Financial Technology Innovations

In much of the world, digital financial tools are a daily reality—used to process paychecks, pay for dinner, buy groceries, and more. But 1.4 billion adults in low- and middle-income countries still lack access to these tools.    This isn’t just an inconvenience for them; it's a barrier to economic growth and empowerment. According to a 2023 UN analysis, digital public infrastructure—including digital ID, payments, and data exchange—could accelerate GDP growth in these countries by 20 to 33 percent.    That’s where Mojaloop Foundation comes in: Their open-source software makes it possible for countries to build inclusive digital payment systems that allow anyone with a mobile phone to send and receive money securely, instantly, and affordably. This has the potential to drive economic inclusion—and open the doors to financial freedom—for billions.

🇮🇳 Fintech is dead. Long live 🇮🇳 Fintech. Globally, everyone in Fintech is wondering how to figure out profitable venture scale growth to justify their valuations which are falling fast. 🇮🇳 India is no different unless you are in denial and in fact, Fintech in India has bigger problems around profitable monetization -- add the regulatory updates to this & you have an even greater challenge to brave. Besides F&O, where there seems to be a clear profit pool as demonstrated by multiple companies, the rest of fintech is simply a hard and long journey - it all boils down to making money from lending followed by tiny amounts of money from payments, insurance, investments and the likes where you are a middleman shaving off a small slice for yourself. Billions of dollars have been spent over the past decade for us to collectively arrive at this conclusion so it may be best to take the lessons learnt & conclusions concluded and build forward. The good part is that we have a large TAM that is made of multiple sub-markets each of them having 10s of millions of users potentially - some have these already, some will get to this over time. So what we are seeing is that the best teams are figuring out and sticking to one core wedge: a neobank, a credit card, a UPI app, a SaaS app, a gold investment app, a alt investment app, a vertical offering for fleet owners or infuencers etc. They use the core wedge to get to millions of users (some have the capital to go faster, some don't have as much capital so they are hacking channels one by one and getting there slowly but surely) and then expand from the core to sell their users all the other financial services offerings that are relevant and are personalized for their slice of the TAM. ( I am leaving the broking folks aside as they have the beauty of F&O to constantly give them a cushion to build the rest on and the overall push to invest in mutual funds etc gives them a good tide to ride on.) With capital markets unlikely to look anything like they did in the ZIRP era, as an early-stage fintech founder (Seed to Series B), you have to re-underwrite your own vision, conviction, and determination and be clear that it's at least a 5+ year journey from here to build a sustainable business --- many have gone through this over the past 18 months and many others are in the process. Its hard because you have to overhaul everything you thought about your plan in the 2020-2022 timeframe. Those in growth stage (Series B & beyond) have the capital but potentially an even harder problem to solve because they have to go FROM the model of burning 100s of millions to make 1s or 10s of millions TO burning far lesser while making far more. The key is to not forget the lessons learned - easier said than done :) So the problems are hard and harder BUT those with revised conviction after all the mayhem are more determined than ever, based on what we are seeing. So, Long live 🇮🇳 Fintech. 💪

The world isn’t ready for what’s coming next in sustainability data. We’re quietly living through the creation of a financial infrastructure for sustainability—and it’s happening faster than most realize. Over 2,000 sustainability regulations have emerged globally in the past decade, with a 155% surge in ESG-related rules since 2018. This isn’t just about compliance—it’s a fundamental shift in how we define value, risk, and performance. What’s driving it? • EU: CSRD & ESRS will impact over 50,000 companies, embedding double materiality. • India: BRSR Core is mandatory for top 1,000 listed firms. • China: CSDS expands carbon reporting in high-impact sectors. • California: SB 253/261 reshape U.S. climate disclosures. • Australia: AASB S2 aligns with IFRS S2, effective in 2025. • Brazil: CVM 193 adopts IFRS-aligned sustainability standards. • And more: Japan, Canada, Singapore, Nigeria, Turkey—all aligning with global standads. We’ve entered a phase where climate, nature, and transition risks are becoming embedded in financial decision-making—from underwriting and M&A to risk pricing and insurance modeling. In the real estate sector, GRESB has made third-party verified performance data (GHG, energy, water, waste) a best practice. ESG metrics are now more embedded in due diligence for loans, equity, and new acquisitions. Yes, today’s data is often backward-looking. And yes, we still need science-based thresholds and stronger assurance. But this foundational work is what allows us to get there. Without reliable, standardized, machine-readable data, we can’t scale action, track progress, or hold anyone accountable. Just as GAAP and IFRS created trust in financial markets, IFRS S1/S2, CSRD, and the GHG Protocol are setting the stage for credible, comparable sustainability data. It will not be a “parallel system.” in the future. We are building the groundwork for full integration into the global financial system. This shift will transform: • How we price risk • How capital is allocated • How resilient companies are rewarded • How we define long-term value creation It’s messy. It’s political. It’s imperfect. But it’s also historic. If you’re in this space, you’re not just reporting data—you’re helping build a new operating system for business and capital markets. One that rewards transparency, resilience, and climate alignment. Let’s keep building—with more rigor, more ambition, and more impact.

