Fintech Action Cools in U.S., Soars Elsewhere

Looking back over the last year, it is apparent that the fintech industry has become mainstream just as fintech investing cools. What I mean by this is that fintech has matured in the last five years, going from something that was embryonic and disruptive to something that is now mainstream and real. You only have to look at firms like Venmo and Stripe to see the change. Or you only have to consider the fact that regulators are now fully awake to the change and have deployed sandboxes and innovation programs. Or that banks are actively discussing their fintech innovation and investment programs. Or that institutions are being created around fintech like Innovate Finance or the Singapore Fintech Festival. Fintech and innovation is here to stay.

For me, the biggest impact has been how busy 2016 has been. Each year is busy, but this year has been amazing. A great example is that I travelled to four continents in six days recently. That’s unprecedented and, a century ago, wouldn’t have been possible. Today, it’s easy. We just jump on and off aircraft and go. What is particularly intriguing for me—and telling—is where I go. After all, as someone at the center of fintech, where I go shows where the action is. In 2016, I’ve been to Singapore, New York and, most recently, London, which are the three fintech hubs for Asia, America and Europe, respectively. But I’ve also been to Nairobi, Hong Kong, Washington and Berlin, all key fintech focal points. Nascent centers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur also are on the radar. So, too, are are Mexico City, Sao Paolo and Mumbai.

In fact, what intrigues me the most is the fact that fintech has bubbled over in 2016. The latest figures show that U.S. investing in fintech slowed in 2016, while Chinese investments went up. And that is probably the most sobering thought as we head towards the holiday season. Fintech reached its zenith in the U.S. in 2016. Prosper and Lending Club started to have to answer some hefty questions about their operations, and there is no major new digital bank in the U.S. Meanwhile, Chinese fintech investments soared in 2016, and Ant Financial, which operates the Alipay payment platform for the Chinese Alipay Group, has become one of the most talked about IPOs of the year.

In other words, China, India and Africa are where we are beginning to see the most amazing transformations through technology with finance. China has more fintech buzz than anywhere at the moment thanks in large part because of Ant Financials’ innovations. India is doing amazing things with technology, and Africa has seen the rise of mobile financial inclusion that is changing the game for everyone.

The key here is to keep your eyes and ears open to change. Too often, I encounter people—senior banking people—who believe that developments in economies they see as historically poor being irrelevant. They don’t recognize that those historically poor economies are becoming presently wealthy and future rich. They are missing a trick.

In fact, I would go as far as to propose that the economies that were historically poor are the ones that are reinventing banking and finance through technology. They have no legacy and have no constraints, so they are rethinking everything. Eventually, their ideas will become things we all use so ignore them at your peril.

Happy New Year!