence Wintermeyer, head of Innovate Finance, 30 fintech startups had their funding cancelled or postponed by investors since the Brexit vote, forcing them to seek urgent funding elsewhere; in addition to local investors pulling their capital, startups have also said that funding from international investors has stalled due to the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit process; while the UK struggles, other European cities like Berlin have been actively recruiting firms to relocate. Source
Implementation of blockchain operations for the finance industry is still ten years away according to UBS executive, Veronica Lange; speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London, the UBS head of innovation says blockchain is still primarily in a research and development phase; there are a lot of positive reports about pilot programs and solutions and the finance industry is moving toward greater utilization of the technology but discussions at the Innovate Finance Global Summit report that new infrastructure will be required for full deployment and that will take time. Source
Jeremy Hunt's announcement today was less a "Big Bang 2.0” and more a conservative nudge to the existing financial system.
Innovate Finance's CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer has left the association to pursue other opportunities; Wintermeyer served as CEO for two and a half years and helped the association increase its membership to 250 members; Charlotte Crosswell, former CEO of Nasdaq NLX, has been appointed as the association's interim CEO while it searches for a successor. Source
The UK made its mark on Open Banking, but as global sights turn to the loftier prize of open finance, it's in danger of being left behind.
Innovate Finance has announced eight industry leaders for a new ambassador program; Innovate Finance is one of the UK's most active trade associations for fintech; it's led by CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer; some of the program's industry leading ambassadors include Anju Patwardhan from the CreditEase FinTech Fund and Mike Sigal from 500 Startups; the ambassadors will be actively involved in the organization's upcoming Global Summit on April 10 and 11 in London. Source
Often marketed as a "force for good," UK fintech's actual impact on issues such as diversity and the climate crisis remains limited.
The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) was first established in 2011 (we covered it here). The trade body...
Innovate Finance and the Financial Conduct Authority have published a preview report on the UK Fintech Sandbox with a full report planned for May 2017; the preview report provides insight on the benefits of fintech sandboxes and how they can promote innovation while also helping to facilitate regulation. Source
The UK fintech sector has shaken off the worries of Brexit to take in the second highest amount of capital from VC’s in 2017; they have overtaken China and only trail the US in terms of VC funding; according to data from Innovate Finance UK fintech investment was up 153 percent in 2017 from the year earlier; 24 per cent went into challenger banks, 21 percent into money transfer and foreign exchange, 17 percent into alternative lending and financing and 11 percent into personal finance/wealth management; VC investment globally reached $14.4bn across 1,824 deals, representing an 18 per cent decrease from 2016. Source.