Fintech offers UK a way out of the Brexit bind

Fintech offers UK a way out of the Brexit bind

Britain's departure from the EU has so far thrown up more challenges than opportunities for the country's finance industry. Boris Johnson's government failed to ensure that financial services were an integral part of Brexit talks and the ensuing trade deal. The result has been a trickle of business away from the City of London, with the fear that it will become a steady stream. With hopes fading for a free-trade deal in financial services with Brussels, the Square Mile urgently needs to think of new ways to retain its pre-eminence as a financial centre.

One obvious avenue is Britain's thriving financial technology, or fintech, sector. The UK has a strong record in spawning and fostering these companies “” fintech contributes £11bn to the economy “” but it could do much more. Brexit gives the UK a chance to change its financial regulation to make itself even more attractive to fintech entrepreneurs and enterprise capital. In doing so it would be fighting the battles of tomorrow, rather than battling to preserve a former glory. 

A government-commissioned report by Ron Kalifa, a former chief executive of Worldpay, has set out a range of proposals with the aim of sparking a "digital big bang“. The