Barclays New London Fintech Site Is ‘Europe’s Largest’

Barclays has opened the doors to ‘Rise’ a fintech co-working space in London’s Shoreditch that the company claims is Europe’s largest.

Rise will house a ‘carefully curated’ selection of 40 startups, clients and industry experts to identify and develop new financial technologies.

It is also envisaged that Rise will be a hub for both the fintech and venture capital communities, with more than 200 hours of workshops, hackathons and networking events each month.

Barclays Rise fintech

“We believe that technology must be a core competency of a global financial institution, and we intend to be a leader in the industry,” declared Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive.

“FinTech startups are at the front of the technology wave that is changing our industry. Through Rise, we glean important insights; we can actively experiment with emerging technologies, and we can spot early trends and new markets as they form. This allows our employees, customers and clients to do things faster, better and at lower cost.”

The move is a boost for London’s fintech industry which has been threatened by the UK’s anticipated departure from the European Union (EU). Brexit will present new talent, funding and regulatory challenges, such as EU passporting, and other cities have been keen to lure the capital’s startups

But Barclays is keen to ensure it has access to the best fintech to help its customers going forward, having been a promoter of new technologies such as contactless payments and Blockchain and has supported young companies through its accelerator programmes.

“Rise is an open innovation platform to engage FinTech startups with customers and clients to invent new business solutions,” added Michael Harte, group head of innovation at Barclays. “By matching FinTechs with the business challenges that we face as a diversified financial services firm, we drive customer and shareholder value.

“ For us, the more vibrant we make the FinTech community, the greater the value contribution to customers and shareholders as well as to the financial services sector as a whole.”

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