Charlotte Crosswell names her most important part of the Kalifa Review
Former Innovate Finance chief executive Charlotte Crosswell has highlighted the new centre of finance, innovation and technology as her most important recommendation in the Kalifa Review.
Crosswell, who is managing director of advisory firm Exadin and serves on the department for international trade’s financial services trade advisory group, was co-secretariat to the Kalifa Review, which laid out the roadmap that could lead the UK to the top of the global fintech league table.
Speaking in a public interview hosted by the Centre for the study of Financial Innovation, Crosswell, who stepped down as chief executive of Innovate Finance on 1 May, said Ron Kalifa focused his report on scaling companies.
She said the centre of finance, innovation and technology will support collaboration between banks, fintechs and the regulator.
Read more: Charlotte Crosswell calls for UK to become leader in crypto regulation
“How do we get the talent and capital and help companies outside of London and South East to ensure there’s not a geographical divide and what does the regulation need to do?” Crosswell said.
“We have financial services giants looking to the fintech sector and saying how to innovate financial services for more choice and transparency for consumers and businesses and that’s where the fintech sector has a big role to play.
“One of the big recommendations was that strategy for this new centre of finance, innovation and technology Ron recommended, which is saying how do we get the banks and fintechs and the regulator to come to one place…and we’ve seen some of this obviously in open banking.
“It’s still relatively early days, but how do we drive that forward that we are constantly evolving and innovating our financial services and if the UK will do that to continue to drive, UK financial services and fintech will thrive.
“Having something where there’s a convening power that brings these counterparts together is incredibly important and where regulators and policy makers can go to and understand what’s done and I think we’re right at the start of that journey at the moment. There’s still work to be done.”
Crosswell added that she sees open banking as an enormous growth area and said consumers and small businesses will change the way we integrate with financial services.
Read more: Charlotte Crosswell says fintech has proven the future is led by tech
“That’s happening anyway, open banking is one of those catalysts and opportunities there, there’s plenty of others like data,” she said.
“We need to make sure we put the tools in place to allow that to happen and to be a level playing field.
“And I think the UK has been seen around the world as one of the markets where things happen and to stand in good stead, we need to ensure the right people sit around the table to drive that forward in the right way.”