The Year in Fintech: A look back at Fintech Growth Talk in 2022
Dynamic and challenging year of FOMO and YOLO to NOMO in the Markets
Although fintech as a category has been around for quite some time, it seems like the industry continues to grow every year. This is different from traditional financial services and the broader economy. And 2022 was no exception. In almost every sector or channel, fintech companies have seen a wave of transformation.
For example, the current global fintech market is estimated to be approximately $131 billion and is set to nearly quadruple over the next five years by one estimate; $225 billion by another. Investments in Fintech startups slowed considerably in 2022 compared to 2021, but 2021 was a banner year compared to the previous five years; Investments in 2022 are still reaching greater amounts compared to 2020, for example.
Despite normal ups and downs, though, the Fintech industry is thriving. The companies we’ve talked to as part of the Fintech Growth Talk podcast are all a testament to industry’s moves. What’s more, they clearly demonstrate the role innovation has in making our world’s economic and financial systems more fluid, accessible, and democratic.
Let’s take a look back at the conversations we’ve had this year to get an idea of what might be on the horizon for 2023 and beyond.
Investments and interest in blockchain technologies are constantly growing, and Ryan Rassmussen believes we might be in a new era of cryptocurrency investing. As a research analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, he has a front-seat view of the industry.
The shift, Rassmussen told us, comes from the change from proof of work to proof of stake in how the Etherium blockchain operates. This will reduce the energy requirements needed to run the blockchain, enabling a host of new services, investors, and technologies to participate.
Furthermore, we recorded a special episode focused on “the crypto crisis” when FTX failed and everything related to that — from the investor impact as well as the broader ecosystem and economy — to the venture ecosystem reactions and outlook and what is really next. Fun discussions on such a dynamic topic, evolving at a rapid pace.
How to save is not something that’s usually taught in school. As a result, many younger consumers face uphill battles with making good financial decisions for themselves. That’s why users are flocking to startup Mooch, whose mission is to empower people — particularly GenZers — to have a better relationship with personal finance. Mooch rewards users for meeting their savings goals, growing both users’ savings and their financial literacy by making this simple and easy to understand.
Speaking of making good financial decisions, one challenge that many consumers face is just having access to high quality banking products — particularly loans. What’s more, the user experience in obtaining a loan is complicated, convoluted, and cumbersome for most borrowers. It’s also very expensive for the un- and under-banked.
That’s where Upstart comes in, which has been using artificial intelligence to power its loan-application process. This enables them to not only offer a better overall experience but to bring down the cost of borrowing, making smaller loans more accessible to a wider group of people.
One of the key components that make or break fintech startups is identity verification. Fast and accurate verification enables fintechs and other financial institutions to perform a number of functions quickly. With identity theft at an all-time high, it’s essential that organizations have the appropriate checks and balances in place to prevent fraud. According to the VP and Head of Product Marketing at Socure, the market leader and highest-valued private company in the identity verification and fraud space, it's a balancing act. Organizations need to basically identify the good customers while keeping out fraudsters, and Socure is leading the way with its real-time identity checks.
Taxes are never fun or easy to do, and they can be a convoluted nightmare for many freelancers. Freelancers often face challenges tracking expenses, understanding write-offs, and other key aspects of filing taxes. And with a swell in the number of people freelancing or working independently due to the pandemic, Jaideep Singh saw an opportunity to make filing taxes far easier. Singh founded FlyFin, which applies machine learning and natural language processing to expense tracking, tax preparation, and filing. Singh estimates FlyFin can reduce about 95 percent of the work associated with recording and categorizing taxes.
Last but not least is NVIDIA. Yes, the graphics card producer has gotten into the Fintech industry! Specifically, they’ve applied their accelerated computing platform towards developing a sophisticated deep learning platform that can power hundreds if not thousands of Fintech applications. In other words, they’re using their own artificial intelligence to help Fintech startups bring products to market faster and deliver better value to both the organization and consumers.
Want to get deeper insights into what’s happening in Fintech? Subscribe to the Fintech Growth Talk Podcast today for engaging interviews with some of the industry's top leaders and innovators. It is available on Apple (iTunes) Google , Spotify and many other channels.
