Fintech Scotland announces inaugural chairman and strategic partners

FinTech Scotland, the body established by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, The University of Edinburgh, HSBC, Avaloq and Lloyds Banking Group to make Scotland a top five global fintech centre by 2020, has announced the appointment of David Ferguson as its first chairman and confirmed a number of global strategic partners, including Deloitte.

David Ferguson, founder and chief executive of Edinburgh-based fintech business, Nucleus Financial, has been appointed to chair the board.

The appointment comes after Mr Ferguson being previously appointed by The Treasury in December 2016 as one of two regional fintech envoys for Scotland with a remit for building regional and national networks which seek to ensure a greater level of co-ordination and collaboration between fintech companies, government, investors and regional fintech hubs.

Fintech Scotland chief executive Stephen Ingledew said: “It was essential for us to have a highly respected fintech leader chairing our board and David, who has built one of the most successful businesses in the country managing over £14 billion on their wrap platform, ticked all the boxes and more.”

Mr Ferguson himself said: “It is a great privilege to have been appointed as chair of the FinTech Scotland board. Fintech is a fantastic opportunity for Scotland and I am excited to build on the great strides we have recently made to position ourselves as a global leader. The country should have a bright and prosperous fintech future ahead of it and I am greatly looking forward to helping Stephen and the team drive the sector forward and deliver meaningful action to help both start-ups to flourish and the more substantial financial services establishments to modernise.”

Mr Ferguson’s appointment was confirmed this week at the joint Scottish Government and industry Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) meeting chaired by Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon and Jim Pettigrew, chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise and CYBG.

The meeting also heard that Fintech Scotland’s mission to encourage “data driven innovation and collaboration activity across Scotland to deliver inclusive growth and achieve critical mass in the sector” was to be achieved by:

To deliver a range of initiatives, FinTech Scotland said it has also partnered with global enterprises who have a strong presence in Scotland as well as being significant international leaders in their fields:

On confirming the strategic partners, Fintech Scotland chief executive Stephen Ingledew said: “It is a privilege to be working with such world-renowned organisations who are committed to supporting Scotland’s fintech economy. Following many conversations with a range of large firms over recent months, these strategic partners demonstrated their commitment and market leadership which will support our aspirations and plans. We are currently in discussions with a view to confirming additional strategic partners in the coming weeks.”

Kent Mackenzie, director and head of Fintech at Deloitte in Edinburgh, said: “We are hugely proud to be named as Fintech Scotland’s global professional partner. Since late 2015, we have immersed ourselves in Fintech, establishing what it means for financial services, and how Scotland can continue to establish itself as a leading global voice in the sector. Scotland’s reputation and expertise carry significant global weight and we intend to help to improve this position and accelerate further growth through our work with Fintech Scotland.”

Deloitte has been involved in the creation and delivery of Fintech Scotland since 2016 when the firm was commissioned by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise to conduct a scoping review report of the sector and organise a series of consultations with the Fintech ecosystem.

Mr MacKenzie added: “For several years we have worked hard to develop a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges for all who operating in the sector, both in a domestic and global context, and through doing so determine a strategy that can see Scotland emerge as a leader in the global market and become an influential voice.

“Our intention is to continue to build on this work, leveraging our global Fintech networks and partnerships to provide major advantages for businesses and organisations working with Fintech Scotland in the years ahead.”