Over the last few years, UK cities have been in a race to become
the next biggest UK fintech centre after London. Many cities have
been vying to attract new fintech businesses and investors, build
incubators and help to develop the skills needed for a thriving
fintech ecosystem. Arguably Scotland is leading this race - and in
particular both Glasgow and Edinburgh have grown their fintech
propositions and fintech is definitely a space that both cities are
excelling in.
Glasgow's International Financial Services District has already
attracted more than £1bn of investment. Glasgow is also home to
many large financial firms, many of which use Glasgow as a base for
their innovation work (JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays,
Clydesdale Bank). Increasingly Glasgow has also been attracting
fintechs who want to establish here, such as Castlight and Previse.
Glasgow's universities focus on fintech as part of their overall
drive around technology with Strathclyde University being the first
in the UK to offer a Masters in Fintech.
As well as growing the fintech businesses themselves, fintech
has also had knock-on benefits for those who support the sector,
such as lawyers, consultants and accountants. For us as lawyers at
Pinsent Masons, the fintech revolution offers great opportunities
to support - it is a revolution that takes place in a regulated
environment and so businesses need our help to navigate the legal
issues in that environment. We advise businesses on whether they
need to be regulated themselves, how they transact with regulated
businesses, how they protect their new ideas and grow and develop
them. We are a global law firm with a significant presence in
Glasgow, so we can supplement the experience of our Glasgow based
lawyers with fresh ideas from around the world.
When fintech began to take off, a lot of the discussion pitted
traditional financial services businesses against fintechs - there
was talk of the "death of banks" or "fintechs vs. traditional".
However, thankfully, that has developed into a more realistic
dialogue around collaboration, which makes sense given both
traditional financial services businesses and fintechs have
something to offer one another: fintechs bring fresh ideas, speed
to market and are less burdened by legacy technology. Traditional
financial services bring experience, capital, customer trust and
brand to the table. Together it can be a strong combination. We
advise many fintechs and traditional financial services businesses
on collaborations, documenting their arrangements and ensuring that
the desired outcomes are clear to all involved.
Fintechs in Scotland are already covering a vast range of
services - everything from payments to artificial intelligence to
data analytics - and everything in between. There are huge
opportunities for further growth and lots of support from around
the business community in Glasgow for fintechs who want to
establish here.
https://www.pinsentmasons.com/people/yvonne-dunn
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