London has the world’s largest financial services sector, supported by a booming tech sector. The city has all the key ingredients for fintech success: capital, talent, regulatory and government support.
In 2016, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority launched its fintech regulatory sandbox, which allows businesses to test innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms in a live environment.
In November last year, it announced its first cohort, which comprised big banks like HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group, but also young startups. These included blockchain companies BitX, which specializes in cross-border money transfers, and Tramonex, which provides an e-money platform that leverages blockchain to facilitate donations to charities, as well as Oval, an app that helps users build up savings by putting aside small amounts of money, and Nextday Property Ltd., an Internet-based property company.
Some of the world’s leading fintech companies are based in London. Atom Bank launched in 2016 and is known for being the UK’s first digital-only bank. The app-based bank doesn’t have any branches and focuses on transparency, convenience, and low cost banking services. In December 2016, Atom Bank began offering residential mortgages.
Another notable fintech company is Funding Circle, one of the world’s leading marketplaces exclusively focused on small businesses based in the UK. More than £1.3 billion (US$2 billion) has been lent to 20,000 businesses in the UK, USA, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands through the platform. Businesses can borrow directly from a wide range of investors, including more than 40,000 individuals, the UK government, local councils, a university and a number of financial organizations.
In 2015, UK payment processing company Worldpay Group PLC launched the country’s largest tech IPO of the year. The success story demonstrated that the UK is a great place to start a fintech business and that has all the resources to help companies scale, be successful and achieve a world-class exit.
London’s biggest fintech investors
In 2015, the UK VC-backed fintech investment activity reached an all-time-high with US$962 million through 61 deals, according to KPMG and CB Insights’ The Pulse of Fintech 2015 in Review report.
Top fintech investors in the UK include Accel, which has invested in the likes of Circle, Card Spring and Lenddo, as well as Anthemis Group, which has invested in Betterment, Moven, Simple, Fidor Bank and Currency Cloud, Balderton Capital, which has backed Zopa, Nutmeg and Crowdcube, among others, as well as Index Capital, Octopus, Aviva Ventures and Passion Capital.
Top fintech acceleration and incubation programs
London also hosts the some of the world’s leading acceleration and incubation programs, among which the notorious Startupbootcamp Fintech accelerator program, Barclays RISE, Techstars and Accenture’s Fintech Innovation Lab.
Canary Wharf’s Level39 is Europe’s largest technology accelerator for finance, retail, cybersecurity and smart cities. It hosts several notable fintech companies including blockchain companies Coinfirm, Ripple and BABB, as well as Silk Ventures, a tech accelerator and venture catalyst, and Yodlee, a leading tech and applications platform for digital financial services, among many others.
Fintech Week London
The fourth annual London Fintech Week, which will take place from July 07th to 14th, 2017 in London, will comprise a series of conferences, exhibitions, workshops hackathons, meetups and parties, dedicated to financial innovation.
The London Fintech Week 2017 is expected to bring over 3,000 participants throughout the week to discuss the future of money and payments, capital markets and insurance, among other topics.
Speakers will include representatives from Techstars, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Passion Capital, Starling Bank, BBVA, and many others.
Featured image: London bridge photo from hot air balloon, via Wikipedia.
