An introductory word from Greg Palmer
2019 is already looking like it’s going to be a big year for fintech. There are a host of challenges facing the world of finance, and competition among financial institutions, large tech firms, and fintech startups is hotter than ever. It’s increasingly clear that big changes are on the horizon, and it’s never been more important to think strategically about how to adapt to the shifting landscape.
At Finovate, we strive to offer our attendees exposure to new ideas and technologies so that they can gain the insight they need to succeed in a changing world. Finovate’s 2019 calendar kicked off in London with FinovateEurope on 12-15 February and we’re already learning a lot about how 2019 will unfold in the world of fintech.
In the following pages, you’ll find highlights from FinovateEurope, including videos, speaker interviews, a summary of the Best of Show winners, and more. Finovate events include a wide variety of perspectives from across the fintech spectrum, and while we’ll never be able to go as in depth in a written piece as we can in three full days of fintech immersion, we’ve tried to capture as many diverse views here as we can.
I’d encourage you to take a look at all of the demo videos from the show, but for me the biggest takeaway didn’t come from any specific company. It came from the variety among our group of demoers, and simply put it’s this: fintech is currently in an exciting creative phase.
In my time at Finovate, fintech as an industry has tended to follow some identifiable and somewhat predictable patterns. Broadly speaking, there are three big things that tend to “steer” innovators:
Any of those three things can create a clear mandate for innovators, and when we see that happen, we tend to see a cluster of demos all working on the same problem. When there isn’t that kind of clear opportunity that everyone is rushing for, innovators tend to make their own bets, pushing their technology as far forward as they can and trying to explore new ground, which leads to an exciting creative phase.
It looks like that’s the phase we’re in now. At FinovateEurope 2019, the 64 demoing companies were, for the most part, extremely diverse. So were the Best of Show winners – all eight were working on something unique that didn’t really overlap with any of the others. That’s almost unheard of.
As 2019 unfolds, I’m sure there will be more clear industry mandates and challenges to solve, but for now, make sure you appreciate the diversity and the creativity that’s unfolding. I sincerely hope you enjoy our first magazine offering, and even more so, I hope you come away with some insights that will help you through the rest of the year. And as always, keep innovating!”