Scotland sees 27 per cent rise in number of fintech firms in past year

Scotland’s financial technology sector has continued to go from strength to strength in the past year, with the number of fintech businesses based in the country rising by 27 per cent.

According to industry body FinTech Scotland, which was set up by Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise in 2018 to grow the fintech sector, Scotland’s fintech SME community is now made up of 190 businesses.

That is up from 147 at the same point last year and represents a rise from 26 when FinTech Scotland was first established.

The organisation’s executive chair Stephen Ingledew said the acceleration in the move to a digital economy and the demand for innovation across both financial services and the broader economy was behind the rise.

Its chief executive, Nicola Anderson, added that further growth is expected in the year ahead.

“Our Fintech Scotland journey will make a further leap forward this year when we unveil our 10-year Fintech Research and Innovation report, an industry led roadmap which will set out a framework to shape the future of financial services and fintech in the digital economy,” she said.

“It will be central to our 2022 plans and builds on the growing investment across fintech in Scotland. I am passionate about ensuring our cluster leadership role continues to make a significant positive contribution to impactful innovation, the climate agenda, diversity and inclusion, as well as demonstrating how fintech can solve real societal issues.”