Nationwide (LON:NBS) is set to take a £15 million stake in the fintech start-up founded by Antony Jenkins, the ex-Barclays boss.

The announcement is set to be revealed later today by both parties, but was learnt in advance by Sky News.

Last year the UK building society unveiled its £50 million fintech fund, which was set to be invested in promising financial technology start-ups. Nationwide said that the fintech fund is part of its plan to remain ahead of innovation in order to start ahead of its rivals on the high street and its growing digital competitors.

The fund it not only to profit financial support to the selected fintech start-ups, but it also comes with direct product development support.

“By investing in early stage startups, we can be at the forefront of helping develop innovative products and services that will benefit our members both now and in the future,” Nationwide deputy CEO Tony Prestedge commented.

Today, it is set to announce its purchase of a minority shareholding in 10x Future Technologies, the fintech start-up founded by the former Barclays Chief Executive. It will be part of a larger funding round established by the start-up in order to raise capital and drive expansion.

The start up was established by Antony Jenkins in 2016, who saw the opportunity to establish a technology business as high street banks struggled.

Nationwide itself has 650 branches across the UK. The partnership intends to pave Nationwide’s way into small banking which is being significantly moulded by technology.

Currently companies such as Monzo and Revolut are leading the way in UK fintech. The former is a mobile-only bank that operates through a mobile app and a prepaid payment card, whilst the latter of the two offers banking services including currency exchange and similarly operating with a prepaid card.