Klarna and the future of UK fintech

Back in April – as much of the country’s attention remained on Rishi Sunak’s famously generous pandemic support measures – the Chancellor gave a speech to an online gathering of fintech entrepreneurs. ‘Our vision is for a more open, greener and more technologically advanced financial services sector,’ he declared, promising that his Treasury would seek to make Britain the best home possible for fintech disruptors.

Sunak was, of course, hardly the first Tory chancellor to sing the praises of the City of London and its financial innovators. But do politicians really understand the rapidly-changing fintech market? And have their warm words made any difference? Those were the questions at the top of the list as The Spectator hosted a breakfast discussion – in conjunction with our sponsors, Klarna – at this year’s Conservative party conference.

Klarna, which offers flexible payment services in more than 170 countries, is one of Europe’s fastest growing fintechs, with an estimated valuation of more than $40bn.