BANKING
activities . Two licenses instead of one can significantly reduce several risks . Of course , providers who have adapted to a more diverse environment have advantages .”
Passport problems for UK fintechs Brexit resulted in the rights of EU professionals to work in the UK being automatically removed . Many European nationals also returned to the EU following Britain ’ s exit from the trade collaboration .
In February this year , the UK government put legislation in place to decrease the problems surrounding fintech experts from the EU working in Britain . The scheme provides visas to fintech experts from the EU , and is similar to the currently existing Global Talent visa , which was developed in partnership with the industry body Tech Nation - the UK ’ s startup network for technology entrepreneurs .
It is hoped that the move will fill the gaps in the workforce in the financial technology sector , created due to a loss of skills from the EU following the UK ’ s departure from the European bloc at the end of January 2020 .
However , the problem is not that simple to solve , says MacGregor , who points that there are still far too many roadblocks in place that are hindering companies in their hiring processes .
He says that until the UK Government and EU agree on streamlined equivalency and passporting processes , most UK fintechs will suffer . “ The UK fintech industry has been built on diversity and expertise , attracting people from across the EU and , indeed , the world . Brexit introduced restrictions that reduced the talent pool , particularly for technical roles , which could hinder innovation across the sector .”
Post-Brexit opportunities For those Fintech companies already established in Europe , the repercussions of Brexit will have been fairly minimal . But for the companies solely based in the UK , the impact would have been significant , points out Andrew Doukanaris , CEO of the payment solutions fintech start-up Pomelo Pay .
“ They would have lost all their European customers and been unable to trade on the continent until they ’ d managed to register an office somewhere in the EU and secured a new banking license . Consequently many companies would have wasted an entire year of business trying to navigate this transition .”
However , he continues , it ' s not all doom and gloom . The pandemic created an increase in demand for cashless and
48 November 2021