Britain’s crucial fintech sector has taken a hit by events like Brexit and Coronavirus pandemic, but now a government-backed review recommended a blueprint to keep the island ahead of the growing international competitions.
The UK government published the review report headed by Ron Kalifa, former CEO of Payments fintech Worldpay, on Friday, which recommended a 'strategy and delivery model' to push the sector forward.
The recommendations include the setting up of a new billion-pound start-up fund, creating more jobs in the fintech industry, and a fast-track visa for fintech employees.
Further, it recommended the implementation of a 'scale-box' for regulatory support to the firms and also improvement in the public listing rules.
“Britain has a proud record of starting-up and scaling-up some of the best-known fintech products, but we cannot rest on our laurels,” Kalifa said in a statement. “We must continue to nurture our start-up culture, but crucially we must also give our high growth firms the support to become global giants.”
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Britain’s fintech industry is massive. According to the review, the country holds more than 10 percent of the global fintech market share, which contributes over £11 billion a year to the UK economy.
The need for the review emerged as the UK’s fintech dominance was threatened by the pouring of fintech investments in Australia, Canada and Singapore. Additionally, the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 hampered the growth of the crucial industry.
“With the right reforms that encourage entrepreneurialism, investment and make it easy to attract and invest in talent, Britain can usher in a period of dominance that can help us build back better from Covid-19,” Kalifa added.
“Fintech is one of the UK’s great success stories and will help us seize new opportunities around the world,” said Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer. “We must now build on our global reputation for fostering innovative start-ups and ensure firms can access the talent, finance and support they need to scale up here in the UK.”
