Interview

Countdown to IFGS 2024: Unveiling trends shaping fintech's next decade

Tuesday 9 April 2024 08:31 CET | Editor: Oana Ifrim | Interview

Roberto Napolitano of Innovate Finance offers insights into the organisation's central role in the UK fintech landscape, highlights key speakers and topics at the Innovate Finance Global Summit, and shares predictions concerning payments and fintech trends.

Could you please share insights into your professional background and your role at Innovate Finance?

I am the Director of Marketing and Communications at Innovate Finance, the independent industry body that represents and advances the global fintech community in the UK.

Together with my brilliant team, my focus is to ensure fintechs and Innovate Finance are in the spotlight, driving change and promoting the success stories that help the sector grow.I am really passionate about making a difference in the sector and helping new talent to grow, having worked in finance, technology, and professional services in the past 20 years for scaleups and large enterprises.

Can you provide details about Innovate Finance and its pivotal role in the UK fintech industry?

Innovate Finance is the membership association that represents UK fintechs. 

We connect and convene the fintech ecosystem in the UK with around 100 events every year, including roundtables, workshops, and our flagship event Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS). We showcase the success of fintech in the UK as an important sector for the economy and we advocate on behalf of fintechs by working with the government and regulators to ensure regulations are supporting the growth of the sector.

Our mission is to accelerate the UK’s leading role in the financial services sector by directly supporting the next generation of technology-led innovators to create a more inclusive, more democratic, and more effective financial services sector that works better for everyone.

Would you elaborate on the Innovate Finance Global Summit?

The Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) is our annual flagship event that takes place in April during UK FinTech Week. 

This year we celebrate our 10th Summit on the 15th and 16th of April in the historic Guildhall, right in the heart of the City of London. 

We are excited to welcome the innovators from the financial services and the fintech ecosystem to discuss and debate the crucial issues facing the sector now and in years to come. 

Our packed agenda this year includes discussions on the next decade of financial services and innovation, how the fintech ecosystem is impacting other industries, what the opportunities and risks of transformative technologies such as AI are, how the next generation of consumers looks like and who will lead in the ever-changing Ecosystem. 

We are delighted to have The Paypers as one of our media partners this year. And as part of our partnership, The Paypers readers can benefit from a 20% discount on tickets using the code PAYPIFGS2024 and register via the link https://ifgsregistration.com/reg/general/home.asp 

Which speakers can we anticipate for this year's event? 

This year we are delighted to welcome over 2,000 attendees, of which around 250 international speakers. 

These include the members of the recently launched Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council for UK FinTech and the CEOs of incredible companies such as Zilch, Revolut, Clearbank, Monzo, ClearScore, Curve, The London Stock Exchange, Allica Bank, Openpayd, Aquis Exchange, Modulr, Liberis, GoHenry, Zopa, 10x Banking, OakNorth Bank, Numeral, Quantexa, Simply, Robinhood, PrimaryBid, TrueLayer, and Thought Machine, just to mention a few.

As well as international delegations from the Asia-Pacific and the North America regions, government officials and parliamentarians, regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), representatives from global investment banks, venture capital firms and consulting firms. All speakers are listed on our IFGS 2024 dedicated page at innovatefinance.com/ifgs2024.

What are your predictions for payments and fintech this year? What key developments should we closely monitor?

In 2024, the UK's payments and fintech sectors are likely to witness accelerated growth driven by enhanced digital adoption and regulatory changes. 

Key developments to monitor would include advancements in Open Banking, the potential expansion of initiatives around Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), increased focus on cybersecurity measures and how to best tackle digital fraud and the evolution of blockchain applications in finance. I find the innovations in AI-driven personal finance management tools also particularly interesting. 

Generally speaking, if we want to see positive change, benefit consumers and businesses and foster innovation and competition, it is crucial that collaboration between financial institutions, fintechs, policy makers and regulators continue.

About Roberto Napolitano

Roberto is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Innovate Finance, the UK industry body representing fintechs.

 

 


 


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Keywords: fintech, financial services, financial institutions, regulation
Categories: Banking & Fintech
Companies: Innovate Finance
Countries: United Kingdom
This article is part of category

Banking & Fintech

Innovate Finance

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