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Source: http://www.politico.eu/

To many of us in the industry London is the King of Fintech in Europe and arguably one of the most vibrant spaces in the world, for fintech startups to flourish. The recent shocking news of UK exiting the European Union will have massive and far reaching implications.

This is my quick take on how this will affect the landscape in London.

Bilateral Agreements

Singapore and London has recently inked and agreement to boost fintech trade between the two nations on the 11th May 2016. While UK is using Singapore as a bridge to Asia, it is also likely that Singapore is using UK as a bridge to Europe. I suspect that, moving forward authorities around the world will reconsider the attractiveness of UK as a market.

Talent

Talent is at the heart of any startup be it fintech or not, without the free labour movement provided by being part of the European Union fintech firms that rely on EU citizen talents will be affected. It is plausible that as a result of that, we may see some firms moving their business elsewhere.

Free Market Movement

Part of the attractiveness of London is the ability to roll-out your fintech solution Europe wide, will this disappear with the brexit? Will this create a situation where fintech startups will have to jump through hoops and go through regulatory challenges when it comes to opening up subsidiaries, restructuring legal entities, filing for a new license, and so forth?


Berlin is frequently described as being ‘second only to London’ as Europe’s hottest fintech centre, with the recent shocking developments will Berlin topple London and reign as the new “King of Fintech” in Europe? The full implication of brexit is largely unknown, the next few months will be a nail-biter for sure.

This is a quick take on the subject, if you would like a more in depth analysis let me know in the comments below

About the Author

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Vincent Fong is the General Manager of Knowledge Group and a self-proclaimed pundit of banking technology and fintech

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