FinTech North will return to Manchester on Tuesday 30th November for its first in-person event in the city since 2019. It will bring together high-profile figures from across the UK financial technology sector, along with Manchester’s most exciting startups and established FinTechs.
The event will once again be hosted in partnership with University of Manchester, and is being supported by organisations including London Stock Exchange Group, OpenMoney, Shoosmiths, MIDAS, Galibier PR, Whitecap Consulting, and White Label Crowdfunding.
It will take place at the University of Manchester’s Whitworth Hall, and will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in-person. Over 300 delegates are expected to attend in total, building on the success of previous sell-out events in 2018 and 2019 and last year’s virtual conference.
The 2021 conference will shine a spotlight on the regional and national FinTech landscape – including funding and development opportunities – and will feature a showcase of Manchester FinTechs. The event will also have a focus on the theme of ‘Better FinTech’, with panel discussions on FinTech’s role in financial inclusion, sponsored by OpenMoney, and on female-founded FinTechs and avenues to plug the gender gap.
Keynote speakers include the Head of Department for Data, Technology and Innovation at the FCA, Ravi Bhalla, Ecosystem Director at Innovate Finance, Parveen Dhanda, and HM Treasury FinTech Envoy for England and Chair of FinTech North, Dr Chris Sier. The University of Manchester’s Vice Chancellor & President Dame Nancy Rothwell will also deliver a welcome talk.
Delegates can expect to hear from some of Manchester’s home-grown success stories, such as inward investment agency MIDAS and instant messaging platform provider for regulated markets, NIVO. Payments provider PollenPay and financial wellness company Financielle are just two of the Manchester startups appearing in the FinTech showcase.
Throughout the conference, the University’s Business Engagement & Knowledge Exchange team will also be providing a free drop-in clinic, open to any participants wishing to find out about how businesses can access academic expertise through collaborations.
Chris Sier, FinTech North Chairman and HM Treasury FinTech Envoy for England, commented:
“We are really pleased to return to Manchester with our first face-to-face conference since 2019. We are also delighted once again to be working with the University of Manchester and holding the event to the iconic Whitworth Hall. Over the past 12 months we have seen UK FinTech go from strength to strength, with regional FinTech innovation and increased national connectivity playing a big part in its success. Shining a light on the hugely significant Greater Manchester ecosystem and bringing everyone together again is very exciting.”
The 2021 FinTech North Manchester conference follows the Government’s Kalifa Review into FinTech earlier this year, which recommended that increased national connectivity is key to the UK’s FinTech strategy.
FinTech North is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016. It aims to reinforce the UK’s Northern Powerhouse as a region of excellence for FinTech and provide a platform for helping to forge relationships between the North’s FinTech startups and innovators, established tech giants, policymakers and academia.
Tickets for the conference can be purchased here and are priced at £75 per delegate until 30th November. The live-stream event is free and places can be reserved here.
