CFIT wins GBP £1 million from Treasury & NatWest deal

The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology has secured £1 million from HM Treasury and agreed a strategic partnership with NatWest Group, adding public and private backing as it expands its work on financial innovation in the UK.

HM Treasury's funding will support CFIT through to March 2027, while NatWest is making a further investment through a partnership backed by its Open Innovation team. The new commitments follow the completion of CFIT's recent Coalitions on Corporate Digital Verification and SME Access to Finance.

CFIT was established after the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech in 2021 with £5.5 million in seed funding. Since then, it has positioned itself as an independent body that brings together financial institutions, technology groups, government and regulators to address industry challenges.

The latest backing follows CFIT's report on access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, developed with partners including Lloyds Banking Group, Mastercard, HSBC, FXE Technologies, Menna AI, Life Moments, GFA Exchange and Capitalise.

As part of that initiative, the coalition produced two prototype tools designed to improve the financial visibility and credit readiness of smaller businesses: a Financial Health Checker, a credit-readiness diagnostic tool, and a Small Business Coach, an AI-enabled advisory tool.

Next phase

The stronger funding base will allow CFIT to launch new Coalitions, support the adoption of solutions, and continue working with policymakers, regulators and industry groups. It is also focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, smart data, the digitisation of capital markets, and financial inclusion.

Anna Wallace, Chief Executive of CFIT, said the new support reflected confidence in the group's operating model after five years of development.

"These commitments from HM Treasury and NatWest are a powerful endorsement of CFIT's model and the progress we have made since our establishment. We were created to address the systemic challenges holding back financial innovation - and to do so in a way that delivers real, tangible outcomes. The support from both government and industry demonstrates the value of that approach. As we move into this next phase, our focus is on building on that momentum - working with partners across the ecosystem to develop and implement solutions that support growth and improve outcomes for businesses and consumers," Wallace said.

The Treasury funding is intended to help CFIT continue developing policy, technical and commercial solutions, while supporting work aligned with the government's Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. It is also expected to help CFIT move towards a self-sustaining model.

Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, linked the decision to the government's broader approach to financial services and technology.

"Organisations like CFIT play a key role in turning ambition into action through practical, industry-led solutions. This new funding reflects our confidence in CFIT's model and our commitment to making the UK the best place in the world to start, scale and lead a fintech business. As we open Fintech Week, this is exactly the kind of partnership needed to address challenges, boost growth, and support the UK's position," Rigby said.

Bank support

NatWest said its partnership with CFIT aligns with the bank's work on data, analytics, artificial intelligence and collaboration with fintech companies. The lender also highlighted its interest in financial health, sustainability and embedded finance.

For CFIT, the deal adds another major financial institution to a roster of strategic partners that already includes Mastercard, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group. The broader group of backers points to an effort to combine government and commercial support as the organisation moves beyond its original seed-funded phase.

David Grunwald, Director of Open Innovation at NatWest Group, said the pace of change in financial services had increased the need for cross-sector collaboration.

"The pace of technological and societal change is reshaping how customers interact with financial services, and it is critical that we continue to innovate to meet those evolving needs. CFIT plays a unique role in bringing together industry, government and technology leaders to tackle complex challenges and develop practical solutions. Through this partnership, we look forward to supporting work that leverages data, new technologies and collaborative models to unlock better outcomes for customers and businesses across the UK," Grunwald said.