Politicians’ pronouncements are often evasive but when George Osborne declared his hopes for the future of financial technology in Britain, he did not mince his words.

Speaking at the launch of Innovate Finance, a fintech lobby group, in August, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said: "I'm here today because I want the UK to lead the world in developing fintech. That's my ambition - short and sweet. We have all the ingredients we need."