WHAT'S THE ISSUE?

The FinTech sector is now worth billions, if not trillions of dollars. It's also becoming one of the most attractive sectors in the world for investors.

So what exactly is driving that growth? And exactly what kind of applications are out there to improve all of our financial futures? To answer those questions, The Agenda with Stephen Cole speaks to FinTech consultant Peter Oakes and Samuel Manning, the founder and CEO of open banking service Hope Macy.

MEET THE EXPERTS

Founder and Financial Mentor at FinTech UK and FinTech Ireland, Peter Oakes is a leading expert and consultant in the field of FinTech. His international regulatory experience includes the UK Financial Services Authority and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Peter has advised the governor and deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and has worked at senior levels for regulated businesses as in-house counsel, compliance officer, executive and non-executive director.

Samuel Manning is currently the CEO of FinTech company Hope Macy, which he founded largely to help carers assist with the finances of those they are caring for. He came up with the idea when he himself became a carer. Before that, he was the co-founder of world programming for WPS Systems, where he was responsible for delivery of production critical systems for international banking, insurance, data, credit agencies, and card services clients.

WHAT DO OAKES & MANNING SAY?

"One out of every five dollars that is invested by venture capital firms is now going into financial technology applications," says Peter Oakes – and he suggests that's for one very good reason: "These FinTech improvements, these enhancements and the innovation are all going to improve the experience of the consumer."

And that's where people like Samuel Manning come in – using FinTech solutions to improve the lot of some of the most vulnerable in society – and it all came about when he became a carer for his son and his mother: "The difficulty was always in finding out exactly what their financial situation was, there were scams going on, fraud going on, bills being missed," he explains. "So what what I did, with a couple of friends who also had problems, was to reimagine how you would go about looking after someone financially."

ALSO ON THE AGENDA:

- Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, the UK's industry body explains how FinTech is transforming financial services worldwide.

- Richard Turrin, FinTech expert and author of Cashless – China's Digital Currency Revolution discusses how China is leading the way in the move towards entirely digital banking.

FIND MORE STORIES FROM THE AGENDA WITH STEPHEN COLE HERE