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FintechFrom the tap-to-pay credit card system you use to buy your morning coffee, to the budgeting app that helps you determine whether you should’ve made that coffee at home instead, “fintech” is a broad term that stands for “financial technology” and refers to technological innovations in the financial services sector.
The roughly $340B fintech industry encompasses everything from mobile banking apps and robo-advisers to digital payment software. Examples include buy-now, pay-later apps like Klarna, payment processing technologies for businesses like Stripe, cryptocurrency innovations like crypto exchange Coinbase, and peer-to-peer payment services such as Venmo and PayPal.
But despite the industry’s breadth, fintech companies all have something in common: They aim to make various aspects of financial transactions more efficient and user-friendly.
The global fintech industry is growing quickly—it currently employs roughly 300,000 people, and is projected to be worth about $1T by 2032.Explore Fintech
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Fintech companies made it easier for merchants to request tips, leading to fatigueIn 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. NY TimesFintech relies on technology, not physical location, to serve financial customersMost 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. McKinsey & CompanyExplore a visual timeline of fintech’s history and growthFrom the debut of the world’s first ATM in 1967, to Apple Pay launching in 2014, financial technologies have come a very long way in a relatively short historical period. A colorful visual timeline highlights some of the most important milestones along the way. 16best.netFintech could help democratize access to bankingMore than 1.3 billion adults worldwide do not have access to basic banking services as of this writing—but some experts believe that the fintech industry can help with that by targeting groups of people who have historically been underserved by traditional banks. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)Key moments in fintech history include the transatlantic cable’s invention and E-Trade’s foundingFounded 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 New York TimesThe fintech industry was worth roughly $340B as of 2025Venture 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. Going VCTencent's revenue streams include fintech, advertising, games, and socialHeadquartered in China’s Shenzhen tech hub, Tencent currently generates revenue through services like WeChat, WeBank, and Tencent Games. Each of these services (and their associated sectors) made up roughly a third of Tencent’s 2024 annual revenue. TencentHow the checking account has evolved into a platform of features rather than a productThe 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. SpotifyWhen he first enrolled at Princeton University, Jeff Bezos wanted to study physicsHe later changed his major to electrical engineering and computer science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and received job offers at Intel, Nokia, and Accenture, but he declined those offers in favor of a job at a fintech startup. YouTube72% of Americans say tipping is now expected in more places than it was 5 years agoThis change has been driven by multiple factors, including point-of-sale systems from fintech companies such as Square that prompt customers for tips directly. Americans also increased tipping during the pandemic in an effort to support local businesses struggling financially due to a lack of physical foot traffic. Richmond FedThe Dow now tracks 30 major US companies across various industriesSince 1928, the DJIA has included 30 firms. Today's group spans technology, healthcare, and finance—with Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and Coca-Cola among its most recognized components. CNBCThe Nasdaq was founded in 1971, marking the debut of electronic tradingThe Nasdaq stock exchange arguably invented electronic trading, making it a key part of fintech history. It’s often used as a benchmark for how the tech industry is performing. Yahoo FinanceThe BNPL industry boomed amid a surge in online shopping during pandemic-era lockdownsThe buy now, pay later industry allows consumers to buy something immediately and pay in installments without the need for lengthy application and approval processes or high credit scores—and fintech companies Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay are leading the charge by targeting young adults. WSJThe 2024 Synapse collapse took $90M of people’s life savings with itIn 2024, a banking middleman called Synapse declared bankruptcy. Unfortunately, it also locked roughly 100,000 Americans out of their own money, which prompted a class action lawsuit. The IndependentConsumers will use digital payment processing for nearly $40T in spending by 2028That's just one signal of the industry's massive growth. Investments in the global fintech industry have grown from $4B in 2010 to $92.3B in 2021, as both businesses and consumers seem to quickly adopt new fintech products, from digital payment apps to robo-advisers. BusinessAI may help the 1.4 billion people worldwide who lack access to basic financial servicesArtificial intelligence is fuelling a financial technology transformation in some countries where an outsized number of residents lack access to basic financial services, including Brazil and Nigeria. World Economic ForumThe first ATM—dubbed a 'cash dispenser'—was installed in 1967 in LondonSpecifically, 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. American BankerSahin Boydas was 2024’s most active angel investorOthers who were among 2024’s top angel investors in terms of their number of angel investments in unique companies included Google’s Jeff Dean, Solana’s Anatoly Yakovenko, and more. Lenny's NewsletterWhat is buy now, pay later?The buy now, pay later industry allows consumers to buy something immediately and pay in installments, typically without the need for applications or credit scores associated with credit cards. BNPL has boomed in the last decade, led by fintech companies Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, which have targeted young adults. Some critics say BNPL is a reinvented version of payday loans that allow borrowers easy access to cash with relatively few barriers. The Wall Street Journal
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