Scotland has built a dynamic and increasingly ambitious fintech ecosystem, with the talent, innovation and institutional strength to compete on the global stage.

The next step is to turn that growing momentum into accelerated growth, as well as a stronger international identity and presence.

The tides are shifting as the industry grows, with more fintechs benefitting from a diverse ecosystem and an overall successful tech sphere. 

One of the key drivers of success is organisations joining the dots between the different parts of the ecosystem, whether that is fintechs, established financial institutions, academia, regulators or government. FinTech Scotland has occupied that role since 2018, acting as an independent cluster management organisation designed to strengthen the connections amongst active ecosystem participants.

By bringing these different groups together, supporting businesses as they start and scale, and creating opportunities for collaboration, research and innovation, it helps turn Scotland’s individual strengths into a more cohesive whole capable of generating growth at home and raising the profile of the sector internationally. 

Aleks Tomczyk, who only came to the helm of FinTech Scotland in January – replacing Nicola Anderson – has been looking back on a cluster that has grown steadfastly since 2018.

“My predecessors did a fantastic job coalescing the FinTech Scotland cluster from essentially a group of people that occasionally met for a chat and a drink – which I was a part of as an early-stage founder – going from a group of just 26 to 266 fintechs to date,” said Tomczyk.

“Importantly, we’ve also gone from 5 to 36 strategic partners actively participating in the community since January 2018 – that’s some pretty great growth.”

FinTech Scotland has fostered partnerships and collaborations amongst large financial organisations, fintechs of all sizes and academia, the Financial Conduct Authority, and started innovation labs in financial health, regulation, and digital trust.

As part of their focus on fuelling growth and innovation in the sector, FinTech Scotland hosts a yearly Festival dedicated to the country’s fintech community, featuring one of DIGIT’s most popular conferences by way of the Fintech Summit, as well as the Scottish Financial Technology Awards. 

“The ecosystem is stronger,” Tomczyk said, reflecting on the changes he’s seen since he began as a founder himself. 

But Tomczyk – and data FinTech Scotland has gathered – points to an ecosystem still firmly in its growth phase. The organisation’s figures show that fintech employment in Scotland grew 8% in 2024 to more than 11,300 people, while the number of fintech SMEs operating in the country had increased tenfold since 2018. 

Tomczyk sees this as an opportunity to strike, not rest. The opportunity for Scottish fintech to flourish on the global stage will benefit not only that specfic sector and the wider financial services industry, but the entire nation. 

“As a country and as a business community, we want to see more scaled businesses, we want more innovation in large firms, we want to see greater economic growth, we want to see more jobs, we want to see higher value jobs, more fulfilling jobs.” Tomczyk said.

“And the fintech sector is very well positioned to deliver on that whilst also addressing some of the fundamental issues such as access to finance and services, fair treatment of customers and inclusion.”

What better sector to focus efforts on expanding the entire UK’s financial health and technological superpoweredness than fintech, the very epicentre of these ideals? 

A Room with A View

From his early days as a founder participating in FinTech Scotland events in their infancy, Tomczyk now has the position to see the entire cluster operate as startups battle for funding, scaleups expand internationally, and partnerships bound toward revolutionary innovations. 

The last seven-to-eight months have given Tomczyk time to reflect on his new perspective. 

“As I’ve got to know the cluster in greater detail, I think we’re a lot deeper and broader as a cluster than we were just a few years ago or when I started.” he said. 

This is not only reflected in the number of active fintechs participating in the cluster management group, but also in the scope of partnerships and eagerness for innovation calls. 

“We’ve got a lot more ambition and a lot more capability in the fintechs that are present here. Our native fintech businesses have leaders with real experience, drive and vision.”

Further, local entrepreneurs’ experiences in fintech have expanded and matured – “We have people on their second or third venture. Founders are also getting advice from the people that have been there before and have built globally significant ventures.”

Beyond this, Tomczyk says that he’s seen an increase in mentorship both locally and by those residing overseas. He notes the commonly cited willingness to help among the Scottish ecosystem that seems inherent to business and tech communities in the nation. 

“The scale, and breadth and depth of ambition – and the ability to execute – and numbers of experienced people willing to help have struck me particularly.” Tomczyk said. 

Another point Tomczyk was able to reflect on was the purpose-driven ambition of many Scottish fintechs. 

“There are many founders who, like our large existing financial services firms, are very focused on the wider impact of their product and service.” he said.

“I’d say it’s one of the characteristics of businesses in Scotland, which perhaps slightly differentiates it from elsewhere, is that founders think of consumer impact as part of their DNA.” 

One of his own startups reflected this purpose-driven focus – Exizent, which Tomczyk co-founded in 2019 – focused on legal and financial support in times of bereavement. The firm, which weaved fintech and legaltech into a powerful solution for professionals interacting with bereaved clients, was built to a successful exit in late 2024 and continues to flourish under new ownership. 

The cloud-based platform has gone on to be nominated for awards in both the legaltech and fintech sectors, a testament to the importance of purpose-led innovation. 

“I think I’ve always led businesses with purpose. Here at FinTech Scotland, we aim to enable other businesses in the cluster, large and small to successfully innovate and grow using fintech – to the benefit of those businesses, their customers and the wider economy. So there’s a very clear purpose.”

