Leeds Conference 2025 Write-up
On Thursday the 15th of May, the Northern FinTech Community came together for FinTech North’s ninth-annual Leeds Conference, back in the city where it all started.
The conference was hosted in partnership with Mastercard, Sedulo, PEXA, Cyber Alchemy, Lenvi, Leeds Building Society, Bruntwood SciTech, name badge sponsors Future Finance, networking sponsors, Wrapped Agency and exhibition sponsors The Data City.
The day saw great attendance and engagement, with around 200 attendees and nearly 80% registrants joining. The conference was split into four topics, reflective of Leeds’ thriving ecosystem, which included Home Ownership & Lending, Funding & Investment, Banking & RegTech, though AI, partnerships and collaboration also prevailed as strong themes throughout the day.
We’ll be sharing the conference recording and photos shortly, and they’ll be linked, here, in the write-up.
Following a busy breakfast networking session, delegates came together in the Herringbone Suite for content to get underway. Joe Roche, FinTech North’s General Manager welcomed delegates, providing an overview of the organisation, the region and the North.
National and Regional Outlooks
Next, was a panel on “Regional Innovation and National Sector Leadership: A Macro-Economic Outlook,” chaired by Julian Wells, Director at Whitecap Consulting. He set the scene by highlighting that one-third of UK FinTech firms are now based outside London, underlining the importance of regional hubs like Leeds.
Nicole Sandler, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) spoke about the organisation’s focus on aligning policy and industry to unlock innovation, particularly in areas such as open property data and responsible regulation. She emphasised the need to build with regulation in mind, not as an afterthought.
Mohammed Gharbawi, Senior Advisor, AI, Quantum Computing at Bank of England addressed the macroeconomic environment, acknowledging persistent uncertainty but also signalling optimism. He stressed that innovation and regulation must evolve together, especially in emerging areas like AI and quantum. He also highlighted cyber risk as a top regulatory concern, framing it as central to how the Bank evaluates systemic resilience.
AI emerged as a major theme throughout the discussion. Richard Carter, CEO of Lenvi described it as “transformational” for FinTech and society. Reflecting on his experience as a founder, he stressed the importance of a clear mission, strong financial planning, and not underestimating the value of external investment when scaling.
Natalie Moore Head of Economics at Leeds Beckett University added a critical perspective on the role of education in enabling innovation. She noted the need to invest in skills and training to ensure the sector’s long-term growth, especially amid instability in higher education.
The session closed with a lively debate on the role of banks in supporting innovation. While economic uncertainty was a common thread, the overall tone was optimistic. The speakers pointed to the UK’s leadership in FinTech and AI, growing regional strength, and a collaborative regulatory approach as signs of sector resilience and future growth.
Gilda Smith-Leigh, Innovation Manager, Business and Skills at Leeds City Council followed the panel, highlighting the importance of Driving Entrepreneurial Growth in the Leeds Innovation Ecosystem. She highlighted the council’s inclusive growth objectives around people, place and productivity and the Leeds innovation vision, to stimulate innovation which drives and delivers measurable impact towards a healthier, greener and inclusive future for Leeds and the world.
She went on to reference projects, including FinTech North’s in the recent Innovation@Leeds Programme and their importance in supporting growth in the city region, particularly in platforming under-represented voices in the sector. Gilda closed on a positive call to action:
“The future of FinTech won’t be built by chance – it’ll be built by bold thinkers like you, right here in Leeds. Are you in?”
Next to the stage was a brief but warm welcome from Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, who would later be visiting the King and Queen in Bradford to celebrate its status as City of Culture. Mayor Brabin delivered a whistlestop talk on the commitment that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has to growing the FinTech sector in the region, among broader plans for growth in the city including in transport.
Home Ownership, Lending & Funding and Investment
Following a quick break, a fireside chat on The Future of Home Ownership: AI, Digital Innovation, and the Evolution of Lending kicked off the first theme of the day. The discussion, moderated by Rachel England, FinTech North’s Events Coordinator, brought together Simon Wright, COO of PEXA and Pat Szubryt, AI Lead, Central Data Office at Leeds Building Society for an outlook on the latest innovation happening in the subsector. Some key themes included conversation around how each organisation uses AI not only to increase efficiency and decrease friction, but to actively support customers across the full home-ownership life cycle.
Moving onto the second theme of the day the next panel, moderated by Foluso Laguda, Strategy Consultant at Whitecap Consulting, speakers Josh Perry, Partner- Allowances, Incentives and Reliefs at Sedulo, Jennifer Anderson CIO at National Wealth Fund, and Jordan Dargue Co-Founder of Lifted Ventures explored how innovation is understood, funded, and scaled across the Leeds City Region.
The panel opened by challenging conventional definitions of innovation, framing it as solving problems in new ways, often by adapting existing solutions or improving efficiency to drive commercial success. Josh emphasised that innovation must be underpinned by strong financials, noting a shift in investor focus from pure growth to profitability and financial readiness.
Jennifer discussed the National Wealth Fund’s later-stage investment focus and its role in supporting innovation that delivers regional impact—particularly around jobs, growth, and net zero. She highlighted the increasing importance of cyber risk in due diligence.
Jordan championed inclusive innovation, pointing to the significant economic potential of female-founded businesses, which currently receive just 2–3% of funding despite outperforming on return per pound invested.
A recurring theme was the role of AI as both an opportunity and a challenge—investors are keen but cautious, looking for real value beyond the buzz. The session closed with a strong endorsement of Leeds’ growing ecosystem, underlining the city’s potential to become a national model for scalable, inclusive innovation.
