UK fintechs cannot wait – one year on, we need to finish implementing the Kalifa Review

In February 2021 the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech was published by the UK Treasury. It promised a new ecosystem for globally competitive UK-based fintechs to thrive - from scale-boxes to Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) to securing fintech interests in trade policy. 

It served to reassure the UK fintech sector that the Government was ready to prioritise a technological revolution in services, boosting both productivity and innovation in one of the UK’s most important industries. 

UK fintech state of play

A year on, we have seen sufficient progress in some areas. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to develop sandboxes and support for start-ups and scale-ups while the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport has made good progress on digital identity. We have also seen efforts to make the UK more attractive to founders seeking an IPO following the Hill Review, and R&D tax credits for innovation to be expanded to boost investment in FinTech applications, such as data and cloud services. We are also pleased to see reference to the establishment of a new CFIT in the recent Benefits of Brexit publication.

More to do

However, there is more that can be done. In particular, improvements to the cohesion and coordination of fintech policy across government and the regulators. There are also policy areas where progress has been slower, such as crypto regulation.

We need to see clear delivery of the initiatives that are already started and recognition that further work is needed and will continue to be needed to keep the UK at the forefront of innovation. 

The industry needs to be closely involved in this process. We would like to see the government engage closely with stakeholders to ensure that we realise the best outcomes in these initiatives. For example, we expect to see a formal announcement on CFIT in the coming weeks, and this is an ideal opportunity for players across the fintech ecosystem to collaborate on an exciting opportunity for the sector. e stand ready to help, contributing thought leadership and expertise in these critical areas. 

About the Author

Matt is Onfido's Global Director of Public Policy. He has nearly 20 years experience in public policy roles in telecoms and technology. Prior to Onfido, he spent over 10 years as Head of Policy for UK and Ireland at Verizon, the US tech giant, overseeing policy across a range of areas including digital competition, cyber security and privacy. Matt holds a law degree (UEA), MBA (Henley Business School), post-graduate diploma in Competition Law (Kings College) and diploma in business international relations and the political economy (London School of Economics).

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