Gaining Perspective 

FinTech Scotland spent the first quarter of 2026 speaking with fintechs, having conversations with founders, to see how they should orient themselves to best enable the burgeoning community. 

“We spent some time in Q1 this year testing some hypotheses with the fintechs, both on a one-on-one basis and in group discussions to see what would best help them.” 

Based on this goal and these conversations, FinTech Scotland is centering its priorities for fintechs around four themes: opportunities, talent and skills, funding, and knowledge and experience. 

“We’re now piloting a range of activities that will help with aspects of business growth across those themes.” Tomczyk said. 

FinTech Scotland leant on those willing to help in the ecosystem, for example to start a pilot focusing on branding and market-facing propositions, and another focused on assessment of talent acquisition process to better suit fintech’s future needs. 

Beyond these four themes and their relevant pilots, other key principles emerged. 

“The conversions re-validated some of our thinking – having built a couple businesses myself, I know the things you need in the early stages of your journey aren’t necessarily the same ones you need down the line.

“We have reshaped our support to reflect an updated segmentation of the fintech base so that we don’t try and treat everyone the same. We want to tailor what we do to the relevant and relative stages of the company, its skillsets, its market, the products it builds and the problems it tries to solve.”

This more tailored approach is set to underline some of FinTech Scotland’s key offerings in 2026 and future years, including its pilots which are being rolled out and tested in an agile framework allowing for adjustment and space for feedback. 

“We’ve seen some real tangible commercial value for all participants in these programmes, as well as true innovation,” Tomczyk said. 

A Look to the Future

Tomczyk sees a clear opportunity for Scotland to become a location internationally known for fintech, one that FinTech Scotland is working to unlock through initiatives including its innovation labs. The most significant to date is the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), that is helping the sector innovate in a complex regulatory landscape. 

“We’re currently running an Innovation Challenge on Responsible AI as part of our Financial Regulation Innovation Lab.” Tomczyk said. “It’s one of those hot topics of discussion and is particularly linked to Consumer Duty.”

FRIL has already supported 120 fintech SMEs and helped generate £28 million in committed private investment, with FinTech Scotland projecting that it will deliver £6 in economic return for every £1 of public funding. It brings fintech companies together with financial institutions, and regulators to develop innovative solutions to real problems and needs whilst navigating regulatory expectations. 

FRIL’s current Innovation Challenge is focused on finding new ways to support financial services organisations to adopt and use AI in a responsible manner, so it benefits both consumers and the financial services firms.  

“That’s an important goal because actually we want to encourage the adoption of AI in a way that works well for everyone, and provides important new inclusive services.” Tomczyk said.

“At the moment, there’s a lot of understandable caution about AI adoption in financial services, but FRIL is aiming to reduce the risk and increase confidence, therefore delivering benefits to all parties. It focused on real, market-led problems to solve.”

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The FinTech Scotland Festival 

FinTech Scotland’s flagship annual event, the FinTech Scotland Festival – a week-long celebration featuring summits, talks, roundtable discussions, awards, and networking – brings much of what makes FinTech Scotland important to the forefront. 

“We’ve seen a number of collaborations come out of people meeting at events and connecting.” Tomczyk noted the importance of the FinTech Scotland Festival. 

But the Festival also puts an important spotlight on Scotland’s fintech community. It invites the best and brightest to hear top trends and emerging insights at conferences like DIGIT’s own Fintech Summit.

“It attracts people from elsewhere in the UK and overseas to come and get involved in the sector. Being able to engage internationally is key to supporting the growth of the fintech community in Scotland.” he said. A recognition award, a conversation with the right team member, a mention of the perfect innovation call, can make all the difference to a growing ecosystem ready to spring into the international realm. 

The Opportunity

Scotland is already recognised as a fintech stronghold in the UK, with Edinburgh and Glasgow internationally significant financial services hubs. With strong ties to London as the world’s second largest financial centre as well as having major presence of large UK/international financial services and fintech companies and a fantastic skills and research base in its academic community, Scotland appears ready to strike. 

“We want to take our thriving fintech sector, which is well regarded in Scotland and in the UK, and grow its international reputation. We want Scotland to be somewhere that is respected internationally as a great place to start, to build, to scale a fintech or to locate here from overseas. That’s the opportunity – once we are successful, all stakeholders will benefit.”

Tomczyk is succinct and excited to explore every avenue of opportunity at Scotland’s disposal – he notes that Scotland has access to the markets of London, a top global fintech hub, and is home to financial services strongholds like Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

“We also have a regulator, the FCA, who is doing really great things in encouraging innovation to happen within a responsible framework.”

He expounded on the “fantastic skills and talent ecosystem” available in Scotland in the existing workforce, strengthened by universities and research institutions. 

“Scotland is a great place to do fintech and we have an opportunity for Scotland to become an internationally admired great place to do fintech. We’ve got some great things that are underway, but we need to do more in order to realise that goal – as the global market is competitive.” 

“And certainly, from my perspective and FinTech Scotland as an organisation, we will be helping, supporting, and advocating where we are needed so the sector gets the support it needs to grow and to achieve its potential in what is a rapidly growing international market.”