This year’s conference, taking place on 21 April at the Guildhall in the City of London, will once again draw a global audience of fintech leaders, investors, policymakers and innovators for a packed day of discussion, debate and connection.

Chatsworth is speaking, exhibiting and will be out and about sharing perspectives and ideas with clients and friends from across the sector. If you’d like to meet, feel free to get in touch in advance or drop by our stand to meet the team.

This year, expect a strong focus on the UK’s position as a global fintech hub, with sessions exploring how regulation, innovation and investment can come together to maintain international competitiveness. 

Trust emerges as a defining theme, underpinning everything from AI adoption to payments infrastructure and digital assets. As fintech becomes more deeply embedded in everyday life and national systems, the ability to build and maintain trust with consumers, regulators and markets is a prerequisite for growth. 

AI will, of course, feature heavily, not just as a technology trend, but as a practical tool reshaping everything from customer experience to risk and decision-making. Digital assets and tokenisation continue to move up the agenda, with conversations shifting from theory to real-world application and adoption.

And there will also be a clear emphasis on inclusion and long-term financial wellbeing. From access to advice, to new models of investing and saving, speakers will examine how fintech can play a more meaningful role in wealth creation, particularly for underserved audiences. 

IFGS 2026 – agenda deep dive and highlights 

Chatsworth’s Nick Murray-Leslie is moderating the discussion From Access to Assets: Fintech’s Role in Wealth Creation, joined by an amazing panel – Dan Lane of Robinhood, Lesley Li of U Impact, Stacey Parsons of RetailBook, Michelle He of Abound and Fairgrowth’s Rajesh Agrawal.

This will look at some of the current barriers to wealth creation in the UK, including our psychological attitude to investment, how we compare to other regions and how the industry is moving beyond access to deliver real financial progress, with discussion spanning financial literacy, fractional investing, AI-driven personalisation and inclusive product design.

A session on the UK’s next generation of fintech unicorns brings together leaders, including Charles McManus and Revolut Bank UK’s Francesca Carlesi, to examine what it will take to build globally competitive fintech businesses from the UK.  Charles is something of a fintech legend, always rock solid and well worth a listen.

AI will be a defining theme throughout the day. From the FCA’s Jessica Rusu setting out the regulatory approach, to industry leaders such as Starling’s Harriet Rees and Quantexa’s Vishal Marria discussing real-world implementation, the focus is firmly on how AI can be deployed responsibly at scale.  All eyes are on where the FCA sees this going.

Mike Walters, CEO from breakout paytech firm, Form3 joins a panel examining how institutions are responding to a growing threat landscape, from cyber risk to third-party dependencies and emerging technologies.  He is very good and knows this space extremely well, so well worth a look in.

Mike is joined by Bim Afolami of Acrisure, Etienne De Burgh of Google, and Sharon Lewis of Hogan Lovells to explore how financial institutions are responding to an increasingly complex risk environment, from cyber threats and third-party dependencies to emerging challenges such as quantum computing. 

Payments and infrastructure remain central to the conversation. Speakers, including Kate Lowe, Deputy Chief Business Officer at Euroclear, will explore how interoperability and new forms of money are reshaping the financial landscape, and what a truly connected “multi-money” ecosystem could look like in practice.  Kate brings a lot of knowledge and insight from both defi and tradfi and can share the UK CSD and wider Euroclear group perspective.

Digital assets and tokenisation are firmly embedded in this year’s agenda. Sessions featuring leaders from Coinbase, Ripple and Fireblocks will explore how the UK can position itself as a global hub for digital assets, while maintaining trust and regulatory clarity.  

Alongside this, discussions on capital markets bring in perspectives from organisations such as the London Stock Exchange and the British Business Bank, focusing on how to unlock liquidity, support scale-ups and strengthen the UK’s funding ecosystem.

So, plenty to get stuck into this year. Bring an enquiring mind, comfortable shoes and enjoy a great event at the beating heart of UK fintech.

Wishing everyone a great event this year.