Most City professionals don’t know what fintech bridges are

MORE than 50 per cent of people working in the financial services sector are unaware of global fintech bridges, a new study has revealed.

There are 46 fintech bridges in place across the world, encouraging collaboration and cooperation between governments, regulators and the private sector in different countries.

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In the UK, the Treasury’s fintech sector strategy, released in March 2018, highlighted how fintech bridges will “reduce barriers to market entry and link UK-based fintechs up with opportunities for international investment.”

But the survey from Fintech Circle found that just one in three people working within the sector understand what fintech bridges are designed to do, with over 50 per cent of respondents knowing nothing about the initiative.

Three quarters of 219 financial services professionals surveyed said they would like government support to help them understand financial regulation, while half said practical help on entering the fintech market should be a key priority of governments and financial regulators worldwide.

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“A large part of our work over the last two years has been to find ways to help UK businesses find partnerships that lead to investment and trade in fintech,” said Susanne Chishti, chief executive officer of Fintech Circle.

“What we were not prepared for was the sector’s apparent lack of understanding of how fintech bridges work and the benefits which could be gained.”

A journal on fintech bridges is set to be launched during an upcoming China-UK fintech conference, which Fintech Circle hopes will help educate the sector about the benefits of the partnerships.

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