Two Bermuda-based financial technology companies have been praised for hiring Bermudians.

David Burt, the Premier and finance minister, recently visited Bittrex Global and Relm Insurance to meet their Bermudian staff members, according to a statement from the Government.

The Government’s fintech initiative, launched after the Progressive Labour Party was elected to power in 2017, has been slow to build momentum.

According to the most recent statistics, there are 15 licensed digital asset companies in Bermuda. Statistics on total jobs created have not been made public and questions sent to the Government yesterday have not yet been answered.

Of his visit to Bittrex Global, Mr Burt said: “Fintech is creating jobs in Bermuda for Bermudians.

“When I spoke to Bittrex Global CEO Steve Stonberg at Tech Week 2020, I urged him to hire Bermudians given the outstanding array of talent available in our country. I am grateful that he and his organisation followed through on this, and now have six full-time Bermudian staff members fulfilling roles in legal, compliance and office management.”

Mr Burt said the company was also sponsoring a Bermudian student to pursue fintech qualifications through Next, Bermuda’s digital asset industry association that he recently announced at Consensus in Austin, Texas.

Mr Burt said of Relm: “Relm is pioneering insurance in the global digital assets industry and is the world’s leading specialty insurer in this space. In the last year, they have grown from four employees to 13, all of whom are Bermudian.”

He added: “They are hiring persons for entry-level positions. I have met interns in their office, persons who have just completed university where this is their first job, and they have also hired two persons directly from the Bermuda Foundation for insurance studies.

“There are opportunities available for young Bermudians in this field and it is great to see the commitment of our fintech companies to building and training Bermudian talent.”