OUR PROFTECH ECOSYSTEM - FINTECH

Our regional FinTech ecosystem is thriving, driven by innovation, strong academic links, investment growth, and a collaborative community supporting startups and established financial technology firms. 

A THRIVING FINTECH SCENE

FinTech is the biggest and most established ProfTech sector in the West Midlands, with a £474 million-and-growing FinTech community, the largest in the UK outside of the capital, of local founders and international investors. The West Midlands is also officially recognised by the UK government in the Kalifa Review for HM Treasury as one of only three established FinTech hubs in the United Kingdom.

Companies here benefit from the region’s deep talent pool, with a large and diverse workforce available for hiring. The West Midlands’ FinTech sector now boasts over 11,000 professionals, a 51% increase in the last two years. This sector includes established financial services firms seeking to adopt transformative technologies, alongside ambitious start-ups looking to drive disruptive change.

LATEST FINTECH NEWS

News
SuperTech WM achieves Bronze Award status in European Cluster Management Excellence
SuperTech WM achieves Bronze Award status in European Cluster Management Excellence

We believe that SuperTech WM is the first cluster organisation in England to achieve Bronze Award status within the European Cluster Management Excellence accreditation scheme from the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) - fantastic recognition for how we have supported our ecosystem and our innovative ambitions for the future. 

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PISCES - an innovative response to the changing UK IPO landscape
PISCES - an innovative response to the changing UK IPO landscape

A timely opinion piece from Jof Walters, WM FinTech Leader and CEO of Greater Things on the recent launch of PISCES, the FCA and LSE’s response to the new market context, where companies remain private longer and IPO activity has slowed significantly.

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Giving the WM BPS A Voice in New National Industrial Strategy
Giving the WM BPS A Voice in New National Industrial Strategy

We are at a BPFS crossroads  - further public sector support for technology-led innovation would bring even greater benefit to our region through strengthened, inclusive growth. SuperTech shared learnings from the UKs only ProfTech cluster.

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Fintech’s Awarded £250K to Accelerate Better Consumer Outcomes
Fintech’s Awarded £250K to Accelerate Better Consumer Outcomes

Five fintech firms have each been awarded £50,000 to propel developments that support financial inclusion, accelerate financial resilience and deepen consumer engagement in financial services.

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Finance, Tech and Telecoms Unite to Tackle UK Financial Crime
Finance, Tech and Telecoms Unite to Tackle UK Financial Crime

As part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, a UK wide innovation call aiming to create an environment for collaborative innovation in order to tackle financial crime challenges is launched.

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UK Innovation Challenge Optimises Customer Outcomes & Growth
UK Innovation Challenge Optimises Customer Outcomes & Growth

Fintech Scotland, SuperTech WM and eight industry collaborators are announcing the launch of a new innovation challenge aim at enhancing consumer outcomes with technology and data.

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PODCASTS

Beyond The Capital
Building Trust in Legal Tech: Weightmans and the TiPS Challenge
Building Trust in Legal Tech: Weightmans and the TiPS Challenge

This is the second episode of a four-part mini-series of our Beyond the Capital podcase, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.

In this episode, host Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Dr Catriona Wolfenden, Director of Product and Innovation at Weightmans, a top-40 UK law firm. She shares insights from Weightmans’ participation in the TiPS accelerator programme, focusing on how trust plays a pivotal role in the successful adoption of legal technology, especially emerging tools like generative AI.


How the Technology in Professional Services Accelerator (TiPS) is helping law and accountancy firms adopt tech
How the Technology in Professional Services Accelerator (TiPS) is helping law and accountancy firms adopt tech

In this episode of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, we find out about the TiPS Accelerator - a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology. Hilary Smith-Allen is joined by the research team at Oxford Brookes Business School.

How CDFIs Align With Consumer Duty And Their Role In The Financial Ecosystem
How CDFIs Align With Consumer Duty And Their Role In The Financial Ecosystem

Our host, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Rachel McGowan, Chief Technology Officer of Moneyline, about the impact of Consumer Duty on Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). 

Bridging The Advice Gap And The Impact Of Consumer Duty
Bridging The Advice Gap And The Impact Of Consumer Duty

This episode delves into the impact of Consumer Duty on financial advice. The regulation was introduced to improve customers’ experience of financial products and advice, but how is it impacting the advice gap?  To find out, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Ben Hampton, CEO of Wealth Wizards, and Professor John Finch of Glasgow University. John is the Principal Investigator in the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab project.

How Consumer Duty Is Changing Credit Unions
How Consumer Duty Is Changing Credit Unions

In this episode, the focus is on the challenges facing credit unions following the introduction of Consumer Duty. Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Helen Toft, a Non-Executive Director at Advance Credit Union in Birmingham, and Elizabeth Campbell, the General Manager at Castlemilk Credit Union in Glasgow.

The Challenges And Opportunities Of Consumer Duty
The Challenges And Opportunities Of Consumer Duty

In this episode, presenter Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Lorraine Breese-Price, the Chief Customer Officer of Dudley Building Society. They discuss the challenges and opportunities that Consumer Duty poses for building societies.

CASE STUDIES

Case Studies
Fastcheck: a fast-scaling West Midlands FinTech, supercharged by SuperTech  
Fastcheck: a fast-scaling West Midlands FinTech, supercharged by SuperTech  

Fastcheck, , founded by Amar Rana, is a platform for providing consumers with instant pre-qualified finance quotes for retail purchases.

We caught up with Amar to find out what is next for the business and how SuperTech supported the journey.

ETHICAL EQUITY
ETHICAL EQUITY

Ethical Equity is the UK’s first dedicated, ethically compliant investment platform connecting ethical start-ups/scale-ups with like-minded investors.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

USEFUL LINKS

GSLEP
West Midlands Growth Hubs for sector-specific business support, skills support and access to finance.

West Midlands Innovation Alliance
West Midlands Innovation Alliance for science and technology based innovation.

Birmingham Tech
Birmingham Tech for knowledge, insight and support for tech organisations across Birmingham and the West Midlands.