An initiative aimed at creating closer ties between different financial technology hubs around the world has launched.
The Global FinTech Hubs Federation (GFHF) is made up of more than 20 members, including the City of London, China Fintech, Fintech Australia, Frankfurt Main Finance and Fintech HK.
GFHF has been set up by London-based financial technology industry trade body Innovate Finance and SWIFT Innotribe, a subsidiary of global financial network SWIFT which promotes innovation and collaboration in financial technology.
The new network "enables participants to gain an influential point of engagement with international stakeholders and like-minded organisations from around the world" and "aims to support global engagement, best practices and knowledge sharing across the sector, as well as build bridges among fintech hubs", Innovate Finance and SWIFT Innotribe said in a joint statement.
Lawrence Wintermeyer, chief executive of Innovate Finance, said: "Coordination and cross border dialogue between emerging fintech startups, established fintech companies, financial institutions and policy makers remains key for long term success of our sector. The launch of the GFHF will provide a platform for global fintech players and hubs to share knowledge and build an inclusive community network that will help accelerate the growth and influence of global fintech and help shape a better financial services future."
Financial technology expert Yvonne Dunn of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: ”International collaboration in fintech is important for the success of the sector. Given the fast pace at which fintech is developing, sharing knowledge and best practice across hubs will help to ensure that businesses get the benefit of global experience. Many fintechs are breaking new ground and so access to know-how will help them to develop their businesses within the regulatory environment.”
A number of collaborative projects involving financial technology are already in progress.
Through SWIFT, a number of major financial institutions, including The Bank of England, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Société Générale, are working together to ensure financial transaction messaging is implemented in a standardised way in high value payment systems.
Santander, UniCredit, UBS, Reisebank, CIBC, ATB Financial and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi are also experimenting with the use of blockchain technology in cross-border payments in a project run by Ripple.
Financial technology business R3 has also been working with major banks to test blockchain technologies.
In the UK, a number of businesses have also been working together to develop an underlying framework to support the use of open APIs in banking.
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