This week we spoke with Joe Roche from FinTech North discussing change within the FinTech sector. We discussed in depth the vastly growing FinTech economy in the North, international trade missions, startup FinTech opportunities, the Kalifa Review, and the evolving horizon of FinTech.
On the topic of trade mission opportunities, Joe discussed how FinTech North is showcasing the North as a viable destination from jurisdictions like Scandinavia, The Baltic, and Central Europe. “The UK is seen as a FinTech leader and obviously a fantastic springboard into European and American markets.”
We asked Joe, what changed have you seen in your sector in the last 12 months? “All of us over the last 12 months have found ourselves using more FinTech propositions; paid for things online, made payments in beer gardens or online, or even ordered something from small local businesses online – but it [FinTech change] all goes beyond that. Less digitally savvy people have had to adapt as a way to gain access to their money and goods.”
How has the sector itself changed? “In the last 12 months I have seen more propositions with a real societal edge to them…to promote financial inclusion and offer support to people; with debt, combating climate change and other real societal issues – [the change] is being both investor and consumer lead.”
As the FinTech sector in the North is absolutely booming, what changes have you been part of recently that you have had a direct impact on: “A big one recently is the Kalifa Review. It was through our involvement in the national network that we were able to feed into the Kalifa review and an entire chapter was dedicated to regional reviews.” Fintech before 2017 was predominantly reported to the London based however since has seen growth across many UK regions, especially in the North.
Joe goes on to discuss the future of FinTech North and projects forward 5 years;
It would be brilliant to create a FinTech Accelerator to support new market entrants… Any changes we do make to the organisation would be community-led. It’s one of our strengths; community is important to us and generally considered important in the North. It is essential we stick to that, keep the community at the heart of our organisation.
Thank you Joe for such a great and insightful chat. Joe’s chosen song that represents Change is Cherish the Day by Sade – this is now part of our Perform Partners Change Playlist. Click the link below to listen to the playlist and make sure to add us to your favourites to keep listening:
Perform Partners Change Playlist
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