Finance Monthly. 6 THE MONTHLY ROUND-UP News You Can’t Afford to Miss The Monthly Round-Up FINTECH NORTH ANNOUNCES LINE UP OF SUMMER CONFERENCES FinTech North will return in force to Leeds and Newcastle this summer, with two highly anticipated conferences celebrating the best of FinTech within the two city regions. Boasting an impressive line-up of speakers, including Atom Bank, CFIT, Mastercard, Kani Payments and Leeds Building Society, the conferences will shine a spotlight on home-grown FinTech innovation, provide a platform to share ideas, and see some of the biggest hitters in national FinTech take to the stage. Kicking off proceedings 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 Ezechi Britton MBE, CEO of CFIT, Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, Natasha Jamal, Vice President of Social Impact at Mastercard, and Vanessa Roberts, Head of Strategy & Responsible Business at Leeds Building Society. 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, 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. The Newcastle conference will take place on the 20th July at the Common Room of the Great North, in Newcastle’s old Mining and Mechanical Engineering Institute. While the agenda is still being finalised, two of the North East’s biggest and brightest FinTech stars are already confirmed: Atom Bank and Kani Payments. They will appear alongside Invest Newcastle, Mastercard and CFIT, in a day that will explore themes including payments, open banking, AI and cyber security. Both conferences will feature the renowned FinTech showcase session, which will see FinTech start-ups from the city regions and further afield participate in a quick-fire pitching exercise – including green neobank Tred, debit card and app Sibstar which is designed to help families living with dementia, and energy efficiency platform Snugg, winner of the Scottish FinTech Rising Star Award 2022.
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