Thanks to David Henderson for this breakdown of the establishment of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology and what it will mean for UK fintech.
In the world of Financial Services acronym bingo, CFIT is right up there, obvious to anyone in the industry but baffling to everyone else. CFIT stands for the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology. A bit of a mouthful, hence the acronym!
The establishment of CFIT was a key recommendation of the 2021 Government backed Kalifa Review of UK Fintech. The report highlighted 5 key recommendations to support fintech scaleups with the capital and skills they need to succeed.
- Policy and Regulation
- Skills
- Investment
- International
- National Connectivity
CFIT falls into the last of these recommendations. At Spending Review 2021, HM Treasury confirmed it had allocated £5 million to fund the creation of the CFIT which launches in Leeds and London later this month.
The CFIT will be a private sector-led body focused on driving forward financial innovation in the UK by bringing together experts from across the finance and technology ecosystem to identify and address opportunities and barriers to growth for UK fintech.
The CFIT Steering Committee (SteerCo) is chaired by Charlotte Crosswell, who will lead work to deliver on its mission to support the next stage of scaling for UK-based firms and to contribute to the UK remaining a global leader for financial innovation.
The newly appointed CEO of CFIT is Ezechi (Ez) Britton tells us, “Ezechi Britton MBE is a founding member and outgoing CTO of Impact X Capital and was recently appointed as a Trustee for Crisis.
“Previously he was the CEO and co-founder of Code Untapped, the CTO and co-founder of Neyber Ltd, and also held software developer roles within Credit Suisse. Britton’s vast experience across the fintech industry, particularly with start-ups, makes him well-positioned to lead CFIT. His appointment follows a robust recruitment process, led by a diverse panel and run independently of HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation.”
The committee membership comprises a range of industry experts, including representatives nominated on behalf of the UK’s regional and national fintech hubs. HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the City of London Corporation are also represented.
Through the national network, FinTech West has been a key supporter of CFIT and fed into much of the research to date. “The launch of CFIT is a gamechanger for the advancement and uplift in productivity of the UK’s network of regional fintech clusters in a global market. Bristol and Bath’s rapidly establishing fintech cluster will benefit immeasurably from CFIT as it advocates a range of key cluster enabling assets, like access to funding and talent, and importantly, the enhancement of the South West of England’s fintech connectivity to the UK and beyond,” says Professor Jon Beaverstock from the University of Bristol and a FinTech West Advisory board member.
Editorial Month
Fintech Month
