The Innovate Finance fintech report published this month makes a pointed case: the UK’s position in global financial technology is under pressure, and maintaining it will require deliberate action from government and regulators, not just the sector’s own momentum. The report, titled FinTech as a Force for Good, maps the economic and social footprint of UK fintech and identifies six policy areas it says could unlock further growth if addressed in a coordinated way.
The headline numbers Innovate Finance puts forward are arresting, even if they invite scrutiny. The organisation claims that fintech challenger banks and non-bank lenders now account for 68% of small business lending in the UK, and that around 3,500 active fintech firms operate across the country. The sector, it adds, supports more than 20,000 jobs in the North of England alone. These are the kind of figures that sound authoritative in a press release; they also happen to be the kind that deserve a clear methodology note, which the report’s own readers would be wise to pursue.
On the investment side, Innovate Finance says the UK has attracted more fintech investment over the past decade than any country outside the United States, and that fintech firms account for more than half of the country’s unicorn businesses. The framing is bullish, but the report is not purely self-congratulatory. It explicitly warns that increasing competition from international fintech markets means continued UK leadership cannot be taken for granted.
Open Banking, Open Finance, and the Innovate Finance fintech report’s policy asks
The report highlights Open Banking as an area where impact is already measurable. Around 16 million individuals and SMEs now use Open Banking tools and services, according to Innovate Finance, giving consumers and businesses new mechanisms for managing finances and making decisions. The organisation positions this as a foundation, not a destination: the report argues for accelerating progress toward Open Finance, which it describes as an important precondition for the development of trusted artificial intelligence in financial services.
The logic runs roughly as follows: wider access to secure financial data creates the raw material for more personalised products, better decision-making and greater competition. Whether that holds in practice depends on governance frameworks that do not yet fully exist, a point the report gestures at without fully resolving.
Beyond Open Finance, the six policy areas the report addresses include tackling fraud, supporting the development of a competitive Sterling stablecoin market, advancing digital verification, helping UK fintech firms expand internationally, and reforming tax and pension rules to encourage investment and retain talent and capital. The breadth of the ask is considerable. Whether any single government initiative can meaningfully advance all six simultaneously is a question the report leaves open.
FCA engagement and what comes next
One concrete development sitting alongside the report is worth noting. Innovate Finance has confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority will offer Office Hours at the FinTech as a Force for Good event on 8 October 2026, giving fintech startups and scaleups the opportunity to book a one-to-one meeting with the regulator on site. For early-stage firms that often find direct regulatory engagement difficult to access, that kind of structured face time with the FCA is a practical mechanism, whatever one makes of the broader policy recommendations in the report itself.
The report also situates itself within a wider trajectory. As the sector moves beyond Open Banking into digital assets, AI applications and new forms of digital identity, Innovate Finance argues that the quality of UK policy and regulation will be the primary variable in determining whether financial innovation translates into durable economic growth. That framing places the burden squarely on government, though the organisation does not shy away from saying what it wants in return.
Open Banking Expo, at which Innovate Finance is an event supporter, is scheduled to take place on 13-14 October 2026 at the Business Design Centre in London. The FinTech as a Force for Good event precedes it on 8 October, with the FCA Office Hours sessions available to eligible firms attending on the day.
