The Fintech Power 50 Annual 2025

THE FUTURE OF FINTECH IS ACCESSIBLE BY DESIGN

3 Showcase: Celebrating progress encourages adoption. From introducing a Disability Inclusion category at the Pay360 Awards to adding live captioning at major conferences, these actions make events more accessible and raise expectations across the sector. Learning disabilities project Alongside our core work, we launched a dedicated initiative focused on adults with learning disabilities – a group often excluded from even the most basic financial services. With Nationwide, we published the Safe Spending report, cited by the Bank of England and FCA, helping to shape national conversations on inclusion. In partnership with CI&T, we explored the art of the possible – reimagining what a payments app, co-created with and for adults with learning disabilities, could look like. While the app doesn’t exist today, this prototype concept is now under review by leading UK banks, with the potential to influence future product design and set a new standard for accessibility.

Imagine being unable to open a bank account, make a purchase, or pay a bill – simply because the service wasn’t designed with you in mind. For millions of people with disabilities, this is daily life. And for fintechs, it’s an urgent challenge they can no longer afford to ignore. The scale of the challenge One in five UK adults has a disability or long-term health condition, yet many face barriers to basic financial services – barriers that are unnecessary and preventable. The economic impact is huge. The spending power of disabled households – the Purple Pound – is worth £274billion annually in the UK, growing 14 per cent year-on-year. Globally, it reaches $13trillion. Despite this, accessibility remains under-prioritised. “Accessibility isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a commercial opportunity hiding in plain sight,” says Joanne Dewar, co-founder, Project Nemo. Why inclusion matters Fintech promised access for all, yet for 16 million disabled people in the UK, it has too often meant exclusion. As payments go digital-first, tools like CAPTCHA and self-service kiosks have replaced cash and frontline staff, leaving many locked out. Research shows 70 per cent of disabled customers struggle to complete transactions in-store, with many avoiding shops altogether where they expect accessibility challenges. Similar barriers exist in e-commerce. Until Project Nemo launched in April 2024, disability inclusion was largely missing from both financial inclusion and DEI agendas – deprioritised despite its clear human and commercial impact. Accessibility is not only a social imperative but also a driver of innovation, loyalty, and compliance, aligning with rising regulatory expectations such as the FCA’s Consumer Duty and the European Accessibility Act. Driving collaborative change “People speak for us, about us, in front of us – but it is never our voice,” says Kris Foster, co-founder, Project Nemo

Fintech moves fast, but this rapid pace has often left the disabled community behind. Many cutting-edge products are simply not accessible to those who need them most. Project Nemo brings together fintechs, banks, regulators, and disability advocates to close this gap - providing resources, training and partnerships that help organisations take practical steps toward accessibility. Three pillar strategy Our approach focuses on three pillars to create lasting progress: educate, connect, and showcase. 1 Educate: We raise awareness of accessibility challenges – and the opportunities of inclusive design. Through 50+ talks and panels across the UK and Europe, we’ve brought accessibility to the forefront of fintech and payments. Our films and podcasts share lived experiences and industry voices, inspiring understanding and action. 2 Connect: We link fintech leaders with the expertise and resources to embed accessibility into products and workplaces. With HSBC and HSBC Innovation Banking, we launched a free digital accessibility training programme to help fintechs take their first steps toward inclusive design. Separately, with Edenchase Associates, our ‘Unlocking Disability Confidence’ webinar series – now in its fourth cohort – has supported over 85 organisations to progress through the Disability Confident scheme, driving cultural change from within. We also bring disabled voices into events and publications to ensure lived experience shapes industry decisions.

Inclusion by design Accessible finance starts with small,

deliberate steps: listening to lived experiences, embedding accessibility into design from the outset, and making continuous improvements. Accessible design benefits everyone. It removes barriers, builds loyalty, drives innovation – and ensures no one is left behind. Join the movement Financial services must work for everyone. By acting now, organisations can create lasting change for their customers, teams, and the wider industry. Visit projectnemo.co.uk and look out for the launch of our Resource Hub – a free, practical space filled with tools and case studies to help organisations start or accelerate their accessibility journey. Together, we can make accessibility the norm, not the exception.