UK government to promote British fintechs with foreign outreach

Managed by the Department for International Trade, Leading Edge is a new programme designed to connect international banks with Britain’s financial technology sector, particularly in burgeoning segments such as regtech, robotic process automation (RPA), and AI. Around 1600 UK-based fintechs generate GBP 11 billion annually, nearly double the GBP 6.6 billion in 2015, and account for around 8% of total financial services output. 

The scheme will initially target ‘priority markets’ including the United States, Australia, and Singapore, where a handful of deals have already been cut with three major banks, DBS, OCBC, and UOB. In a statement launching Leading Edge, the government said it was ‘working closely with Singapore’, and would continue efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact between nations in Asia Pacific and North America.