Building Authentic Customer Relationships from Day 1 "Early on we would, every Friday, invite anyone that we knew in FinTech to come to our office and have a beer.... And then early on in our customer journey, we would start asking our customers for their cell phone number. I would just text them and say, 'Hey, you know, how's this thing working for you?' Or, 'Hey, I saw a change in your traffic pattern. What's going on? Anything I should know about?" During my Building One session with Plaid co-founder and CEO Zach Perret, I was struck by how deep customer connections have fueled Plaid’s success as a 10-year fintech pioneer. For Zach, this approach isn’t just strategy; it’s empathy in action. "I spend a gigantic amount of my time just calling my customers saying, 'Hey, what are you thinking about? What's going on with you?... A lot of our customers came to us and said, 'Hey, I'm using Plaid for this thing, I now have this other problem — What should I do, Who should I call?" A great insight Zach shared was the power of being the first call for a customer, whether they’re solving a current challenge or brainstorming what’s next. Plaid’s success isn’t only about selling a product — it’s about understanding the evolving needs of their customers. Plaid’s customers started reaching out with new problems, seeking guidance that often goes beyond Plaid’s offerings. This ongoing dialogue is Zach’s “crystal ball” for expansion — a way to see where customer needs are heading next. Click here to listen and follow: 🎧 Apple: https://bit.ly/44kVNNg 🎧 Spotify: https://bit.ly/4doaFP5

Govern to Grow: Scaling AI the Right Way    Speed or safety? In the financial sector’s AI journey, that’s a false choice. I’ve seen this trade-off surface time and again with clients over the past few years. The truth is simple: you need both.   Here is one business Use Case & a Success Story. Imagine a loan lending team eager to harness AI agents to speed up loan approvals. Their goal? Eliminate delays caused by the manual review of bank statements. But there’s another side to the story. The risk and compliance teams are understandably cautious. With tightening Model Risk Management (MRM) guidelines and growing regulatory scrutiny around AI, commercial banks are facing a critical challenge: How can we accelerate innovation without compromising control?   Here’s how we have partnered with Dataiku to help our clients answer this very question!   The lending team used modular AI agents built with Dataiku’s Agent tools to design a fast, consistent verification process: 1. Ingestion Agents securely downloaded statements 2. Preprocessing Agents extracted key variables 3. Normalization Agents standardized data for analysis 4. Verification Agent made eligibility decisions and triggered downstream actions   The results? - Loan decisions in under 24 hours - <30 min for statement verification - 95%+ data accuracy - 5x more applications processed daily   The real breakthrough came when the compliance team leveraged our solution powered by Dataiku’s Govern Node to achieve full-spectrum governance validation. The framework aligned seamlessly with five key risk domains: strategic, operational, compliance, reputational, and financial, ensuring robust oversight without slowing innovation.   What stood out was the structure: 1. Executive Summary of model purpose, stakeholders, deployment status 2. Technical Screen showing usage restrictions, dependencies, and data lineage 3. Governance Dashboard tracking validation dates, issue logs, monitoring frequency, and action plans   What used to feel like a tug-of-war between innovation and oversight became a shared system that supported both. Not just finance, across sectors, we’re seeing this shift: governance is no longer a roadblock to innovation, it’s an enabler. Would love to hear your experiences. Florian Douetteau Elizabeth (Taye) Mohler (she/her) Will Nowak Brian Power Jonny Orton

