UK Government’s digital strategy
The UK Government’s Digital Strategy published on 1 March 2017 contains an overview of actions the Government and regulators are taking to support the UK FinTech industry:
- supporting UK banks to deliver Open Banking through a fully open application programming interface (API), providing access to authorised third parties by Q1 2018. Third-parties will then be able to access consumers’ data in real-time
- supporting industry to design and deliver a pensions dashboard by 2019 – a digital interface where an individual can view all their pensions in one place
- working with Tech City UK on a FinTech Delivery Panel to set out a long-term strategy for UK FinTech and identify key industry initiatives. This panel comprises key representatives from the FinTech sector, existing financial services sector, and the Financial Inclusion Commission
- appointing regional FinTech envoys to help the growth of FinTech across the UK. To date, regional FinTech envoys have been appointed for the North of England and Scotland
- showcasing UK FinTech to investors at the annual International FinTech Conference, to take place in London on 12 April 2017
The Bank of England is also supporting the FinTech sector by:
- establishing the New Bank Start-Up Unit in January 2016 (in partnership with the UK Financial Conduct Authority). Nine new UK banks have been authorised since May 2015
- expanding access to central bank money to non-bank payments service providers
- being open to providing access to central bank money for new forms of wholesale securities settlement, such as those based on Distributed Ledger Technology
- partnering with FinTech companies through a Bank of England FinTech Accelerator to help harness FinTech innovations for central banking