Mambu weighs in on UK Government’s FinTech review

Following on from our previous article regarding the UK Government’s decision to review FinTech, the industry’s future continues to be debated.

We received comments from James Barker, Commercial Director EMEA at composable banking platform Mambu (see our article on the company here), who described three central considerations for the UK: market access, regulation and skill investment.

“With Brexit looming, the first hurdle is paving UK access to EU and global financial markets. In order for the UK to gain entry into other markets, our tech innovators need to be able to create products that aren’t just relevant to local regulations but fluid across borders. 

“If, after Brexit, we diverge massively from the EU or face significant barriers to trade, the cost of UK-founded businesses regionalising their tech for EU use may increase and place additional pressure,” he said.

When it comes to internal innovation, Barker states the UK has been noticeably progressive in terms of adopting new technology. The positives of this will become evident in the fullness of time, he adds, but there is a caveat to this:

“The regulatory body is reviewing many new banking and lender applicants. The feedback we are receiving from the market is that this process can be somewhat opaque, meaning it’s hard to say how long it will last which makes it more difficult for neo-banks and lenders to plan, both financially and operationally. 

“If the process was more clearly defined, then operating the financial runway could be calculated more accurately, allowing banks and lenders to engage with other suppliers and investors.”

Finally, Barker advocates that the UK Government do everything in its power to raise the profile of domestic FinTech capabilities, therefore making it an attractive market and encouraging foreign investment.

“There are many things the government can look at in this regard, but making the UK FinTech landscape more appealing for large tech financial institutions, as well as smaller international FinTechs is important. 

“It is also vital that we are addressing this demand with our education curriculum and making sure we have a large pool of domain-specific financial institution technology skills coming from our universities,” he concludes.