Fintech Lunch 2026

Emily Kelly is a Senior Manager at Alexander & Co, an established firm of chartered accountants and tax advisers headquartered in Manchester. She is one of the UK’s leading advisers on crypto tax and heads up the firm’s specialist crypto tax team, working with a wide range of digital and fintech businesses.

 Emily advises clients across the digital, fintech, creative and professional services sectors, delivering expert guidance on business planning, financial reporting and compliance. She was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Tolley’s Taxation Awards 2024 in recognition of her work in crypto tax and has been a key adviser in this evolving space for the past five years.

With over a decade of experience advising owner-managed businesses, high-growth start-ups and established SMEs, Emily provides strategic, commercially focused guidance that supports long-term growth and stability. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and combines deep technical expertise with a practical, hands-on approach. She is also an active member of Pro-Manchester and sits on the FinTech Committee, remaining closely engaged with developments across the region’s thriving business ecosystem.

Manoj Peiris is a Legal Director in Shoosmiths’ Financial Services & FinTech team, specialising in payments regulation, financial services compliance, and the evolving crypto and digital assets landscape. He advises clients across the full spectrum of the payments ecosystem — including payment service providers, crypto firms, banks, merchant acquirers, and emerging Web3 projects — helping them navigate fast‑moving regulatory frameworks and launch innovative products in the UK and globally.

Manoj is admitted in New South Wales, Australia, and brings significant cross‑jurisdictional experience spanning the UK, EU (including MiCA), US money transmission licensing (MTLs), UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore. His work includes advising on crypto‑asset structuring and compliance, tokenisation, exchange and custody models, cross‑border licensing strategies, open banking, merchant acquiring arrangements, and commercial contracts across the digital finance value chain.

Before joining Shoosmiths, Manoj worked in top‑tier international environments and has deep in‑house experience supporting payments, crypto, and digital asset businesses as they scale. He is known for providing pragmatic, commercially‑grounded advice that balances regulatory expectations with product ambition — helping clients move quickly while maintaining compliance confidence.

At Shoosmiths, Manoj plays a key role in the firm’s FinTech and Payments practice, working closely with colleagues across technology, financial regulation, and commercial advisory to support clients delivering next‑generation financial services.

An award-winning advisor and entrepreneur, with over 15 years in the financial services and tech industry. Kimberley hosts the popular Get Started podcast, chairs the Manchester Fintech committee and is a long-term mentor for Rise by Barclays, Fintech Alliance and Fintech Circle. A regular on stage at events like Web Summit, Fintech Week London, Fintech Fringe, Finance Magnates and Fintech North, Kimberley’s insight also features in financial industry publications such as Fintech Magazine, Payments Expert, Verdict and The Fintech Power50 journal. Kimberley is board advisor to several exciting Fintech start-ups including ekko, Lemon and others soon to be announced.