The future of fintech: Thoughts on Money 20/20

For those of you unfamiliar with Money 20/20, it’s a huge tradeshow (by today’s standards, but nothing compared to the Comdex of old) dedicated to cutting-edge financial technology. The U.S. edition takes place in Las Vegas around this time every year. I’ve attended with press credentials for the past several years. This year’s show ran from November 27 to November 30.

In years gone by, there’s always been an over-arching theme – one prevalent hot topic, if you will. A couple of years ago, blockchain was all the rage. Last year, everyone wanted to talk about artificial intelligence. However, this year was the exception. I talked with a lot of people and I can tell you, there was no one hot technology that everybody was talking about.

What does that mean for the year 2020 in terms of financial technology? What’s the message?

Money 20/20 has always been loaded with state-of-the-art, new-to-the-scene fintechs. This year, the established, recognizable companies seemed to have a greater presence. For example, my former employer Jack Henry & Associates was one of the show sponsors. I don’t even remember if they were there last year (although I imagine they were).

Maybe that’s the whole message from this year’s show. The fintech disruptors are starting to go more mainstream. After all, a disruption can’t last forever. Eventually things settle down again. And to that end, the old-school heavyweights are now embracing the best of this disruptive technology. What this hopefully means is that allof the greatest financial technology minds are beginning to come together. That can only be good for credit unions as they map their technology strategies for the coming months and years.

While I was in Las Vegas, I interviewed representatives from about a dozen companies representing a wide range of products. I’ll be writing up these interviews and posting them on CU Technologist over the course of the next couple of weeks. I encourage you to visit the website now and subscribe. That way, you’ll be notified as each new article is published. I think it will be a good opportunity to read what’s happening on the front lines of fintech, from a wide range of voices.

Do you have thoughts on financial technology in 2020? Leave a comment here or feel free to drop me an email.