With 10 years having passed since the Financial Crisis, many consumers have not fully recovered from its effects on their financial health. Individuals now demand a best-in-class customer experience in banking that goes beyond convenience, access, and design -- to deliver improved financial wellness, as consumers urgently focus on building savings, improving credit, and other long-term financial goals.

Legacy institutions and brokerage firms no longer have dominant control over the wealth management sector due to the disruptive forces of FinTechs who cater to all customer segments with similar offerings at a fraction (or no) cost.  These companies are allowing individuals to start building wealth now at a young age through multiple financial options.

APIs are responsible for fueling the enormous value and cutting-edge changes in technology, most notably driving FinTech’s robust progress across multiple areas in financial services.

Forbes FinTech50 showcases the 50 most impactful companies in the FinTech industry (for the US) when it comes to innovation and growth, across multiple sectors such as real estate, lending, payments, blockchain, and personal finance.  Half of the list belongs to firms operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

An emerging area that is growing heavy support from customer demand for change is real estate, specifically in solving the critical issue of homeownership.  Plagued by slow, inefficient, and restrictive processes from lending institutions, users are looking for solutions to solve this major financial need.

Robinhood’s Value Proposition:

Democratize the American financial system (through a commission-free service for transacting stock, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies).

Industry growth in FinTech has been attributed to a handful of maturing companies — but has now dramatically spread to a larger pool of firms (including startups) that have reached the level of unicorns, more than any other business sector worldwide.

As 2018 comes to a close, what industry-wide trends can we look forward to in 2019 on the FinTech front? 

Ripple’s Value Proposition: Help financial institutions process customer’s transfers (payments) anywhere in the world reliably, cost-effectively, and instantly.

The FinTech100 is an extensive annual report created by KPMG and H2 Ventures, showcasing the industry trends and innovative global companies in FinTech that are driving the most disruption through technology.  The 2018 FinTech100 was released earlier this month and marks the fifth edition of the report (going back to 2013), which continues to discuss indicators of change, and potential strategic opportunities for growth.