When he was chancellor of the exchequer in 2014, George Osborne pronounced that the UK would become the global capital of fintech. The industry concerned – the digital-first, innovative technology companies serving the financial services industry – thereby secured a place on the Conservative party’s policy agenda.
Osborne then launched independent membership organisation Innovate Finance to represent the UK fintech community at Canary Wharf’s Level 39 co-working space in London’s Docklands.
The Treasury began to host leading regulators from the Financial Conduct Authority and chief innovation officers from Britain’s largest banks to mingle at 11 Downing Street with the founders and chief executives of what are now well-known UK fintech brands, such as Starling Bank and Monzo.