Fintech UK: Financial Journey.

With the purpose of gaining a global perspective and getting an idea of the future shaping up in the financial world, I propose a Fintech journey, visiting the most developed countries in this field.

If we start the journey in Europe, undoubtedly we have to begin in the United Kingdom, a country with a long history in all aspects: historical, political, economic, and cultural. The birthplace of the first industrial revolution of the 18th century that would transform the world. Possibly due to that prosperity, it now boasts the oldest metro system in history, dating its construction back to 1863.

I invite you to hop on and start our virtual journey from one revolution to another, the technological one of the 21st century.

In the present day, its capital, a cosmopolitan and multicultural city where around 300 languages are spoken, leads the fintech sector. London boasts the world's largest financial sector with a total of 1.2 million employees. This has undoubtedly been contributed to by the institutional determination of the British Government, which is the driving force behind a visionary and innovative regulatory system that seeks public-private consensus. One of the most important initiatives in this regard was undoubtedly being the first country to launch, back in 2014, the Sandbox initiative, developed by the FCA (British regulatory authority) as part of the Project Innovate, which establishes a regulatory framework for safely testing new products, services, and business models. However, it wouldn't be active until June 2016.

It was in this same year 2016 that the British financial regulator established the so-called "FinTech Bridge", a bilateral agreement with South Korea to promote investments in Fintech. The Innovative Finance ISA was also created to promote P2P platforms, and a Fintech accelerator was established at the Bank of England.

In the period from January to September 2017, the sector received a record amount of investments. According to Philip Hammond (Chancellor of the Exchequer), around £2 billion was moved, providing employment for around 60,000 people.

Also noteworthy is the mandate from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to the nine largest banks in the country to offer Open Banking. This regulation requires them to share customer information with smaller organizations, always with the aim of benefiting the consumer.

On March 22, 2018, for the second consecutive year, the International Fintech Conference was held in London, reaffirming the United Kingdom as the ultimate fintech hub. The development of a future strategy regarding regulations, standards, infrastructures, etc., was highlighted.

Looking to the future, the FCA announces a Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), which will be a new alliance to collaborate with eleven financial authorities to interact more easily with regulators from different countries and advance in joint innovation such as blockchain.

We are facing a Country Digital Strategy that aims to maintain the current position as a global technological center after Brexit.

The Business Insider portal details the document published by the Ministry of Culture, which plans to employ more than four million people by 2020. It includes measures to encourage companies to develop financial technology projects, a strong injection of money into research, and improvements in connectivity throughout the territory. All of this is combined with the commitment of major companies to contribute to the teaching of digital skills to both the population and businesses.

With these measures, the goal is to lay the post-Brexit foundations that allow the United Kingdom to maintain its financial position in the world.

We can conclude with the words of Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, which somehow summarize all of the above:

"The leading digital sectors in the UK are one of the main drivers of growth and productivity, so we are determined to protect and strengthen them. This Digital Strategy sets out a path to make Britain the best place to start and grow a digital business, test a new technological solution, or undertake advanced research as part of the Government's plan to build a modern, dynamic, and global trading nation."