On Monday evening (17 October) Taylor Vinters hosted the SCL Junior Lawyers’ event ‘An introduction to FinTech’ at Tower 42. SCL is the Society for Computers and Law and is the leading UK organisation for legal professionals advising and practising within the IT sector or advising in a commercial context with a brief that includes such issues as IT, data protection and e-commerce.
The evening drew around 50 young lawyers and other professionals interested in FinTech and included presentations from Victoria Aderounmu (Bovill – Financial Services regulatory consultants), Matt Hinkley (Rangewell –business finance platform) and Taylor Vinters’ own Claire Green.
The panel explained that the term ‘FinTech’ has no set definition, and is likely to remain in a state of flux, but is broadly understood to mean any technological innovation in the financial sector, including innovations in investment, retail banking, financial literacy and crypto-currencies like bitcoin.
The presentation from Victoria drew broad brush strokes across the FinTech landscape and the primary form of technologies that FinTech covers. Claire was able to use Victoria’s presentation as a background to discuss the practical effect of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) handbook regulation and provided some key drafting points when negotiating contract terms for Fintech clients. Continuing on a regulatory perspective, the final speaker Matthew, provided real-life insights into the practical and regulatory challenges of working at a FinTech company.
The key points for attendees to take away were that FinTech is a sector in a state of fast-growth and innovation but that regulation is rigorously trying to following in its tracks. The importance of FinTech in the UK, and London specifically, is clear for all to see and the government’s encouragement of the sector is set only to increase the capital’s significance in the FinTech world.
Dominic Wrench is a Trainee Solicitor at Taylor Vinters
