In two expert panels at IFGS 2025, speakers considered how geopolitical tensions are impacting the global fintech industry, and strategised how the UK can lead the space.
In the opening panel, ‘Now or never: Unlocking fintech’s potential to drive growth’, panellists discussed the political developments in the US and UK governments and where smarter regulation can be implemented. Speakers Diana Avila, global banking and expansion officer, Wise; Philip Belamant, CEO and co-founder, Zilch; Iana Dimitrova, CEO, OpenPayd; and Charles McManus, co-founder and board director, ClearBank, were moderated by Iain Anderson, co-founder and executive chair, H/Advisors Cicero.
McManus emphasised the importance of speed and pace to push UK fintech from good to great: “We need authorisations done. We need responses done. We need new product approvals done faster in relation to those firms to actually all move forward in relation to that growth. We’re pushing hard in relation, to what you’ll see in the FCA is putting 50% more resource into startups and scaleups. We want cultural change there in relation to talking about not just the risk, but actually growth and moving firms forward.”
Dimitrova cited how cities such as Bangkok and Dubai are accelerating their fintech landscape, and the UK can surpass them if the industry focuses on a proportional approach to regulation that gets rid of the resource drain in compliance.
Dimitrova encouraged a tech-proactive approach to growth and regulation: “When it comes to innovation and talent, I genuinely believe that we have a huge opportunity here in the UK to actually leverage some of the freedom that we have. When it comes to AI, for example – there is no prescription around AI. There is, yes, the senior management regime, and the Consumer Protection Committee. But we actually have the ability to be technology-proactive and tech-wise, to ensure that we can embed AI in productivity, because we have to get ahead, both in the UK and Europe. We have to get ahead of the US and Asia when it comes to productivity.”
Speaking from a capital markets perspective, Belamant said that the UK can fill the gap being made by the US government by putting guardrails in place and focusing on collaboration.
Belamant stated that less than 5% of pension fund money is invested into British stocks, and so it is important that policy is addressing this issue. “We need to get pension fund backing all of these companies that are going to drive the growth, particularly what we see in fintech. Then we need the regulators to give us a very clear rule set. Let’s go and remove duplication of regulation. This is already happening, and it is a great first step.”
Avila commented that there are inefficiencies in the market where they would appreciate further guidance from regulators, and transparency is key. Avila added that the UK should be leading by example in authorisation and regulatory requirements.
Belamant ended by stating that the UK should have ambitious goals, and double the size of the FTSE market cap in the next five years, and concluded on a point for improved communication between industry and regulators:
“Let’s be frank and honest with what we need, and we would like to hear that back. In a lot of these sessions, we sit down with regulators and tell them what our concerns are and what we might need. It would be useful to hear it the other way around.”
In the session ‘A new world order: geopolitics and fintech’, moderated by Rebecca Park, managing director, Global Counsel, the panellists examined how changes in government and political fragmentation are impacting global fintech. Speakers included: Antony Jenkins CBE, founder, chair, and CEO, 10x Future Technologies Group; Sharon Lewis, lead partner for future of finance and co-chair of digital assets and blockchain practice, Hogan Lovells; Alastair Lukies CBE, chair, FinTech Alliance; Christoph Rieche, CEO and co-founder, iwoca; and Chris Woolard CBE, UK fintech leader and global financial services regulatory network chair, EY.
Woolard touched on the US impact with President Trump imposing tariffs, and discussed US regulation on digital assets and blockchain. Woolard stated that there are challenges in consumer confidence and employment numbers that make business difficult and reduces trust in banks and financial markets.
Jenkins pointed out that the fintech space is becoming convoluted, and providers need to be able to cut through the noise and focus on the core of the industry: solving real problems for real people through core banking.
“Who knows what’s to happen in the long term? You can’t get distracted by that as a business, you’ve got to focus on things you can control. It always comes back to, are you solving a real thing? Do you have a solution that’s much better than the existing way of doing it? Can you actually build and deliver it? I think the fundamentals of fintech, you just have to do it in a more complex environment that isn’t going to change, and we should not expect it to change,” Jenkins explained.
When asked about how investors are considering the next great potential in economic uncertainty, Jenkins commented that investors are looking for stability, which could lead to a drop in venture capital investments.
Lukies stated that the current market is actually ideal for the entrepreneur, but not for business, stating: “We should celebrate, because what we want is multi-time entrepreneurs. The UK has got this real tall poppy problem, which is, everyone’s afraid of being successful because you’re going to get your head cut off. We want fintechs to become scaled up so that the next generation can start again. I think it’s a really big opportunity that we face at the moment. The UK is trusted around the world for the brighter innovation, rule of law, soft power, all those good things.”
Lewis commented that regulation in the US is propelling European regulators to move faster. She posed that the US focus on digital assets is providing a clearer environment on how to move forward in the space, as US regulators are not cracking down on crypto under Trump.
Rieche ended on the statement that less regulation will foster more innovation: “I think in this country and in Europe in general, we have the tendency to overthink regulation, to overrepresent to protect. I think that has all been holding back the much needed growth that we need in the UK and Europe.”
The panel concluded with the role of fintech in addressing economic crisis, climate change, and societal inclusion, summarising the potential of the UK fintech space to solve key issues under proper governance.
