The 2nd day of SF Bay Area FinTech Week 2020 ended with an exciting panel discussion on “FinTech Predictions 2020.” Thank you to the amazing team at AWS Loft for hosting the event!

The panel consisted of founders and leaders in data science, revenue strategy, and business development. They represented unicorns such as Marqeta (card issuance) and Chime (top US neobank) — along with up-and-coming startups Oxygen, Bond, and Catch. The moderator was Gene Teare (Head of Strategic Research at Crunchbase).

This was the most engaging dialogue I had experienced from a FinTech event in quite some time. The discussion started with the standard company introductions and value propositions — this changed quickly, to target critical themes that face the financial services industry such as:

• Tools and support for the gig economy of freelancers and 1099 community, who are struggling with recent legislation passed in California;

• data privacy and how companies will execute on granting consumers control over their personal information;

• regulatory frameworks that encourage proper compliance and controls but are clearly defined to benefit all parties, not just incumbent banks and institutions;

• innovation that goes beyond solving an initial need (such as emergency liquidity);

• VC-backed firms making a deeper, value-added impact;

• ”unbundling” as the theme of 2010 - 2019 — companies focused on driving a single core offering as best possible;

• ”rebundling” as the new theme of the 2020s, in which companies offer packages of financial services.

Out of all the key themes discussed, the one I found most impactful was centered on the middle-class segment living paycheck-to-paycheck. There are multiple products available today that are helpful to short-term needs, but lack a focus on long-term outcomes. Consumers need improved outcomes instead of improved products. As a result, the topic of financial wellness will be addressed directly in 2020, as companies around the world target complex challenges of asset building and debt management.

Overall, last night was definitely a peak experience among all the local industry events from the first two months of the year. Excited to see what the rest of 2020 has in store for the FinTech community in the San Francisco Bay Area!

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