FINTECHNORTH
EVENTS
FinTech North: Newcastle 2026
July 14th, 10:30am
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 and the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority 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
We’re looking forward to sharing more details on our speakers and agenda very soon – secure your Super Early Bird Tickets now!
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
Invest North East England
The Chris Sier Keynote
Delivered by Clare Black, COO, CFIT
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
speakers tbc
Redefining How Money Moves: Tokenisation and Retail Payments
North East Star: Unlocking the Power of Payments Data
Lunch & Networking
• Katharine Wooller, Chief Strategist Banking & Financial Services, Softcat
Rewiring Financial Services: Data, AI and Transformation at Scale
• Nitesh Thadani, CTO, PEXA
• Luke Hope, CTO, Onteric
More speakers tbc
AI at the Intersection of Trust, Data and Digital Infrastructure: A panel discussion
AI Demo
Break
How Fintech Is Turning Innovation into Social Impact: A panel discussion
North East Start-up Stars: A Showcase
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



