Explore a visual timeline of fintech’s history and growth

Key moments in fintech history include the transatlantic cable’s invention and E-Trade’s founding

Founded in 1982, E-Trade was the first-ever online brokerage, pioneering a method of investing that is common today. Its story is part of a timeline that the New York Times put together of key moments in early fintech history.

The first ATM—dubbed a 'cash dispenser'—was installed in 1967 in London

Specifically, the first ATM (which stands for “automatic teller machine”) made its debut at a Barclays bank in London. A timeline of ATM history can help illustrate and visualize other key events in ATM history.

Fintech relies on technology, not physical location, to serve financial customers

Most of the industry's prominent players were created since 2010, and are still in a growth phase. These institutions have broadly disrupted traditional banking and have pushed physical banking locations toward obsolescence.

A detailed interactive timeline of technology since 1500

Tech devices are heirs to a complex history of both technological invention and social history. What if you could visualize how radio, TVs, and other devices are connected to the past and each other? Trace the elaborate genealogies of your phone and computer with this interactive timeline showing tech inventions since 1500.

The fintech industry was worth roughly $340B as of 2025

Venture capitalists have been bullish on the industry’s future in recent years, too. Some estimate that global investment in fintech increased by 12,000% between 2008 and 2020.

The process of electronic funds transfer was approved in the US in 1978

An electronic funds transfer is the transfering of money from one bank account to another via computer-based systems. When it was first introduced, it was revolutionary. A video from 1980 aimed to explain the value of electronic funds transfer to consumers at the time.

Apple Pay is activated on more than 78% of US iPhones

As a result, some banks worry they could be losing ground to the tech company. As consumers continue to use Apple Pay instead of pulling out their physical debit card to pay for everyday items, some banks are fighting back in the digital wallet war.

Explore the history of the iPhone from 2007 to 2023

The first iPhone was launched without an app store, while security features like Face ID were only incorporated into the hardware starting in 2017. That year was the first when an iPhone cost over $1,000.

See a timeline of American Express' history

Since its founding in 1850, American Express has evolved from a mail delivery service to a multinational financial services company. Small additions to the company over time, such as taking money orders and inventing traveler's cheques, were key drivers of the company's transformation.

The story of Apple Pay Later, a short-lived BNPL service

Apple rolled out its own buy now, pay later service in 2023, but Apple shut it down the following year. Instead, Apple made changes to let its Apple Pay users make purchases and access installment loans through BNPL company Affirm.

Visualizing the history of money

Money is any medium of exchange used in payments for goods or services and can take many forms. From cattle and shells in ancient times to paper and blockchain today, money has taken many shapes and sizes. This infographic illustrates some of the major forms of exchange world cultures have used over the last 5,000 years.

Watch a video that visualizes what really happens inside a credit card network when you make a purchase.

Every tap sets off a lightning-fast relay. When someone buys coffee with their Visa, a tiny "runner" races between the coffee shop's bank, Visa's network, and their bank—all in under a second. The catch? No money has actually moved yet. Here's what really happens behind that instant "Approved."

A timeline of Wall Street's history

Wall Street's historical timeline starts with Wall Street getting its name in the 1600s and ends with details about the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.

Fintech companies made it easier for merchants to request tips, leading to fatigue

In recent years, companies such as Square and Toast have created touch screen technologies prompting customers at coffee shops and casual restaurants to tip upwards of 25%. Despite the interesting psychological conundrum this presents to consumers, one tech columnist argues that shoppers don’t need to succumb to the pressure.

An interview with WeBank’s CFO

Leveraging Tencent's massive WeChat network, WeBank started as China's first digital bank and now serves 340 million users and 2.8 million businesses (as of 2024). Chief Financial Officer Arthur Wang discusses how the company is using AI and continuous innovation to stay ahead of the technological curve.

How the checking account has evolved into a platform of features rather than a product

The accounts act as an anchor for customer relationships that banks need to retain said customers. As fintech companies unbundle the checking account without technically being chartered banks, traditional banks face pressure to innovate the checking account experience.

A timeline and visuals on TikTok's rapid growth

The app that would become TikTok is known as Douyin in China, and this article recounts its history, acquisition of rival Musical.ly, and rebranding ahead of its lightning growth. One visualization shows how quickly TikTok reached 1B users.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Amazon has experienced relentless, if occasionally bumpy, growth since its founding

From its founding in 1994 to a slew of acquisitions and new products and services launched in the decades since then, Amazon has experienced relentless, if occasionally bumpy, growth. This timeline from The Verge lays out some of the major events in the company’s story, including its IPO, rollout of its lucrative cloud-computing division, and much more.

Visa Founder Dee Hock abruptly left the company in 1984.

Hock was arguably an unlikely candidate for the founder of one of the most successful banking organizations of all time. He grew up extremely poor in rural Utah without indoor plumbing, but would go on to create one of the most innovative financial technologies of the 20th century.

A timeline of sports-betting scandals

This timeline examines memorable moments from three decades of sports-betting history. It breaks down key political moments, as well as some historical moments such as when the internet pushed underground bookmaking online. There are also multiple descriptions of betting scandals from 1989 on.

View a timeline of AI deployments from 2017 to 2025

The development of transformer architecture and the release of GPTs across AI labs led to rapid changes in LLM scale and power. Companies like OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Anthropic have invested billions of dollars to develop reliable, versatile models.

See nine airplane models that transformed aviation

This visual guide jumps over the dawn of modern air travel and begins with the open-cockpit biplane flown by the first scheduled airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The story of Klarna's IPO

BNPY company Klarna went public on the NYSE in September 2025, roughly 20 years after it was founded. At the time, Klarna made roughly three-quarters of its revenue via merchant fees, charging a small premium for each purchase.

See a timeline of all of Elon Musk's business ventures

From the software company Zip2 in the 1990s to Musk's Twitter acquisition (which he later renamed X), Elon Musk has run, founded, and invested in many different businesses over the past three decades.

Technological breakthroughs are spurring innovations in the industry

What if you could see your tattoos before they’re embedded in your skin? Or take a virtual visit into a local studio to work out your nerves over a first tattoo? The industry is anticipating some big technological changes, from 3D designs to sci-fi upgrades to more precise tattoo guns.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'