FinTech North returns to Leeds as city hits '100 fintechs' milestone

FinTech North will return in force to Leeds this summer, with its annual conference celebrating the best of FinTech within the city region – now home to over 100 FinTech companies.

An impressive line-up of speakers will take to the stage, including some of the city’s most exciting FinTech start-ups, big banks and policymakers, as well as some of the biggest hitters on the national FinTech scene. The conference will shine a spotlight on home-grown innovation, provide a platform to share ideas, and map out the route for further growth in the sector.

Taking place on the 29th June, the Leeds conference will cover themes including financial inclusion, green finance, banking, lending and the regulatory landscape. It will be held at the University of Leeds’ Cloth Hall Court and will be delivered in partnership with Leeds Building Society, Mastercard, Axiologik, Leeds City Council and TransUnion.

Leeds has experienced a boom in FinTech in recent years, with the city now home to over 100 FinTechs and the sector contributing approximately £700m per year to the regional economy, according to the latest research from Whitecap Consulting. Delegates will hear about some of the drivers behind this growth, as well as opportunities and plans to build on this further.

Speakers include Vanessa Roberts, head of strategy & responsible business at Leeds Building Society; Eve Roodhouse, chief officer for culture & economy at Leeds City Council; Natasha Jamal, vice president of social impact at Mastercard; and Ezechi Britton MBE, CEO of the Centre for finance, innovation & technology.

A panel discussion will focus on the initial findings and outcomes from the FinTech Challenge Leeds, a new initiative spearheaded by FinTech North and funded by the UK Government.

The Challenge has facilitated greater engagement between financial services firms and FinTechs in the city, with the latter understanding the challenges FS firms face, and FS firms being exposed to the solutions FinTechs could offer. It focuses on five core areas: homeownership; green finance; AI, banking and payments; financial inclusion; and equality, diversity and bias.

Vanessa Roberts, head of strategy at Leeds Building Society, says: “We are proud to announce our sponsorship of the FinTech North Leeds Conference and to be championing the FinTech sector in one of the UK’s top regions for financial services.

“Making dreams of home ownership a reality is at the heart of everything we do at Leeds Building Society. Now is the most difficult time to get onto the housing ladder since our founding year of 1875, and we’re determined to find and support the best solutions within the FinTech ecosystem which help make homeownership more accessible and affordable.”

“We recently announced a partnership with Experian Boost which uses new technology to factor in regular debit payments such as rent, council tax and subscriptions to digital entertainment services, to boost credit files and unlock potential lending. We’re innovating at pace to deliver solutions to meet the needs of our current and future members and we’re excited to talk about how we’re partnering with FinTech businesses to help us achieve this.”

The conference will also feature the renowned FinTech showcase session, which will see start-ups from the city region and further afield participate in a quick-fire pitching exercise. This includes green neobank Tred, bereavement management platform Exizent and customer loyalty platform White Label Loyalty – all Leeds-based.

Chris Sier, FinTech North chairman and HM Treasury FinTech Envoy for England, comments: “We’ve just returned from Money20/20 in Amsterdam where we flew the flag for northern FinTech as part of the UK Pavilion, and the collective power of our regions was on full display. We’re excited to bring that energy back to home turf once again.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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