Fintech

 There are only two ways to make money: bundling and unbundling. New networks create opportunities to unbundle incumbent offerings. In fintech (especially post the financial crisis, where traditional companies curtailed or even eliminated parts of their stacks) much of the value created over the last decade has been in startups specializing in individual parts of that fintech stack.

Perspective

While this process has not reached its conclusion, we will eventually see a return to bundled services and platforms that rebundle the best of the best solutions into a unified provider. Meanwhile, many non-fintech companies, worn down by the lethargy and friction of securing services (or their customers securing services), are themselves becoming financial institutions of a sort. From ride-sharing to food delivery, durables purchases and medical services, an array of businesses (not all startups) are themselves offering ‘financial services’ in one form or another. This is most true in the developed world, but private industry in developing countries are stepping in as well. Financing, lending, investing, insurance and payments are all good examples.

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