NatWest confirmed as Challenge Sponsors of the North of England FinTech Innovation Challenge
FinTech North is delighted to confirm one of the UK’s leading banking and financial services providers Natwest as the first Challenge Sponsors of our North of England FinTech Innovation Challenge.
Announced last week, the North of England FinTech Innovation Challenge is a pan-Northern programme designed to connect FinTech innovators with established financial services organisations and industry experts to tackle real-world sector and societal challenges, set to launch in April 2026.
NatWest’s sponsorship of the Challenge builds on their longstanding support for the FinTech sector in the UK. It also complements its own FinTech Programme, which recently announced it is open for 2026 applications. Now in its second year, the programme plays an important role in connecting ambitious FinTechs with the partnerships, insight and opportunities they need to scale.
As part of the programme, up to four challenge themes will be defined by participating partners, reflecting the North of England’s established strengths across areas including payments, banking, lending, WealthTech, InsurTech, RegTech and financial inclusion.
NatWest will sponsor ‘XXX’ as its designated challenge area, working closely with FinTech North and participating innovators to shape and support delivery of this theme.
Selected FinTech participants will take part in a structured programme of workshops, mentoring, sponsor engagement and solution development, culminating in a final showcase and demo day.
Joe Roche, General Manager, FinTech North said:
“We’re delighted to welcome NatWest as our first Challenge Sponsor. This initiative is all about connecting brilliant Northern FinTech innovators with real-world challenges, and NatWest’s deep commitment to our ecosystem makes them the perfect partner to help drive collaboration, impact and opportunity across the North.”
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As per the recent launch announcement, FinTech North is seeking more organisations to get involved, and is looking for 3-4 corporate sponsors in addition to FinTech startups and scaleup participants:
Sponsor a Challenge Themes
Are you a corporate or established financial services organisation?
Partnership packages are available for organisations looking to sponsor challenge themes, engage with high-quality FinTech innovators, and explore pilot and partnership opportunities through the programme.
If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of the North of England FinTech Innovation Challenge, please contact info@fintechnorth.uk.
Are you a FinTech startup or scale-up?
As we confirm more sponsors, FinTech startups and scale-ups working across payments, banking, lending, WealthTech, InsurTech, RegTech or financial inclusion are encouraged to register their interest and get involved ahead of the Spring 2026 launch.
Register your interest ahead of applications opening in Spring 2026 by emailing info@fintechnorth.uk.
