London confirmed as fintech world leader
LONDON has managed to maintain its pole position as the strongest fintech hub in the world for the second year in a row, but regulators need to ensure they strike the right balance to allow the sector to thrive amidst growing competition, the City of London Corporation has warned.
A report published on Monday by accountancy firm Deloitte and trade body Innovate Finance, screening 44 fintech centres around the globe, found that the UK capital outranked Singapore and New York as the top city to establish and grow a fintech startup.
“Its ecosystem has the “fin” of New York, the “tech” of the US West Coast and the policymakers of Washington, all within a 15 minute journey on public transport,” said the report, whose findings were unveiled at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London.
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“These factors make it one of the greatest connected global cities in the world with the key ingredients for digital success: capital, talent, regulatory and government support and demographic diversity.”
But the City of London Corporation, which represents the interests of the Square Mile’s financial and business community, pointed out that the UK fintech sector will need to receive increasing support going forward.
“The report does highlight the prominence of other cities vying for a slice of the pie,” said the body’s policy chairman Mark Boleat.
“With competition rising, it’s important for the UK to continue championing innovation whilst maintaining the right degree of regulation to see our fintechs thrive.”
The authors of the report said that the next 12 months will be key in ensuring continued support for the sector, in line with the government’s recent vow to boost the country’s digital economy.
“Over the next 12 months the UK will forge greater global fintech connections,” said the report.
“Fintech is global and UK fintech firms have global ambitions which require global capital, talent and partnerships to ensure long term success.”
The report, titled the Connecting Global Fintech Hub Review 2017, took into consideration six main features consisting of access to technical expertise, proximity to the customer base, regulatory framework, government support, innovation culture and international diversity.
London received the highest scores in all categories except for the last two, with access for foreign start-ups remaining the weakest area.
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