100 up: FinTech Scotland hails growth milestone

Scotland’s burgeoning financial technology community has hailed a growth milestone with the country now home to more than 100 fintech firms.

Stephen Ingledew is the chief executive of FinTech Scotland. Picture: Contributed

At the start of the year it was announced that the number of firms had trebled to 75 over the 12 months since the formation of industry organisation FinTech Scotland.

The growth in the number of fintech businesses is said to have been fuelled by a combination of new enterprises being created, international firms locating in Scotland and existing technology companies developing new fintech propositions.

FinTech Scotland also announced that Scotland’s International Fintech Festival will take place over three weeks between 9 and 27 September, following on from the success of last year’s community-led event.

The festival will take place across the country, including seven Scottish cities, and will encompass more than 50 events.

There has been a surge in demand for fintech products and services amid the roll-out of open banking and as many people switch to conducting their financial affairs online.

Stephen Ingledew, chief executive of FinTech Scotland, said: “We continue to be focused on supporting the dynamic and expanding fintech community across Scotland and it is encouraging to see the number of enterprises grow with the support of key partners, universities and the Scottish Government.

“Scotland’s fintech community is continuing to attract growing interest from international investors as well as the established financial services sector who recognise the significant value in collaborating with creative forward-thinking enterprises.”

Fintech Scotland was established by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the financial services sector and the University of Edinburgh.

Public Finance and Digital Economy Minister Kate Forbes said: “Scotland has the fundamental strengths to be globally recognised as a centre of fintech excellence. Our economy is open and competitive, we have a highly skilled workforce, a great quality of life and an attractive cost base compared to other financial centres.”

David Ferguson, chief executive of Nucleus Financial, one of the sector’s key success stories, added: “These are becoming very exciting times for fintech in Scotland and it’s hugely inspiring to see so many companies contributing to the tech-led reinvention of financial services.

“It’s also brilliant to see Stephen and his Fintech Scotland team doing such a great job in supporting and helping to drive this growth.”

The founding partners of FinTech Scotland were the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, The University of Edinburgh, HSBC, Avaloq and Lloyds Banking Group. Its strategic partners are IBM, Deloitte, Equifax, Pinsent Masons, Sopra Steria, Dentsu Aegis Network and the Prudential.