UK businesses looking to fintech sector to boost profits

According to a survey by cybersecurity firm ESET, a third of senior managers are prioritising improved efficiency and may opt for fintech solutions as one way of streamlining

A growing number of UK businesses are looking to the booming fintech sector to help boost profits after Brexit.

Britain’s payments startups have seen renewed interest during Covid pandemic, with consumers and businesses shifting online amid the national lockdown measures.

According to a survey by cybersecurity firm ESET, a third of senior managers are prioritising improved efficiency and may opt for fintech solutions as one way of streamlining.

This is largely due to the perceived ‘ease of use’ of these new solutions. In a blow to traditional financial services, 58 per cent of managers believe fintech solutions are easier to set up.

As Britain and the EU are still thrashing out a financial services deal, businesses are trying to streamline transactions with their trading partners. Nearly two thirds of business leaders surveyed by cybersecurity firm ESET plan to increase investment in fintech over the next year amid the fallout from the UK’s exit from the EU.

Fintech has become an important part of the UK economy, with London attracting more private funding than all other European cities combined.

It has been helped by a friendly regulatory environment, such as the regulator’s digital sandbox. The government plans to implement new measures to support fintechs after its review into the sector led by Ron Khalifa, which is due to be published this month.

Our findings show that organisations in the UK are becoming increasingly interested in FinTech and are looking to incorporate more solutions into their business processes. It is important that this interest does not outstrip awareness of the potential risks, and that new technologies are adopted with a cybersecurity-first approach, Jake Moore, Cybersecurity Specialist at ESET said.