LONDON — Brexit is an unavoidable topic in the United Kingdom these days. Unless of course, you attended Finovate Europe.

The conference, which took place here on February 11 to 14, saw barely a mention of Brexit amid the discussions on global and European fintech innovation.

This points to what seems to be the reality of the day: fintech has largely avoided addressing Brexit, so far.

Still, many at Finovate believed that Brexit would, in fact, be positive for UK and European fintech.

“Brexit is a market disruption where the rules will change for both Europe and UK,” said Joaquin Ayuso de Paul, CEO of Denizen, a BBVA funded solution that eases banking for expats. “These moments of history are the perfect petri dish where startups and fintechs are born and thrive. Brexit becomes a unique opportunity for services geared to ease cross-border hurdles.”

Government delegates echoed European fintechs. One delegate from an EU nation said that while the nation hoped the United Kingdom would remain in the EU, Brexit could rebalance the fintech industry and benefit several cities and countries around Europe.

It’s not all good news for fintechs and Brexit. One fintech expert told Bank Innovation that new regulatory hurdles will need to be addressed. Fintechs that were compliant with UK regulations would now need to be compliant with a second set of regulations from the EU — although UK and EU regulations will likely be similar. Furthermore, with banks and other financial institutions threatening or already leaving the UK, decision-makers will be scattered around Europe, adding another barrier for earlier stage fintechs.

The key date is March 29, when the United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union. It is unclear what agreement, if any, will be reached between the EU and UK by that date. However, no matter the result, fintechs in the UK and in the EU are optimistic that little will change and that there may be some future upside to Brexit.

Whether that will indeed be the case can be debated vigorously.

Join us at Bank Innovation Ignite 2019, March 11-12, at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. Register here.