OUR PROFTECH ECOSYSTEM - FINTECH
Our regional FinTech ecosystem is thriving, driven by innovation, strong academic links, investment growth, and a collaborative community supporting startups and established financial technology firms.
A THRIVING FINTECH SCENE
FinTech is the biggest and most established ProfTech sector in the West Midlands, with a £474 million-and-growing FinTech community, the largest in the UK outside of the capital, of local founders and international investors. The West Midlands is also officially recognised by the UK government in the Kalifa Review for HM Treasury as one of only three established FinTech hubs in the United Kingdom.
Companies here benefit from the region’s deep talent pool, with a large and diverse workforce available for hiring. The West Midlands’ FinTech sector now boasts over 11,000 professionals, a 51% increase in the last two years. This sector includes established financial services firms seeking to adopt transformative technologies, alongside ambitious start-ups looking to drive disruptive change.
LATEST FINTECH NEWS
The Future of Wealth Innovation Call has launched, bringing together 21 fintech innovators and leading financial institutions to explore new technology-driven ways to help consumers make more informed financial decisions.
Delivered through the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) in partnership with SuperTech West Midlands, the programme focuses on closing the UK’s “advice gap” by developing accessible, compliant and data-driven wealth support solutions aligned with evolving regulatory expectations.
Reforming Home Buying: Real Momentum, Real Opportunity
Home Buying and Selling Reform
The UK government’s new consultation on home buying and selling reformwhich welcomes contributions up until 29December, signals a defining moment for the property sector. With industry, innovators, and policymakers finally aligned, the opportunity for real change has never been greater. Here’s why this matters, and how the West Midlands is already leading the charge.
Nationwide Innovation Call Launches to Bridge the UK’s Financial Advice Gap
A coalition of leading financial institutions including PWC, NatWest, Barclays, Standard Life, M&G, Lloyds Banking Group, Dudley Building Society and BNP Paribas Personal Finance have joined forces to launch a UK-wide innovation challenge to explore how technology can reshape consumer access to financial support at the critical advice-guidance boundary.
Aston University and SuperTech WM announce strategic partnership to strengthen the region’s innovation-led economy. The collaboration will help accelerate growth in the Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS) sector. Aston University will contribute research, skills and thought leadership in areas such as AI.
Packed house at our recent BPFS event.
The event marked a milestone for the region, as the Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS) sector has been confirmed as a core growth sector in both the recently-published national and soon-to-be-announced Local Growth Plan.
The Innovation Lab is back! We’re delighted to announce the return of BNP Paribas Personal Finance’s FinTech Incubator programme, in collaboration with SuperTech WM, for the third year running.
The return of the Innovation Lab forms part of our renewed commitment to drive financial services innovation in the West Midlands region. As the FinTech industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, enabling innovation through collaboration is essential to unlocking new opportunities across the financial services sector.
PODCASTS
In this final episode of Beyond the Capital, part of SuperTech’s Women in Finance Collective mini-series, host Hilary Smyth-Allen talks with Florence Govier, Product Manager at Moneyinfo, and Naya Hemans-Westerway, Business Consultant at Jigsawtree.
They share frank reflections on entering the industry, navigating male-dominated spaces, and why FinTech continues to attract ambitious young professionals.
They discuss:
The career journeys that led Florence and Naya into fintech
Why financial services remains a stable but evolving career path
Experiences of being the “only woman in the room” and how confidence, preparation and community help
The reality of ageism and gender bias, and how younger women are pushing for change
Setting boundaries, finding role models, and using networks like the Women in Finance Collective
In this episode of Beyond the Capital, part of SuperTech’s Women in Finance Collective mini-series, host Hilary Smyth-Allen talks with Amira Norris, Co-Founder of The Mentor Standard, and Julie Goddard, Business Psychologist and Founder of The Success Architect.
Together, they explore how behavioural psychology shapes leadership and decision-making in the high-pressure world of finance and fintech. The conversation looks at why clarity often matters more than confidence, how trust underpins strong teams, and the impact of constant change and uncertainty on performance.
They also challenge ideas around imposter syndrome, suggesting that a bit of self-doubt can actually support better leadership. Honest, practical, and thought-provoking, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone leading through complexity or navigating fast-paced environments.
