Labor MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Tulip Siddiq has said supporting fintech will be one of her “top priorities” if Labor is elected to form the next government.
The shadow City minister was speaking at the Innovate Finance ‘fintech as a force for good’ forum, in London’s Canary Wharf last month.
Siddiq said a thriving fintech sector would help to secure the future competitiveness of the financial services industry, as well as play a crucial role in creating jobs and sustainable growth across the country.
She said Labor would continue to support the Financial Services and Markets Bill, allowing the regulators to tailor outcomes-focused regulation to the UK market.
She also pledged to work more closely with Europe, in a bid to secure talent and cooperate on regulation.
Read more: P2P property lenders pioneer green change
“Labour would create tech hubs in every region by establishing a new expert body – Skills England – to co-ordinate efforts between businesses and the education sector to ensure that the regions have the skills they need to reap the benefits of technological change”, she said.
“Fintech is already playing a central role in driving forward green finance and embedding green finance into capital markets.
“Earlier this year, Funding Options, the business finance platform, launched the UK’s first green finance marketplace to connect SMEs to the funding they need to reach net zero,” she said, highlighting the transition to net zero carbon as the biggest challenge facing the economy over the next decade.
“CoGo, the open banking platform, enables consumers to see the carbon impact of their purchases,” she added. “The app can also suggest businesses to support and, as a result, is already changing the behaviors of major players. For example, they have formed a partnership with NatWest who have integrated CoGo into their core NatWest banking app.”
Read more: Cost-of-living crisis: Two thirds of 18-34 year olds taken on new debt
Turning to the cost-of-living crisis, she cited short-term loan company Karma, as disrupting payday loan companies by offering employees up to £300 of their salary in advance, at zero per cent interest, with no fees or costs.
“This can support people through a particularly expensive or difficult month without trapping them in a dangerous spiral of debt”, she said.
“Or take CreditKudos – a company that builds credit decisioning products using alternative data, including open banking data, to deliver creditworthiness assessments faster and more accurately for loan providers. This includes helping those without a clear credit history to access products from ethical lenders such as credit unions and to improve their credit score.”
As such, Siddiq said the UK’s fintech sector should be celebrated not only for the benefits it can bring the economy, but “as a tool for policy makers to address some of the most pressing issues of our time”.
Read more: Fintech shows signs of global boom
Comments
Post a Comment