The body representing Scotland’s thriving financial technology community, Fintech Scotland, has today announced it has entered a key strategic partnership with business advisory firm Deloitte.

The firm has been appointed as global professional services partner and will support Fintech Scotland with considerable experience and connections to drive the sector’s growth across the country and on the global stage through innovation, collaboration and inclusion.

The announcement comes at a key time for the sector which, according recent Scottish Government figures, has attracted nearly £37 million of investment in the last decade.

Kent Mackenzie, director and head of Fintech at Deloitte in Edinburgh, said:

“We are hugely proud to be named as Fintech Scotland’s global professional partner. Since late 2015, we have immersed ourselves in Fintech, establishing what it means for financial services, and how Scotland can continue to establish itself as a leading global voice in the sector. Scotland’s reputation and expertise carry significant global weight and we intend to help to improve this position and accelerate further growth through our work with Fintech Scotland.

“For several years we have worked hard to develop a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges for all who operating in the sector, both in a domestic and global context, and through doing so determine a strategy that can see Scotland emerge as a leader in the global market and become an influential voice.

“Our intention is to continue to build on this work, leveraging our global Fintech networks and partnerships to provide major advantages for businesses and organisations working with Fintech Scotland in the years ahead.”

Deloitte has been pivotal in the creation and delivery of Fintech Scotland. In 2016, the Firm was commissioned by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise to conduct a scoping review report of the sector and organise a series of consultations with the Fintech ecosystem.

This led to the development of an industry-led Fintech strategy for Scotland and a detailed business plan to catapult Scotland onto the global stage.  As a result of this, and for the first time, Scotland was recognised in the top 15 centres for Fintech growth in the influential Global Fintech Hub Federation Report that publishes annually.   Deloitte have also been central to advising on the construct and creation of Fintech Scotland based on their experience in other parts of the world.

The firm aims to bolster Scotland’s international reputation using their close relationships with Fintechs and other global hubs around the world and their experience of working with banks to help them understand and embed disruptive technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and automation.

Commenting on the partnership, Stephen Ingledew, CEO of Fintech Scotland said:

“We are hugely excited to be working with Deloitte as strategic partner. The firm has already contributed significantly in developing the Fintech ecosystem in Scotland and its breadth of professional services expertise and market leading capabilities will play a valuable role in achieving our ambitions.

“Furthermore, Deloitte’s respected global leadership role with the established and emerging fintech hubs around the world will play a crucial role in developing our international collaboration opportunities going forward. We are very excited to be working with Kent Mackenzie and the Deloitte team across Scotland and on the international stage.”