FINTECHNORTH
EVENTS
FinTech North: Newcastle 2026
July 14th, 9:45am
Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts Exhibition Park
We’re delighted to be returning to the North East for our sixth annual Newcastle Conference, hosted in partnership with Mastercard, DXC, the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, and exhibition sponsors, Crisis City on the 14th of July!
This year’s conference will celebrate the remarkable growth and momentum of the North East’s FinTech sector, shining a spotlight on regional strengths across payments, banking, data & AI, purpose-driven FinTech and more. We’ll also explore the powerful opportunities for collaboration across the ecosystem – bringing together established firms, policymakers, academic thought-leaders, industry bodies and emerging innovators to spark new ideas, partnerships, and future growth.
We’re especially excited to be heading back to Wylam Brewery, one of the region’s most beloved and characterful venues, set within the historic Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park. Originally built for the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition, a celebration of the region’s industrial innovation and ambition, the venue has long been a place where people come together to share ideas and shape the future. Today, its unique blend of heritage and creativity makes it the perfect setting for a day of insight, connection, and conversation, followed by an evening of networking at the post-conference social.
With around 50 fintech firms employing close to 4,000 people and contributing £225bn in GVA, the North East has firmly established itself as one of the UK’s most exciting fintech hubs. The region is home to leading organisations such as Sage, Atom Bank, Newcastle Building Society, and Virgin Money, alongside a vibrant and growing community of startups and scaleups driving innovation across the sector.
Celebrating these strengths, key themes we’ll explore include:
-Financial services 2036: what’s next?
-The next generation of payments innovation
-Speed & Safety: Strategic Deployment of AI in FinTech
-FinTech for good: powering inclusion, sustainability, and social value
For more information and for opportunities for collaboration, please reach out to us at info@fintechnorth.uk.
Event Schedule
Registration & Networking
Welcome from FinTech North
Delivered by Joe Roche, General Manager, FinTech North
Welcome and Regional Updates
Rachel Burdis, Inward Investment Manager, North East Mayoral Strategic Authority
The Chris Sier Keynote
Delivered by Clare Black, COO, CFIT
North of England FinTech Report Findings & Recommendations
Delivered by Stefan Haase, Director, Whitecap Consulting
Northern Currents: What Will Propel Financial Services into 2036?
Panel moderated by Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chairman, FinTech Scotland
Dr Emma Black, CEO & Co-Founder, Cascade
Mark Mullen, CEO, Atom Bank
Gordon Stuart, SVP Embedded Services, Sage
David Varney, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Janet Onyia, Fractional Strategy & Operations Director and COO, Aurelium Kinetic
NEPO Financial Services: Innovation and Opportunity
Michael Murray, Commercial & Partnerships Manager, NEPO
Redefining How Money Moves: Tokenisation and Payments Innovation
Moderator: Katharine Wooller, Chief Strategist Banking & Financial Services, Softcat
Dai Davis, Partner, Spencer West LLP
Emma Butterworth, Head of Financial Market Infrastructure Regulation, Bank of England
Frances Edwards, Chief Operating Officer, Avantgarde
Platform Orchestration - How Strategic Partnerships Drive Fintech Innovation
Lucy Mounter, Director of Business Development & Strategy UK , Intercash
Kevin McAdam, UK CEO and Executive Director, Andaria
Lunch & Networking
AI Adoption - Beyond Proof of Concept
Delivered by Hari Govindarajan, Chief AI & Transformation Officer - UK&I, DXC Technology
AI at the Intersection of Trust, Data and Digital Infrastructure: A panel discussion
Nitesh Thadani, CTO, PEXA
Vicky Adeney, Vice President, Data Strategy, UK & Europe, Mastercard
Luke Hope, CTO, Onteric
Naheed Akram, Founder, Karakor Consultancy
Paul Hands, CTO, Ark51
Moderator: Kevin Telford, Co-founder, FinPact
Fintech as a Force for Good: Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact
Jessa Loomis, Senior Lecturer in Economic Geography, Newcastle University
Laura Scott, COO, Dialect
Peter Cunnane, Director of International & Partnerships, Innovate Finance
Michael Haplin, Head of Global Marketing, Recite Me
Moderator: Clare Black, COO, CFIT
Break
Beyond the Pitch: Using Community Power to Build Digital Careers
Moderator: Deon McCully, Social Value Project Delivery Manager, DXC
Gavin Ferry, Senior Manager - Learning & Skills, Newcastle United Foundation
Craig Wilson, STEM Learning Coordinator, Newcastle United Foundation
Regional Start-up Stars: A Showcase
Sateesh Ramoutar, CCO, Easology
Lawrence Chadwick-Smith, Head of Marketing of Money Carer
Siddesh Iyer, CEO and MD, Sportfin
Session hosted by Oliver Chesher, Managing Director, Galibier
Closing remarks
Evening Social
Wylam Brewery
Palace of Arts Exhibition Park
Claremont Rd
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4PZ
Event to close
Event Location
FinTech North: Newcastle 2026
Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts Exhibition Park
Claremont Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4PZ