Simply Genuis The GENIUS Act establishes the U.S. as epicenter for Stablecoins, cementing its role in the global financial system as we enter the digital age. This legislation sets the regulatory framework that legitimizes digital assets with a legal and formative foundation for digital assets, while reversing the repressive framework that limited financial institutions participation and put digital asset investors at greater risk. This act signed into law by super-majority with over 100 Democrats joining their Republican colleagues to pass the bill that paves the way for innovation, fosters trust, and positions the U.S. as the epicenter of the next financial revolution. Paul Atkins, the new SEC Chair helped reverse measures put in place by Gary Gensler and other members of the prior administration whose goal was to kill digital assets. Stablecoins have a market capitalization exceeding $150 billion and now it is set to grow rapidly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Stablecoins will create trillions in demand for short-term UST since every dollar in stablecoin must maintain 100% reserve backing with short-term, high-quality liquid assets, such as UST bills. Secretary Bessent further stated that this legislation will “expand US dollar usage via these stablecoins all around the world." The Act requires monthly audits, and best practices for AML/KYC rules. By establishing clear, balanced regulations, entrepreneurs feel free to innovate utilizing blockchain technology. Stablecoins will ultimately reduce costs for businesses and consumers, as citizens around the world can transact instantaneously with minimal friction. Blockchain technologies will power the next generation of payments, as the U.S. dollar comes on-chain. Will we see a “Walmart Coin," a “JPMorgan Coin?" Will the payment rails begin to move away from Visa and MasterCard? The American Bankers Association (ABA) warned that banks avoiding stablecoins risk losing customer deposits to fintech companies or other banks issuing stablecoins, i.e., cross-border payments or remittances. Other major currencies such as the Euro and the Yen will move towards a stablecoin architecture as there are strong use cases to drive efficiency gains and cost savings. Beneficiaries: USDC, Coinbase and other exchanges (Kraken), Banks who now have a green light to trade and custody digital assets, or issue their own stablecoin, while PayPal and select fintech companies should also benefit. Bankruptcy laws are also favorable for stablecoin holders since the law states that stablecoin holders must be paid if front of other creditors. As a credit investor focused on principle protection, an important feature of stablecoins is they are 1:1 backed by treasuries and other liquid assets. What other assets will move on to the blockchain for efficiency, transparency, and cost savings? We are already seeing mortgages and notably, a major credit manager has raised >$100m for Private Credit on the blockchain.

AI is transforming finance — and CFOs need to be ready. In a recent interview with Adam Zaki of CFO.com, I shared some key insights from my book "AI Mastery for Finance Professionals," and how finance leaders can navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Here are the highlights: 1️⃣ Data Readiness is Critical Generative AI offers incredible potential, but without mature, clean, and well-governed data, it’s not a technology that can be fully leveraged. CFOs must prioritize their data infrastructure first. 2️⃣ Start Small, Think Big Success with AI isn’t about automating everything overnight. Focus on incremental wins—projects that demonstrate impact, gain buy-in, and build momentum for broader adoption. 3️⃣ Understand the Tool, Not Just the Output AI isn’t a magic box. CFOs don’t need to be developers, but understanding how AI works is crucial to asking the right questions and trusting its insights effectively. 4️⃣ Bias Awareness Matters AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. Proactively test for fairness and ensure your datasets are free from bias. 5️⃣ CFOs as Strategic Leaders Today’s CFOs are more than financial stewards—they’re strategists and innovators. AI enhances this role, providing tools to forecast, predict, and guide with creativity and precision. 💡 Final Thought: AI adoption isn’t about replacing people — it’s about empowering teams and creating new efficiencies that drive long-term value. The future is here, and it’s time for finance leaders to embrace it. https://lnkd.in/emBQtfHR

