Fintech Week London 2015: It’s startups v banks in Fintech expo drinking session

Caloo callay, it's nearly London Fintech Week, where startups from Shoreditch to Shadwell will be touting their wares to execs from some of the City’s most high profile firms in a bid to become the next big thing in business.

 

Billed as the “world’s largest fintech-focused expo”, economists, bankers and brokers from companies old and new will descend on Shoreditch and Canary Wharf in two weeks (17 to 18 September) to exchange ideas, make contacts and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

 

 

Luis Carranza, who founded the now annual event for tech startups, blockchain afficionados and financial big-wigs, told The Capitalist that far from being an office buzzword, fintech is the perfect excuse for financiers to get together for a knees up and bond over a pint.

 

“Obviously the talks play an important part and are very useful for this type of networking, but when the talks are over and everyone is chatting together freely; that’s where the real magic happens.”

 

Though the emphasis will be on conferences, hackathons and Q&A panels during the day, Carranza says that it’s the networking side of things that really sees a lot of business action. 

 

 

Among the event’s key speakers are Barclays Entrepreneurial Partnerships vice president Simon Taylor,

 

Blockchain co-founder Nicolas Cary and Financial Conduct Authority innovation hub chief Anna Wallace.

 

Now just imagine these tech aficionados and bankers on a night out together in Shoreditch. That alone is worth buying a ticket for.