Daily Fintech Week London Roundup Monday 19 June 2023

FinTech StartUps
20.06.2023 10:10 am

Session Highlights

For the third year in a row, some of the most influential players from across the fintech, financial services and tech sectors have gathered for a day of high-level networking and discussions at Fintech Week London.

Hosted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the landmark event kicked off with several engaging keynote speakers, including the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal, and Fintech Week London’s CEO, Raf De Kimpe.

Covering the theme ‘From Flux to Flow - Evolving the Future of Finance’, the first day covered topics including: embedded finance, crypto, inclusive ESG and AI. Speakers also discussed areas of concern in the industry, such as a lack of funding and talent.

Following opening addresses from Raf and Rajesh, the first keynote of the day was led by Charlotte Crosswell, Chair at the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology. Charlotte shared some insights on how the sector can continue to move forward following a tumultuous twelve months.

Following this, the speaker hall witnessed exciting discussions and keynotes led by noted fintech leaders, including Matthew Long, Director of Payments & Digital Assets at the Financial Conduct Authority and Leda Glyptis, Chief Client Officer at 10x Banking around crypto and embedded finance respectively.

While speakers were busy delivering informative sessions upstairs, others at Fintech Week London were networking on the level below. From product launches to exciting giveaways, the conference’s first floor was buzzing with activity from opening to close.

Following lunch, an enjoyable Speed Networking event was led by TechPassport and Fintech Week London. The event gave attendees a chance to touch base with all the movers and shakers at this exciting conference,

Later, the speakers resumed with sessions around digital assets, digital transformations and building operational resilience. Next, Polly Jean Harrison, Features Editor at The Fintech Times hosted a fireside chat around marketing crypto assets to UK consumers with Jane Moore, Head of Department in Payments & Digital Assets at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

With the day winding down, speakers at Fintech Week London kept up the momentum with a panel featuring Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder of Harrington Starr, Katrina Cruz, Head of People & Culture at Weavr, Rashmi Prabhakar, Programme Director at GSS and Sarah Cox, VP of People at Curve.

Recapping on a busy day, Raf De Kimpe delivered his closing remarks to the conference hall, summarising some of the day’s main talking points before setting the scene for what attendees could expect from the second day.

Throughout the packed day, there were several noteworthy soundbites that caught the ear, including:

“The UK remains a global leader for innovation for fintech companies who can scale at pace. However, the UK must act now to preserve strong pool of talent and to foster entrepreneurs in order to build a vibrant future for all.”
Charlotte Crosswell, Chair at the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology

“In a post-COVID world, face-to-face communication is more important than ever. If you can create a bond with employees and check in regularly then you can stay on top of where they’re at emotionally. Listening is so important, as it allows you to get a sense of where people are.
Rashmi Prabhakar, Programme Director at GSS

“Unlike cash, crypto was born digital and is global by default. It offers a new way for us to do money and everything that comes with it.”
Simon Taylor - Head Strategy at Sardine

“The FIAT money system within Africa is not fit for purpose. Cross-border payments are too complicated and time intensive. People in Africa often distrust traditional currencies, which has created an opportunity for stablecoin growth, which is now helping to drive the growth of the digital economy in the region.”
Gwera Kiwana - Founder in Residence: Crypto - MFS Africa

“Solutions like Chat-GPT are incredibly exciting, but businesses mustn’t feel compelled to embed it within their solutions. Focus on the problem you’re solving and prioritize that over everything else you’re doing.”
Matt Smith - CEO of SteelEye

“Commerce is going to look quite different in a Web 3.0 economy. We’re going to be able to create provable assets with the help of cryptographic technologies. Everything can be encoded into a commercial protocol. What we have right now is a ‘dumb’ smart economy, but I think we’re moving towards a model that’s much more intelligent.”
Justin Banon – Co-Founder of Boson Protocol

"You need to find people who believe in what you believe in and who believe in you. When you have this clear alignment of personal and organizational values then you can get the best results."
Sarah Cox, VP of People at Curve

“AI is machine labor that will create infinite content. We’re seeing an incredible proliferation of open-source models. AI is going to manufacture digital goods on a scale that you cannot imagine yet. It’s like 30 years ago, we used to take 20 to 30 photos a year. Now, we’re taking thousands. That’s the level of change we’re going to see with the creation of digital goods.”
Lex Sokolin, Head Economist at ConsenSys

“Banks are investing a lot into their foundational layer in attempts to elevate their infrastructure. We should look at digital transformation as a 3D model, it’s a multifaceted process that will take time, money, and education to achieve.
Karan Jain, Chief Executive Officer at NayaOne

“Changes are coming from the 8^thof October and companies need to ensure they’re up to date with what’s happening. The FCA has provided comprehensive guidance around this process, but it’s important that action is taken now by companies who might be affected.”
Jane Moore, Head of Department in Payments & Digital Assets at the FCA

"I do get asked a lot 'when do you test for culture?'. However, that task should never be left to one person alone. It's important that everyone can recognise a company's culture. Ultimately, you want people who add to that sense of culture, not only those who fit it. If you can't achieve that, then people often don't feel engaged."
Katrina Cruz, Head of People & Culture at Weavr

Here are a few announcements from today that caught people’s attention:

PaymentGenes and The Conexus Group Join Forces to Create Global Payments and Fintech Staffing Powerhouse.
Plug-and-Play Finance specialist, Weavr, has announced a new collaboration with Visa, a world leader in digital payments.
NayaOne has been awarded the DSIT tender to deliver the UK’s Digital Identity Sandbox.
Impact X Venture Studio Partners with Microsoft and Spring Innovation to Launch seed funding campaign.
CBI and PwC combine to create ‘The Global Open Finance Report’.