Kalifa review to call for independent fintech body
A new review into the UK’s fintech sector will call for an independent body to be established to encourage growth and innovation in the fintech space.
Last year, the government commissioned Ron Kalifa OBE to chair the review, which aims to establish priority areas for industry, policymakers and regulators to explore so they can support the growth of the sector.
The review is due to be released to the public tomorrow (26 February).
Speaking at the Fintech North virtual Leeds conference, Kalifa – founder of Worldpay and a non-executive director to the Bank of England’s Court of Directors – revealed that the review will call for an independent fintech body to be established with government funding.
“There is a need for a new independent body to be established,” said Kalifa.
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“The purpose of that body is to try to convene and make sure that seed capital is provided to it initially from government, and then it runs on its own legs going forward.
“That new entity is one that I’m putting a lot of hope and expectation in in terms of how we go forward.”
Kalifa also said that the review has been many years in the making, and was first discussed when Philip Hammond was Chancellor of the Exchequer.
“We started talking to the Chancellor and said this is a sector that is growing and we need a strategy,” Kalifa said.
“Fintech had quite a following in the Cameron years but it lost its way simply because of Brexit and everything else that came our way.
“This review was commissioned to say ‘let’s define a strategy for a sector that we believe in’.”
The review is expected to look at the growth of a number of regional fintech clusters around the UK, and to introduce a co-ordinated strategy to boost the growth of fintechs ourside of London.
Kalifa said that he wants to nurture the high growth potential of these clusters, and drive a better co-ordinated strategy through the new fintech body. He added that he would also like to see more research and development in the fintech sector, and more data modelling for the sector at large.
“Financial services is changing,” said Kalifa. “We all know that. And fintech is changing financial services.
“The challenge is – how do we get businesses to continue to grow and get the help they need in order to thrive going forward?”
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