I’ve been to more accelerator demo days than I can count, but this one was different. Innovation Day showcased impactful POC collaborations with FIS that are pushing the boundaries in fintech: 1. Prelim: A seamless integration pulling core data into treasury management documents, removing manual input and boosting efficiency. In partnership with FIS, this innovation transformed a bank’s workflow, making data entry accurate and fast. 2. RiskScout: As financial crime rises, RiskScout provides real-time solutions that streamline compliance, automate workflows, and ease BSA team workloads. Partnering with FIS, they tested transaction monitoring, risk scoring, and automation, setting a new standard for regulatory compliance at reduced costs. 3. Entrio: Simplifying vendor management, Entrio offers visibility into tech stacks, identifying and optimizing existing solutions. FIS worked with Entrio to clean and consolidate its own vast supplier network, unlocking new efficiency in vendor governance. 4. Spade: With real-time merchant intelligence, Spade identifies genuine merchant identities to enhance transaction clarity. A POC with FIS saw 96.4% of transactions accurately matched to merchants, improving approval rates while preventing fraud. 5. MoneyKit: Connecting fragmented financial accounts is key, and MoneyKit offers FIS a single API for five major platforms, driving seamless customer interactions. The POC demo showed how consolidating data can boost engagement and loyalty in digital banking. 6. Blooma CRE: Automating commercial real estate underwriting, Blooma’s cloud-based platform delivers faster and smarter insights. FIS’s POC confirmed Blooma’s potential to minimize implementation fatigue and manage risk, with AI adding value without replacing human judgment. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll cover the remaining companies and panel takeaways! #fis #innovationday #fintechinnovation #ecosystembanking

Continuing the topic of trust ... What does trust look like when algorithms meet our most personal financial decisions? According to a recent Northwestern Mutual report in how Americans view AI's role in money management ... While 47% want financial advisors who understand and use AI to help their clients build financial security — with younger generations (Gen Z’ers and Millennials) leading at 54% — we still overwhelmingly trust humans over AI alone for core financial planning. For example, 56% prefer human guidance for retirement planning versus just 13% trusting AI independently. To be honest, this shouldn't come as a surprise. The lesson learned is perhaps one that we have known all along: We want AI to enhance human expertise, not replace it. And this isn't just about financial services either. It is about how we are collectively reimagining the relationship between human judgment and AI. We're not choosing between humans and machines, but rather defining when each serves us best. In our most consequential financial decisions, we still crave what makes us human: empathy. The organizations that understand the delicate balance and nuances will shape the very definition of what it means to be 'trusted' in a digital age where the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence continue to blur. #AI #FinTech #FinancialServices #BankingOnAI

𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 2025 by Capgemini (Part 1) — Open Finance & Instant Payments Adoption The forever-evolving payments landscape is taking on 2025 with new initiatives, innovations and trends. 🔟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐩 10 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 2025: 1. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 2. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 3. 𝐏𝐎𝐒 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 4. 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 5. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐇𝐮𝐛𝐬 6. 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 7. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 8. 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 9. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 10. 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 —— #1: 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝:
Open Finance expands the scope of Open Banking by incorporating not just banking data but also insights from investments, insurance, and pensions. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬: ► Enables hyper-personalized products and services. ► Greater access to financial services, particularly for underserved markets. ► Banks and FinTechs benefit from streamlined processes and enhanced data insights. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬: ► Businesses — Cash forecasting, risk scoring, and KYC automation. ► Consumers — Loan underwriting, payroll processing, and account aggregation ► Peer-to-Peer — Social payments, bill splitting, and A2A transfers. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: 🔸 Nubank: Leveraging Open Finance for better credit assessments and financial planning tools. 🔸 Klarna: Driving flexible payment solutions in partnership with global merchants. —— #2: 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝:
Instant Payments involve real-time money transfers between bank accounts, bypassing traditional intermediaries. They’re already transforming economies by shortening settlement cycles and reducing costs. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬: ► Banks — Lower transaction costs and strengthened corporate relationships. ► Businesses — Faster cash flows and real-time treasury management. ► Consumers — Seamless, low-cost transactions. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 1. Standardized user interfaces. 2. Cross-border payment linkages. 3. Governance frameworks (e.g., public vs. private ownership models). 4. Advanced infrastructure such as ISO 20022 messaging standards. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬: ► A2A Payments, just-in-time supplier payments, and QR-code-based cross-border transactions. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: ► #Wero : A European wallet simplifying instant cross-border money transfers. ► #Pix: Brazil’s instant payment system, now piloted in Europe. — 🚨 This is a series of 5 posts — next up 🚨 3️⃣ — 𝐏𝐎𝐒 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 4️⃣ — 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Get ready, it is just the beginning! —— Source: Capgemini ► Sign up to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬 : https://lnkd.in/g5cDhnjC ► Marcel van Oost and Connecting the dots in payments...