London is widely recognised as a leading global financial centre.
Holding the top European spot (and ranking second in the world) in the Global Financial Centres Index, London represents the world’s largest foreign exchange market and the largest centre for cross-border banking and borrowing.
The City of London and Canary Wharf are the hearts of the financial sector in London. Home to global banks, tech and media companies, they attract startups, business professionals and entrepreneurs from all over the world.
With such a strong business presence, both neighbourhoods also provide easy access to key opinion leaders, speakers and a strong delegate base, as well as cutting-edge event venues, luxury hotels and exceptional dining.
Fintech innovation
From the capital’s early adoption of payment technology to its current banking initiatives, London is a hotbed for fintech innovation, combining progressive regulation, openness to innovation and a community of digital-first consumers.
Industry leaders, academia resources, government bodies and collaboration opportunities all make for a fintech ecosystem with real depth, as well as incredible success stories and unrivalled occasions to network and scale businesses.
Cyber, artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency, payments and green finance are among the diverse subsectors that are flourishing in London and driving the fintech sector’s growth within the city.
Cyber security
In more recent years, London has welcomed new digital financial products for business needs, while also ensuring cyber resilience is kept at the forefront of new technology.
The global financial services industry is the second largest spender on cyber security, and London is Europe’s premier cyber cluster and home to one of the world’s most digitised populations.
The government is also working to strengthen the sector in the long term and the quality of talent is another major factor in London’s strengths for cybersecurity.London's financial and cyber scene in numbers
invested into London's fintech companies in 2022
GVA generated by financial services in the City in 2022
London-based fintech companies
UK cyber jobs based in London
Key financial and fintech events in London
Discover some key financial and related industry events taking place in London every year:
- Finovate Europe: a leading financial services event bringing together on average more than 1,000 senior investors, bankers and innovators, more than 100 industry speakers and more than 600 guests from leading financial institutions.
- Fintech Week London: a key event for the fintech industry in the UK capital, welcoming more than 700 attendees and decision makers from both traditional banks to challengers and innovators and more than 100 speakers.
- MoneyLIVE Summit: a major event for the global payments and banking industries that brings together more than 1,700 guests, 200-plus speakers and where more than 60% of the attendees are C-suite, VP or directors.
Learn more about London’s world-leading fintech sector with Grow London.
