Heather Vescent
Heather Vescent is a social scientist researching the future of money, economies, identity, wearable tech relationships, and humanity. She is the executive producer the Future of Wearables podcast and the creative director of Future of Money series. Her research has been covered in the New York Times, CNN, American Banker, CNBC, Fox and the Atlantic.
4 trends in fintech startups
An analysis of fintech competitions shows a focus on data, payments, lending, and small business.
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Fintech hackathons and competitions occur globally. In January 2012, Swift launched the Innotribe Startup Competition as an initiative to bring together disruptive startups and incumbents in financial services. It was one of the first of its kind and has been joined by similar events in subsequent years. Just this year, I counted 18 fintech hackathons and startup competitions — eight of which are happening later this year.
Fintech startups are aiming to disrupt financial institutions with their technology, products, and design. Meanwhile financial institutions focus on secure systems for money transfer, payments, and lending at a global scale. But the two are not necessarily at odds. It’s hard for incumbents to innovate existing businesses in house, and this is where startups thrive: testing new business models and pushing the limits of technology unencumbered by regulations or corporate baggage. Hackathons and startup competitions are where innovative ideas are tested. Read more…