RegTech & Banking
After a vibrant lunch networking session, delegates returned to hear insights across RegTech, Banking and Risk.
Colin Payne, Head of Innovation at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told us how the FCA is balancing risk and growth to make sure innovation isn’t just exciting, but also trusted. So far, the FCA has taken 200 firms through its regulatory sandbox and is adopting a longer-term, simplified approach to its strategic thinking: moving from a 3 year strategy with 13 priorities in 2022 to a 5 year strategy focusing on 4 core priorities in 2025.
Next, Neil Richardson, Managing Director at Cyber Alchemy hit the audience with some sobering facts on the scale and sophistication of deepfakes. With new techniques, fraudsters can take a single image, provide a prompt, and completely dictate what a person does in a fake video. Fraud attempts using AI are up 10x year-on-year.
Alex Craven, Co-Founder of the Data City then took us through the world of Standard Industrial Classification codes, which haven’t been updated since 2007. The incorrect use of SICs has contributed to recent high-profile banking fines, including NatWest’s £264.8m fine for anti-money laundering failures. The Data City is trying to build the new global standard industrial classification system by defining over 500 sectors that currently have no classification via official SIC codes – including FinTech.
Closing out the RegTech theme was Christina Cooper, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard, delivering a keynote titled Partnerships with Purpose: Driving Innovation in RegTech with Mastercard. She shared information in how Mastercard is aiming to drive innovation, streamline compliance, reduce costs through RegTech partnerships, noting that purpose-driven collaboration is vital to support progress in an evolving digital landscape.
Following the RegTech section came a fireside chat on the future of banking titled ‘Build or Buy: The Evolution of Partnerships.’ The discussion, moderated by Oliver Chesher, Managing Director at Galibier, brought together industry experts, Jackie Kingham, Director, Business Transformation at Raisin and Anupam Bansal, Managing Director at Oxygen Consultancy Ltd.
The discussion drew on the evolution of relationships between banks and FinTechs, shifting from competition to the now ‘build or buy’ model, where partnerships can be mutually beneficial for banks and FinTechs.
Next to the stage were Oliver Hall, Intellectual Property Writer at CFC and Max Jagger, Senior Corporate Account Executive at Towergate Insurance who spoke about IP, opportunity and risk in the modern landscape. Patent applications have grown by 60% in the last 5 years, with companies increasingly looking to monetise IP.
Pitch360 North & Banking Successes
The final session of the day saw an exciting series of presentations by some of the UK’s brightest start-ups, hosted by Innovate Finance as part of their national tour of Pitch360, their prestigious pitching competition. Peter Cunnane, Director of International & Partnerships, at Innovate Finance kicked off Pitch360 North, providing a welcome and outlining the session to come, which involved a rapid-fire series of talks, followed by Q&A by the expert panel of judges, including:
- Sam Turner, CPO, Lenvi
- Rose Merritt, Senior Product Manager, Protect Group
- Matt Gudgeon, Associate, Debt Finance, OakNorth
The participants in the competition included:
- Paul Harvey Founder & CEO, Adiona Insurance
- Adam Armer Director, Doconomy
- Joshua Ojo Founder and CEO, Ndewo
- James O’Sullivan Founder and CEO, Nuke From Orbit
- Alasdair Hood Founder and CEO, Recirculate
While the judges deliberated, Ellie Kirkman, FinTech PR Consultant at Started PR hosted a fascinating fireside chat with Kris Brewster, CCO at LHV Bank on how they’ve built a Fintech-Powered Retail Bank in 12 Months; after starting development in Jan 2024, they will be launching a full service current account and savings proposition in the UK next week.
After much deliberation, the judges returned and Pitch360 North’s Winner was crowned: Nuke From Orbit.
Nuke From Orbit protects you if your phone is stolen and all your data is on it. Where currently you’d have to either remote erase (and have probably forgotten the various passwords) or contact each provider to cancel cards etc, Nuke From Orbit instantly invalidates stolen credentials by centralising all assets on your phone onto a single app. UK phone theft rocketed in 2024 by 150%, so this is a much needed service!
We also heard from:
Adiona, UK motor insurance MGA using AI and IoT to end unfair pricing for good drivers in under-served communities. They are building a next-generation platform that delivers significantly lower costs and better customer outcomes.
Doconomy, which transforms everyday banking into a force for good, empowering people to save more, live sustainably, and understand their true impact on the planet. Backed by science and behavioural insights, they inspire financial resilience through carbon tracking, gamified savings, and emotionally connected dreams. It’s where purpose meets progress—making finance feel human.
Ndewo Finance, a digital bank for migrants that allows individuals to leverage international financial data. Currently, there’s an immense amount of talent wanting to come to the UK but they can’t get accommodation, apply for credit or register with a GP because their credit history doesn’t cross borders with them.
Recirculate Systems Limited is helping the world transition to a circular economy. They have built a refund rail, triggering an automatic refund when an item is returned, and it works with any payment provider.
As the conference drew to a close, attendees came together for a final buzzing networking session at the evening social, hosted at Lost and Found in Leeds City Centre.
We’d like to share a big thank you to everyone who was involved on the day: our brand sponsors, Mastercard, Sedulo, PEXA, Cyber Alchemy, Lenvi, Leeds Building Society, Bruntwood SciTech, name badge sponsors Future Finance, networking sponsors, Wrapped Agency and exhibition sponsors The Data City.
We’d also like to thank all of the amazing speakers for getting involved and sharing their insights, and to our fantastic community for their engagement.
If you have any questions about upcoming events or partnerships, please reach out to us at info@fintechnorth.uk.
