LONDON — Britain’s Treasury unveiled a provisional licensing authorization regime for start-up financial firms, allowing them to start operating before they get full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority.

The move comes as part of the British government’s deregulatory push to try and encourage growth in the U.K.’s sizable financial services and start-up industry.

Speaking at POLITICO’s Financial Services forum Thursday, City Minister Lucy Rigby said U.K. start-ups that don’t yet meet the “onerous” conditions for formal authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act would be “be able to obtain a provisional license.”

However, Rigby stressed that firms will still need to meet some qualifications to receive the licenses, stating: “We are maintaining standards which we believe are vital for consumer protection.”

“It will enable them to grow, to be able to secure the further investments that we know that they will need to be able to grow,” she added.

It’s the latest sign that the British government is aiming to ease the regulatory rulebook in the U.K. in a bid to spur growth. Prime minister Keir Starmer wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority last year ordering them to produce a list of pro-growth initiatives that could be implemented by the regulator.

Treasury doesn’t want to ‘rush’ on pension changes

Speaking at the forum just a week after a headline-grabbing and chaotic U.K. budget, Rigby was also grilled on whether the financial services industry will have the chance to press for changes to some of its more unpopular policies.

Rigby said “a huge part of [her] role” involves listening to feedback from the financial sector, “because I think that’s how you ultimately get to the best results, and certainly how you get to things that will actually work.”

Several policies announced in the budget, such as a cut to salary sacrifice limits for pension savers, are not due to come into effect until 2029, which has left some in the pension sector hopeful that changes can still be made.

“It’s critical that there is sufficient time spent working with industry on the detail of exactly how this is going to operate, and we definitely do not want to rush that,” Rigby said.

The City minister also addressed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision not to hike taxes on banks at last week’s budget, saying the government wanted “to see the U.K. staying competitive globally and indeed, becoming more competitive.”