EY has produced a report that was commissioned by HM Treasury (UK) titled "UK FinTech On the cutting edge- An evaluation of the international FinTech sector".

EY has produced a report that was commissioned by HM Treasury (UK) with the objective to  compare the UK environment for FinTech against other leading FinTech hubs internationally.  The report is titled "UK FinTech On the cutting edge- An evaluation of the international FinTech sector".

 

Financial Technology – or FinTech – refers to the use of technology to provide financial services. Examples include payment services, alternative finance such as peer-to-peer platforms and digital currencies. Just as the UK is a leading financial services capital so we are also a leading FinTech capital. This report considers the UK environment for FinTech and compares it to the environment in other leading FinTech hubs (such as New York and California).
FinTech hubs are considered across four factors: access to skilled talent; investment in FinTech; government and regulatory policy; and demand.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) release a research report titled “Fintech – the UK’s unique environment for growth”

UKTI released a report titled “Fintech – the UK’s unique environment for growth” on 6th August 2014 to coincide with the launch of the new UK Fintech organisation Innovate Finance.

The report looks at the strengths of the UK’s Fintech sector and how overseas companies can benefit from setting up in the UK.

The full report can be viewed or downloaded here.
Fintech in the UK. The UK is a uniquely well-suited location for technology applied to financial services – Fintech. This fast-growing sector covers both: (1) Traditional Fintech (with larger incumbent technology firms supporting the financial services sector), and (2) Emergent Fintech (with small, innovative firms using new technology to bring financial services directly to consumers, often disrupting existing business models).

The UK and Ireland is now the fastest-growing region for Fintech investment (Accenture). Deal volumes here have been growing at 74 percent a year since 2008, compared with 27 percent globally and 13 percent in Silicon Valley. During the same period, the value of Fintech investment increased nearly eightfold, to US$265 million in 2013 – a rate of 51 percent a year, nearly twice the global average (26 percent), and more than twice that of Silicon Valley (23 percent).   The UK’s growing strengths in Fintech are due to: 

New UK Fintech industry body Innovate Finance launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the City of London Corporation and the Canary Wharf Group

Innovate Finance http://innovatefinance.com is the new UK industry body established to promote the interests of the UK’s rapidly growing Fintech sector. The launch was held on 6th August 2014, at Level39 http://level39.co. Online reports indicate that 250 people attended the launch.

What is Innovate Finance?
Innovate Finance is an UK industry organisation that will accelerate the UK's leading position in the global financial services sector, by directly supporting the next era of technology-led financial services innovators, whether they be a young start-up or an established industry player.

The organisation aims to be a single access point to the full financial services and technology ecosystem and – through its own innovation programmes and partnerships with other organisations – connects members to policymakers, regulators, investors, customers, educators, talent and key commercial partners (Including FCA Project Innovate, British Business Bank, TechUK and Open University).

The organisation is led by CEO Claire Cockerton, with a Board of Directors that includes Fintech leaders such as Nick Hungerford of Nutmeg, Justin Fitzpatrick of DueDil, and Alastair Lukies of Monitise Plc, who will serve as the organisation’s Non-Executive Chairman.  An Advisory Council of industry experts includes Eric Van der Kleij, Head of Level39 Technology Accelerator and Nadeem Shaikh of Anthemis Group, among others.

A Research Report on Crowdfunding regulation in Europe issued by European Crowdfunding Network

The European Crowdfunding Network’s report is titled “Review of Crowdfunding Regulation - Interpretations of existing regulation concerning crowdfunding in Europe, North America and Israel”

The report provides in depth cover of the current regulatory approaches to crowdfunding in 29 countries, considering the varying applications of the single market legislation to Crowdfunders across Europe both now and in the foreseeable future. The report also reviews Crowdfunding regulation in North America and Israel.

On 3 October 2013 the European Commission started a public consultation asking for opinions on a (possible) harmonised regulation of Crowdfunding until 31 December 2013.   Crowdfunding is already restricted by national regulatory provisions, but the continuing development of the European single market in financial services has and will continue to ensure that there is a small degree of conformity between those national regimes, even absent any Crowdfunding-specific European regulation. Further it can be anticipated that Crowdfunding could be even more restricted under the future AIFMD regime.  The report can be viewed / downloaded here

Source:  European Crowdfunding Network, Belgium (2013) http://crowdfundingnetwork.org