FinTech Scotland Festival 2025 - FinTech Scotland :FinTech Scotland

The FinTech Scotland Festival is a week-long celebration of innovation and collaboration across the fintech landscape in Scotland, the UK and globally.

The festival brings together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and academics to explore the future of financial services.

Now in its 8th edition, the festival will spotlight the achievements of the Scottish fintech cluster as well as welcome speakers and attendees from around the world.

Events will include conferences, roundtables, innovation showcases, networking sessions and more.

Festival Themes

Scotland is driving research and innovation across various fintech related fields which will be discussed throughout the festival. We’re looking forward to showcasing the progress across those various themes as well as listening and learning from participants.

AI

How AI is transforming financial services, from automation and customer engagement to risk management and compliance and more

DLT

We will examine real-world use cases and emerging opportunities as well as the role of the Scottish Centre of Excellence for DLT.

Regulation

An opportunity to look at the latest developments in RegTech and how firms can navigate evolving frameworks with confidence.

Climate Finance

Enabling green investments, ESG reporting, and sustainable innovation, supporting both climate goals and commercial growth.

Open Finance

Going beyond Open Banking to develop better services and a more inclusive financial sector.

Payments

Real-time infrastructure, cross-border capabilities, embedded finance, and what’s next in the race for seamless, secure transactions.

22 September

Festival Opening Reception

An evening that marks the start of the FinTech Scotland Festival, kicking off a week that will celebrate and showcase the breadth of fintech innovation and leadership across Scotland. From AI leadership to innovation using Quantum technologies and Distributed Ledger Technologies, Scotland is a powerhouse of technology capabilities that will shape the future of finance.

Hosted by NatWest in Edinburgh City Centre, this invite-only event will bring together the most innovative financial services firms, fintech leaders from Scotland, the UK and around the world, alongside regulators and policy makers shaping the future of financial services.

23 September

Global Fintech Forum

We invite you to this unique event, an opportunity for Scotland to showcase its fintech leadership to the world.

We’ll be hosting delegations from around the world to come, connect, learn and get involved in the Scottish Fintech Cluster.

Richard Lochhead MSP will deliver the opening keynote speech.

We’ll bring Scotland’s fintech proposition to life through real life case studies and give you the opportunity to connect with some of the largest organisations in the UK and globally.

We warmly welcome fintechs, financial institutions, trade associations, VCs, investors, policymakers, regulators and government officials from across the globe.

This event is now full.

24 September

Fintech Summit

The Fintech Summit is Scotland’s largest annual gathering of financial technology leaders with over 500 participants.s

The conference will explore technological innovation across the industry, from developments in leading FS institutions, to the disruptive innovators within the challenger and start-up community that are reshaping the Financial Services market. The programme will consider the key shifts in regulation, investment, and technology, and discuss how they will impact the future evolution of the sector.

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24 September

Scottish Financial Technology Awards

An evening to celebrate the development of the Scottish Financial Technology ecosystem, with a series of awards categories designed to recognise outstanding individual and organisational achievements within the sector.

Enter or book your table

25 September

Scale-up day

Made in Scotland, Sold to the World

Make meaningful international connections on the sixth stop on the all-sector, Made in the UK, Sold to the World Roadshow, which will be held in Edinburgh.

Opportunity to meet with relevant, overseas Financial and Professional Business Services buyers* for 1-2-1 meetings

1-2-1 meetings with sector/market specialists (from UK embassies and consulates overseas)

1-2-1 meetings with sector specialist International Trade Advisers

Peer learning sessions

Workshops focusing on overseas markets and developing your international strategy

Networking opportunities

An inspiring and informative seminar programme

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25 September

Future-Proofing Your Fintech: Preparing Early for Exits and Beyond

This panel brings together seasoned entrepreneurs and funders to explore how early planning for exits, M&A, and long-term sustainability can shape stronger companies. Learn what it takes to position your scaling fintech for long-term success. From navigating investor expectations to identifying the right partners and timing your exit strategically.

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Other events

23rd – The FCA’s new strategy: innovation, authorisation and supervision

Through a panel discussion focused on the FCA’s approach to innovation, authorisation, and supervision, you’ll gain insight into how the regulator is working with fintechs and financial services organisations across Scotland and beyond. Following the panel, we warmly invite you to stay for a networking reception; an opportunity to connect with FCA representatives and stakeholders from across the wider fintech and financial services community. We welcome fintechs, trade associations, VCs and firms driving innovation in financial services. We kindly ask that attendees bring photo ID with them to access the building.

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23rd – Executive Roundtable with David Geale, Managing Director of the PSR

An exclusive roundtable hosted by David Geale, Executive Director of Payments and Digital Finance at the FCA and Managing Director of the PSR. This session will bring together senior industry leaders to discuss the future of payments and digital finance in the UK. David will share insights on FCA and PSR collaboration, including work on the National Payments Vision, Open Banking, digital wallets, and innovation initiatives like Tech Sprints and the Digital Sandbox. We will also explore opportunities in digital assets, smarter regulation, and payments infrastructure modernisation, as well as risks around financial crime.

23rd – Using Smart Data for a Real-world View of Economic Wellbeing

This session forms part of an ongoing series of events in partnership with Scottish Government’s Data Division in which we explore interesting public sector projects and initiatives that highlight and showcase innovative uses of data and AI.  This event is also part of The Data Lab Community’s Financial Sector month, taking place throughout September!

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23rd – Exploring FinTech Opportunities in Asia through Hong Kong

This casual networking luncheon will bring together around 20 representatives from government bodies, industry associations, and leading market participants to exchange ideas and explore new opportunities for UK-Hong Kong collaboration in FinTech. This will be officiated a welcome remarks and introduction by Joey Ko, Director, UK, Ireland and Nordics, Hong Kong Trade Development Council. We will also be joined by a founding member of BridgingFi, a UK-headquartered real-word asset (RWA) tokenisation start-up, to share its expansion journey into Asia through Hong Kong.

24th – TechFest

We will explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence alongside the responsibilities it demands. Panellists from academia, fintech, and global finance will examine how AI is reshaping decision-making, customer engagement, and compliance — and the risks that come with it. Themes will include understanding the mechanics behind AI models, navigating the challenges of neural networks and “black box” systems, ensuring fairness and avoiding bias, and building transparent models of accountability.

24th – TRUST Seminar: Post Quantum Cryptography and AI (Online)

The Scottish Centre of Excellence in Digital Trust and DLT brings you the first of a series of seminars and conferences. In the first, we focus on Post Quantum Cryptography and AI. This event will present the state-of-the-art in the application of Post Quantum Cryptography and the integration of GenAI.

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25th – Morgan Stanley 25 Years in Glasgow

This year, Morgan Stanley proudly marks 25 years in Glasgow. To celebrate this milestone, throughout 2025 we are honouring the people and partners who have contributed to our success along the way. As part of these celebrations, we will host a reception at the City Chambers in partnership with Glasgow City Council, which is also commemorating the City’s 850th anniversary.

25th – Futures In Focus

An evening of exceptional food, conversation and insight as we bring into focus some of the most innovative futures projects from the Institute, its alumni and partners. Through immersive installations and thought-provoking storytelling, you’ll explore pioneering work across six key themes, from the ethics of AI to the future of infrastructure, brought to life in the inspiring setting of the Edinburgh futures Institute.

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