Championing York’s Tech Future by Supporting FinTech North

In October, the York Central team joined FinTech North at its first ever two-day conference in York’s Guildhall, which brought together senior professionals from across the North of England’s FinTech ecosystem.

Photograph from FinTechNorth
The York Central project represented at FinTech North at York’s Guildhall.

The two-day Northern FinTech Summit, hosted in partnership with Rise, Created by BarclaysUniversity of YorkYork CentralSquire Patton Boggs, Marqeta, Barclays Eagle LabsMIDAS – Manchester’s Inward Investment AgencyInvest Liverpool City RegionInvest North East England and West Yorkshire Combined Authority covered thought-leading content and provided a platform for networking and building relationships.

The event brought together key industry stakeholders from across the whole North and beyond, celebrating the North and it’s exciting FinTech hubs, whilst addressing key pertinent themes within the sector.

Key themes over the two days covered People, Market, Money, Technology and Product. York Central sponsored the ‘Market’ segment on day one and Edward Twiddy, co-founder of Atom Bank, the UK’s first app-based bank and non-executive director at York Central, provided audience members with an overview of the ambitious scheme and why it is going to be a brand new place where innovative businesses can locate and thrive for the benefit of their business and their staff.

Ed explained the vast ambition of the project and its huge high-tech potential for York, saying: “York Central is a transformation of York on a scale not seen since Roman times. It is going to be a place not just in which to work, but to live and play. York currently has the lowest business birth rate of any northern city, yet some of the highest levels academic achievers compared to other nearby cities. It needs to nurture that talent and develop tech businesses to compete and thrive in the future.

“Creating over 1 million sq ft of commercial space, York Central is creating a community for the future built upon brand new technologies that will be here for hundreds of years to come.”

Ed also joined a panel session with his Atom Bank hat on, “Cultivating Success: The Impact of Culture on Fintech Performance and Innovation” with fellow FinTech heavy weights including Sam Turner, CPO, Lenvi, Bianca Spruit, Founder, Sprout Coaching, James Taylor, Managing Director, Corecom Technology Academy, Chaired by Dawn Dunn, Digital and Tech Sector Lead, Invest North East England, discussing the key elements that help fintech business thrive.

A lively social at the Lendal Cellars, preceded day two where key topics includedMoney, Technology and Product. A National Sector Overview and UK FinTech Investment kicked of the day and other sessions focussed on funding, investor relations, technological developments and wrapped up with an interactive panel discussion around the drivers of FinTech innovation in 2025-2028.

For more ways to get involved in the Northern FinTech community, visit: www.fintechnorth.uk