Fintech is going to have its own community soon. The Bank of England has launched a new community which brings together fintech-related organizations including startups, investors and regulators to engage with bank and share the developments in fast-growing fintech sector.
Central bank’s fintech accelerator, which works with financial service firms to develop new approaches has launched this initiative for building its understanding of fintech technologies and in return support development of the sector.
Community Members will have bilateral meetings with the Bank two-to-four times every year for sharing updates on trends and developments in the sector. The Accelerator team will also hold quarterly networking and knowledge sharing events to discuss developments, trends and insights on specific topics of interest.
The 18 founder members of the community include fintech investors Illuminate Financial Management and Euclid Opportunities (part of NEX Group), the Financial Conduct Authority, sector trade body Innovate Finance, data security startup Privitar and law firm Simmons and Simmons.
Community membership is expected to grow over time, but initially it will be limited to firms that are “most relevant to the bank’s remit and fintech objectives, and who have initiated contact with them for knowledge sharing purposes”.
This initiative by Bank of England validates that the fintech industry is no longer a niche industry and has the potential to disrupt traditional banking system. Only way for banks now to cope up with advancement with fintech sector is to collaborate and make progress collectively.
Reference: https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/bank-of-england-gathers-minds-for-fintech-salon-20170317