
How Will Brexit Affect Young, Globally Minded FinTech Companies?
In the wake of the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union last week, The Financial Timesreported that London may lose its appeal for the globally minded financial-technology sector.
There are four major concerns: people, funding, regulation, and economic downturn.
The people issue seems to be the major focus, as the FinTech industry is primarily made up of young companies, started and run by young people.
These young people have a global mindset, seeing the world as a whole, not one that is broken up into national sovereignties. They see information as a worldwide commodity, something that is to grow and expand with technology and time.
To constrain people and constrain information runs against everything that they know.
Last year, £6.6 billion, or about $8.8 billion, in revenue was generated by the FinTech sector. Investment was about£52.4 million, a little more than $70 million.
Questions are being asked about whether FinTech companies might move and where might they go.
To figure out the future of the financial industry, check out how younger people spend their time, because they are a good indicator of where things are headed.
Many younger people have never gone into a bank. They spend their time using technology.
When I was teaching graduate school, many of the students were mixed in with people from around the world. All these young people traveled extensively and had a large worldview.
Younger people are connected, which is consistent with the reality of how fast innovation is being introduced into the world. Many tech companies aim to introduce products or updates of products within a one- to three-year horizon, not just when the technology advances.
This world was reflected in the voting patterns of the Brexit referendum, as younger people voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the EU, while older people tended to vote to leave.
The new world is open to information flows, migration and globalization, and young people understand this. Nations that don't accept this will only fall further behind.
See full Brexit coverage here.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.










