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North East Leaders and Businesses Meet in Newcastle to Discuss How Open Banking is Helping SMEs and Citizens
All eyes may have been on London as the city prepared to host Fintech Week, but the fintech sector is clearly thriving outside the capital.
OBL held a regional visit in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne as part of a wider programme of engagement to show the positive impact open banking has across the UK.
Held in partnership with Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, the roundtable brought local politicians, business people, fintech experts and business leaders together for a productive, future-focused discussion on the role of open banking in the North East and what more is needed for businesses to make the most out of the financial innovation.
The North East benefits from a fast-evolving Fintech ecosystem with a corridor of innovation running from Newcastle to Durham. Open banking has become a catalyst for this innovation and growth across all regions across the UK. It’s been a game-changer for consumers and small businesses, thanks to the collaborative approach taken by regulators and industry players in the UK.
The UK is seen as a global leader in both financial regulation and open banking and the North East has its own core strengths in the banking and payments arena – making Newcastle an ideal starting point for OBL’s regional engagement.
OBL’s CEO Henk Van Hulle said: “Open banking is securely and simply helping businesses manage their finances more effectively, becoming more resilient, productive, and profitable in the process. It’s fostering innovation and growth, and Sage is a perfect example – it’s a strong growing FTSE100-listed company with open banking embedded in its operations.”
“Our discussion with the North East fintech sector and local leaders has taken place just as our new Impact Report revealed data showing one in five, or 18%, of small businesses are now using open banking – OBL will keep working closely with industry and regulators to increase the wide range of benefits available to SMEs.”
Also attending the event was local MP for Tynemouth, Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP, who said: “The creativity and innovation in the room is a great example of what’s happening in the wider North East. It is great to see local businesses and politicians come together for the benefit of the local constituents.”
“It’s important the early successes of open banking we have already seen are built upon to keep delivering new use cases for SMEs and consumers.”
The open banking ecosystem is worth more than £4 billion to the UK economy, attracting inward investment and creating almost 5000 highly skilled digital jobs across the country. The visit to Newcastle is the first in a series of regional visits OBL is undertaking to showcase the tangible benefits of open banking.
It’s clear from OBL’s visit to Newcastle that open banking technology has the power to drive regional growth across the UK.
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