Manchester was at the northern heart of the industrial revolution; with fintech innovation, it has taken centre stage again. Financial Promoter headed north to find out.
In her first Mansion House speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves stated that the UK government would publish its first ever Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, with fintech one of five priority growth opportunities.
The northern fintech community who gathered in Manchester on November 21, 2024, to attend the seventh annual FinTech North Conference are excited at the prospect.
Opening the conference, Christopher Sier, FinTech North’s chairman, addressed the upcoming implications and challenges for entrepreneurs and founders following Reeves’ Mansion House Speech.
Fellow speakers highlighted the key themes in the government speech as increased regulation around fraud and fincrime, open banking, digital lending and crucially, AI and its implications on the economy.
Founded in 2016 as the first ever regional UK fintech hub, FinTech North was established to facilitate the growth of the Northern fintech ecosystem in response to the sector’s London centricity.
For the past seven years, FinTech North has built up a community of over 6,000 professionals and rotates event locations in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, and Liverpool.
It is part of the FinTech National Network, which encourages collaboration between UK FinTech hubs to amplify their collective message globally.
Manchester is the UK’s fastest growing fintech sector, contributing more than £1bn to the regional economy, making it a natural conference spot for the fintech community.
Julian Wells, director of FinTech North and director of Whitecap Consulting, is confident in the potential of the region, describing the future of fintech in the north as incredibly bright.
“As someone with a history in financial services marketing, I have always seen the value in bringing people together,” Wells told Financial Promoter.
“Creating an environment where you can share knowledge and build better relationships is always going to be more powerful an just sending out emails and running campaigns.
Wells explained that the conference was built on a desire to decentralise finance events in the UK.
“Anytime we were supposed to meet clients or attend a conference, event, or seminar we would we all go on a train down to London and see everyone we knew from the North, and we decided that we should run an event.”
This is how FinTech North was born.
“The value for attendees has been beyond just attending the event,” said Wells. “It is all the follow up meetings, discussions and knowledge shared. Regional work that is incredibly significant to the national fintech growth agenda.”
While London is clearly established as the leading fintech UK hub, Wells noted the importance of looking to the regions, their specific strengths and talents.
The importance of community
The North of England is home to well over 10 million people and boasting more than 400 fintech firms. The region generates over £2bn a year for the UK economy.
In an ecosystem that is projected to grow by 20-25% annually in 2025 due to government backing and private investments, events like FinTech North play a key role as community touchpoints.
FinTech North delegate Izabela Rogala, digital marketing manager at lending software firm Lenvi, told Financial Promoter that the event was “an essential touchpoint for building trust, exchanging ideas and showcasing innovation”.
“Events like these are so useful because you have conversations you wouldn’t ordinarily have,” said Rogala.
“Events allow you to tap into other people’s experiences, struggles and their approaches. It’s an exchange of experiences.”
Colleague Laura Holliday, campaigns, and events manager at Lenvi, spoke about the value of events for B2B marketers.
“In fintech marketing, there’s still a lot of relationship building and that face-to-face element that B2C marketers don’t have to depend on as much. In our space everyone is always innovating and the company you work for might be acquired so having relationships is essential,” she explained.
“Being a part of these communities helps us understand what’s going on in the wider environment and establish relationships, which helps when we are trying to prove ROI on event spend,” said Holliday.
Rogala added that events like FinTech North play a significant role in facilitating community.
“In our region we don’t do a great job about celebrating our successes, but events like FinTech North stop that and tell us that we are all in it together,” she said.
“Our community definitely needs more of it.”
Perception is key
A focus point of many panel discussions across the day was the importance of cultivating the perception of fintech to the next generation.
Panels explored the need for the UK to foster intellectual capital and a skilled workforce as well as the significance of fostering young talent and encouraging them to pursue careers in fintech.
Speakers said this would help position the UK as a hub for even more innovation.
Wells explained that FinTech North acts as a key player in this reshaping of perceptions of fintech in the north and encouraging the younger generation.
“As the older generations retire, there’s a growing need to build a pipeline of talent to fuel the sector’s continued growth,” said Wells.
“Education is a key aspect of getting young people into fintech and alignment between universities and employers is a key part of that.”
FinTech North partners with colleges and universities extensively across the region, but there is a long way to go before fintech enters the natural flow of conversation about career options, Wells noted.
It is often said that when considering the UK financial sector, it is a tale of two regions: London and the rest of the country, yet Wells argues the perception of the northern financial ecosystem has already changed.
“When you map out the financial and professional services sector across the UK over half of it is not in London,” he said.
“Over the past six or seven years, we have seen nothing but growth for regional fintech ecosystems, more activity, more fundraising and more startups,” said Wells.
“Ten years ago, reports on UK fintech were about London whereas now reports on fintech are representative of the whole UK fintech sector.”
There is still work to be done particularly around engagement.
There is ample room to increase attendance, and getting the younger generation involved is key to closing any remaining “them and us” perception gap, Wells said.