In this episode of Beyond the Capital, part of our Women in Finance Collective mini-series, host Hilary Smyth-Allen is joined by Kim Jenkins, COO of fintech firm Afternoon, and Liz Basten, founder of marketing agency Kiss My Brand. Together, they explore how women in finance can build authentic personal brands, overcome hidden biases, and navigate career transitions. From mentorship to AI, this conversation is packed with practical advice, honest reflections, and empowering insights for every stage of a career.
This episode dives deep into the realities of working in fintech and financial services as a woman. Liz and Kim reflect on the cultural and structural barriers that persist in the industry—from male-dominated environments to the subtle biases that shape career progression. They share personal stories and hard-won lessons, offering a candid look at what it takes to thrive and lead in these spaces.
In this new four-part mini-series, we’ve partnered with the Women in Finance Collective – a new Midlands-based network dedicated to empowering and supporting women working in finance and fintech.
In the first episode, we’re joined by Tessa Lee, Managing Director at Moneyinfo, and Gemma Lowndes, Director of Operations at Jigsaw Tree – the founding companies behind the Collective. Together, they discuss why the network was needed and the unique value of local support.
The conversation highlights how community and connections build confidence, why sharing success stories inspires the next generation, and how early education about finance careers opens new pathways for young women. They also explore the opportunities technology brings – including how AI can enhance, rather than replace, roles in the sector.
This episode is about more than challenges – it’s about building a movement. By connecting talent, championing diverse voices, and creating opportunities, the Women in Finance Collective is helping the region lead with inclusion and innovation.
This is the final episode of a four-part mini-series of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.
This episode explores how regional accountancy and audit firm Armstrong Watson navigated the cultural, technical, and client-facing challenges of adopting new audit technology through the TiPS accelerator programme.
Host Hilary Smith-Allen is joined by Steve Preston and Lucy Hughes, who share their experience implementing data analytics tools across Armstrong Watson’s offices, managing team engagement and collaborating with both clients and suppliers.
They discuss how a mindset shift—at board level and across teams—was essential to success, how change management workshops helped guide the process, and why rolling out the pilot at scale made all the difference.
This is the third episode of a four-part mini-series of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.
This episode features leaders from Thorntons Law LLP, a full-service Scottish law firm, who speak to host Hilary Smyth-Allen about their journey through the TiPS Accelerator.
Sarah Blair, Jane McCance, and Lewis Quinn unpack how the firm used service design thinking to drive digital transformation, build AI literacy, and surface the real human challenges behind legal tech adoption.
From co-creating solutions with colleagues to embracing “messy” innovation, they share a deeply people-first approach to change—and how that’s shaping a new internal transformation programme for the firm.
CASE STUDIES
BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK is at the forefront of digital transformation in the financial services sector and as a result, is an active contributor to programmes aimed to supercharge the industry. This includes being a founding participant of the FinTech incubator programme, The Innovation Lab, in collaboration with SuperTech WM and STEAMhouse. But its journey with SuperTech didn’t start or stop there. We spoke with Jayne Licari, Head of Communications at BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK to find out more about the ongoing focus on technology-led innovation and our strategic partnership.
Inicio AI empowers vulnerable consumers to understand their finances using agentic AI, supporting income and expenditure assessments without human interaction. Supported by SuperTech and ecosystem programmes with BNP Paribas Personal Finance and FinTech Scotland, Inicio successfully navigated early product validation, funding, and ecosystem access, Inicio scaled rapidly, culminating in £2.86M in seed funding and collaborations with major financial services providers.
Fastcheck, , founded by Amar Rana, is a platform for providing consumers with instant pre-qualified finance quotes for retail purchases.
We caught up with Amar to find out what is next for the business and how SuperTech supported the journey.
Ethical Equity is the UK’s first dedicated, ethically compliant investment platform connecting ethical start-ups/scale-ups with like-minded investors.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
USEFUL LINKS
GSLEP
West Midlands Growth Hubs for sector-specific business support, skills support and access to finance.
West Midlands Innovation Alliance
West Midlands Innovation Alliance for science and technology based innovation.
Birmingham Tech
Birmingham Tech for knowledge, insight and support for tech organisations across Birmingham and the West Midlands.