From 19 April till the 23rd, London FinTechweek takes place. During this week, FinTech founders, bank ex-cos, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, regulators, policy-makers, politicians, academics and media from around the world will come together to learn, discuss, debate and network.
Together with New York, London is the biggest FinTech ecosystem in the world with more than 1600 FinTech companies. In 2020, Fintech startups and scale-ups from London raised more than €3,57bn in Venture Capital investment. This is about half of all Fintech investment in Europe.The British Government sees the Fintech sector as one of the main sectors to support economic growth post-Covid and has recently announced different policies to support the FinTech sector even more. This all to assure that London stays on top with its world Fintech ecosystem. These policies also open up opportunities for the Dutch Fintech sector. This will hopefully lead to more Dutch success stories like the ones of Adyen and Mollie in the British Fintech sector.
Digitalization of the financial services
The most important push for innovation within the financial services comes from the innovations in digital technologies. The most important technologies are:
- Digital channels and mobile apps: The internet opens up the possibility to offer services from a distances, without the need for a branch to enter and without country borders. The use of apps gives everyone the opportunity to use financial services, from payments to saving accounts. Covid has accelerated this process. About 6 million people downloaded a Bank App for the first time during the first lockdown (data from Nucoro).
- Data, analytics and Artifical Intelligence: By analyzing and using digital data it is possible to recognize patterns in transactions, behavior and personal data.
- Robotica and chatbots: More and more software robots are used by financial services to do repetitive work and have interaction with clients. Many are using chatbots to answer easy questions from customers.
- Sensors and Internet of Things: Many objects are facing all kinds of risks, like your house, your car or you company. The monitoring of these risks is important for insurances companies. With digital sensors that are connected with the internet (Internet of Things), these risks can be managed from a distance. For example, by monitoring your driving, your car insurance can be adapted.
- Blockchain andcrypto currencies: Through blockchain it is possible to check and safeguard transactions in an open digital way. This opens up more possibilities for new services, like crypto.
- Digital identity: To use financial services, your identity has to be proved. This means innovations in safer bankcards and possibilities of biometric scans.
The Future of Financial Services
A growing and innovating Fintech sector is not only important for economic growth, but also for the improvement of financial inclusivity. Digitalization of financial services opens up their use to many more people and will give people the change to invest in their future. These are important developments that are valued by the governments of both the UK and the Netherlands.
H.M. Queen Máxima has worked for many years as UN Special Envoy on the subject of financial inclusivity. In that capacity she has spoken many times about the importance of innovation. Therefore, she is one of the keynote speakers at the opening of the London FinTechweek (FinTech). With Fintech companies like Bunq, Adyen, Tikkie and Bitfury, the Netherlands has proven to house successful companies that will keep working on the innovation of the financial services all over the world.
Interested to explore the British market? Contact the Embassy
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK supports Dutch companies that want to be part of the innovative developments in Fintech and want to grow internationally on the British market. If you have any questions about this, or want to know more about the Fintech ecosystem here in the UK, please don’t hesitate to contact the Startup Liaison at the Embassy by LON-EA@minbuza.nl .
