Who In The *F* Knows

The stats are improving across most indicators but there are some glass ceilings still firmly stuck but the velocity of progress is accelerating accept in the area of VC funding for minorities but i think this is the next major shift we will see.

The era of digital financial services is nearing as fintech grows into adulthood.

AI is rapidly improving and so too are other tools for assessing health, environmental, and countless other risks. As key information becomes more available, and as predictions increase in accuracy, providers will encounter opportunities while also facing major questions about the future of their services. If we apply this to personal health, for instance, the questions facing insurers won’t just be about the bottom line. They’ll be ethical too. Some have suggested that insurers may become more involved in accident prevention and risk mitigation. I wonder to what extent this will happen.

PSD3 unifies the European open banking landscape, propelling us into open data and driving innovation that falls short of existing regulation (and perhaps even profitability!) [x]

AI is set to transform the finance industry just as it is in other industries around the world. However, due to the industry being one of the most regulated in the world, we won’t be able to see AI utilized in core services for years to come. Regulators and corporate governance won’t allow it to make final decisions on services, even though the deep language models have been built in such a way to make a massive change for core products.

This opens up a massive opportunity for firms to build tools that connect directly to AI services that integrate into legacy systems. These new middleware providers will be the bridge between FSI and AI in the intervening years.

The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 is expected to prompt a significant shift, as tokenization slowly but surely is eating up the world, marking a resurgence of digital assets in the market. However, the crypto market is highly unpredictable, influenced by positive market sentiment and global economic conditions.

I forecasted this trend gaining momentum last year, and I think it will continue to pick up pace in 2024. In September, JPMorgan Chase announced a partnership with Gusto to offer embedded payroll services to its business clients in-platform. Another example is Wells Fargo forming a strategic partnership with Bilt Rewards, a loyalty program for renters. Through a co-branded credit card, members can pay rent and earn points with no transaction fees on rent payments at any rental property in the U.S.

Big banks know they need to compete and I predict these types of collaborations will only grow in 2024.

As recently as October, The Verge published details of Elon Musk’s plans to upend the world of payments. In his words, “When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life… if it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like sending $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.”

HOWEVER, Musk’s decimation of Xitter’s core staff, his increasingly problematic flirting with the extreme right, and his outright biting of the advertising hand that feeds it all but seals the death of any plans for X to become the operating system for “someone’s entire financial life”. The most fundamental attribute of any payment network is trust. Would you trust Xitter with your actual money?...

In 2024, the fintech IPO scene transforms into a thriller – 'Murder on the Public Markets.' Amidst market pressures, several fintechs will be propelled into IPOs, only to have their vulnerabilities exposed under the unforgiving spotlight of public scrutiny. Expect some high-profile flops as companies that shone in private funding rounds face the harsh reality of public valuation. This year, the narrative will shift from ‘when is the next fintech IPO?’ to ‘should fintechs even IPO’

Macro headwinds, rising interest rates, and geopolitical tensions have curbed Limited Partners’ (LP’s) appetites in VC fund investments. [x] Asia has also started seeing a rise in Family Offices, with more than half of them being in Singapore. [x] LPs have gotten smarter at investing, and are now even doing direct investments into startups, skipping VC management fees. [x]