As the Welsh tech sector continues to grow, with its worth at an estimated £8.2bn, the importance to the Digital Economy of Wales, and to those actively employed within it, has never been so significant as it is today. This coupled with the growth of the financial sector and combined with the entrepreneurial university ecosystem found right across the country, provides a firm foundation for fintech to thrive.

Andy Mielczarek is the CEO of Wrexam based Chetwood financial. Chetwood is certainly a great example of a thriving digital bank in Wales, having been described as the first true “challenger” and focused on using technology to change the way products are designed as well as sold with the aim of benefitting under-serviced customers. By using technology, and with like-minded partners, their goal is to make customers better off.

For Mielczarek and for Chetwood, the continued evolution of fintech comes down to two key factors; the investment in skills and training to enable future generations of talent to be nurtured and to evolve, and the development of clusters, to offer the opportunity for that next generation to gain first-hand experience of the industry and learn directly from experts in their field.

Click below to hear how Chetwood is developing their banking-as-a-service offering to support customers in our new digital reality, and how they are working with organisations like Coleg Cambria to support not only the next generation of fintech talent, but how they are supporting the economy in Wales and further afield.