The Moneytree

Abstract

This chapter talks about Ron Kalifa, who was working at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with a mission to turn the group created by disgraced banker Fred Goodwin into a payments powerhouse when the financial crisis hit. It cites public company Worldpay's merge with an American rival, Vantiv, which acquired a huge portfolio of new American clients and became one of the biggest payments providers in the world. It also describes the rise of Worldpay out of the embers of the financial crisis as a parable of how Britain's leadership as the originator of the financial technology that now drives the global banking system. The chapter looks at the acumen and trading skills that made the City of London the biggest exporter of financial services on earth and is now turning it into a fintech champion. The Worldpay saga says a great deal about the skill set and culture that has made financial services the most valuable wealth-creating sector of the UK economy.