The UK demonstrates global leading FinTech ecosystem to Money 20/20
UK FinTech delegation will showcase the UK industry in the Chinese market and further strengthen the UK-China relationship at Money 20/20.
DIT and London & Partners showcase the UK’s global leading FinTech ecosystem at the UK pavilion.
The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) in collaboration with London & Partners bring a UK FinTech delegation to Money 20/20 at Hangzhou, China from 14 to 16 November. During Money 20/20, DIT and London & Partners will showcase the UK’s global leading FinTech ecosystem at the UK pavilion and introduce UK’s innovation in the FinTech industry to China.
The UK FinTech delegation includes 17 leading FinTech companies and senior representatives from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England (BOE) and Innovate Finance. They will have a series of dialogues with Chinese organisations and companies to deepen the UK-China FinTech communication and increase bi-lateral collaboration.
Kunal Khatri, Director and Minister Counsellor of Financial and Professional Services of DIT said:
The UK is the world’s leading FinTech centre with unrivalled access to financial expertise, a supportive regulatory environment, a home to global talent and some of the world’s most innovative FinTechs.
I am delighted to welcome the UK FinTech delegation to come to China during the Money 20/20 to showcase the UK industry in the Chinese market, identify new opportunities for 2 way trade and investment, and further strengthen the bilateral relationship between both 2 countries.
Long term collaboration
The UK and China have a long-term collaboration in the FinTech area. The UK and China signed a FinTech Bridge agreement in 2016 to cooperate and promote innovation in their respective markets. The Bridge is underpinned by a cooperation Agreement signed by the UK’s FCA and the People’s Bank of China, which enables the sharing of information on innovative services and market developments to identify emerging trends and regulatory issues.
Moreover, the UK and China’s FinTech Associations Innovate Finance and National Internet Finance Association (NIFA) respectively have also signed an MOU aimed at promoting collaboration between the 2 markets.
The UK is home to nearly a quarter of FinTech unicorns - start-ups, with a valuation of more than $1 billion, many of which are growing into high-earning businesses. The UK FinTech sector contributes £6.6 billion annually to the UK economy.
UK FinTech ecosystem
The strength of the UK FinTech ecosystem is underpinned by the sector’s access to skills and talent from the UK’s talent pool. According to 2018 Times Higher Education Rankings, the UK is home to 3 of the top 10 universities and 12 of the top 100 universities in the world. There are more FinTech workers in London than Silicon Valley and New York.
To make the ecosystem more diverse, then DIT has launched the Women in FinTech Global Initiative in October 2018, aiming to bring more female entrepreneurs to the UK, and a number of international female founders or co-founders have already volunteered to be mentors on this initiative. These support UK and China achieving more through the long-term partnership.