Ron Kalifa to lead development of new fintech centre
Ron Kalifa will chair a new steering committee designed to establish the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT).
The CFIT was first proposed in the Kalifa Review into UK fintech, which was published last year. £5m of funding was allocated to the centre during the most recent Autumn Budget.
Today the government has announced that a steering group has been created to “develop a credible and effective proposition for CFIT which catalyses and drives progress in financial services innovation”.
The government highlighted that the CFIT will need to reflect the interests of a range of interested parties, including fintech lenders, technology providers, innovative start-ups, and regional representatives.
Read more: FCA aims to be more adaptive with fintech regulation
Committee members include Tech Nation’s chief executive Gerard Grech, Innovate Finance chief executive Janine Hirt, and representatives from the Treasury, Fintech Wales and Fintech Scotland.
City of London Corporation will provide secretariat duties and the work of the steering committee will be supported by an external consultancy.
The committee will meet monthly throughout the spring and summer of 2022.
Once the CFIT has been established, a permanent board and executive team will be appointed.
Before the review was published, Peer2Peer Finance News reported that Kalifa – founder of Worldpay and a non-executive director to the Bank of England’s Court of Directors – would call for an independent fintech body to be established with government funding.
The CFIT has been tasked with “bringing together experts from across the ecosystem – including finance and tech – to identify and address barriers and opportunities for UK fintech”.
Read more: Kalifa Review: One year on