The Future of FinTech as explained by Phin Upham

By Phin Upham

Phin Upham recently spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference about the future of financial technology, or fin tech. Banking is in dire need of help. Methodologies that have been practiced for at least the past 100 years are no longer viable in today’s financial climate.

In order to stave off irreparable damage to the middle class, the industry needs to respond to changing needs. Unfortunately, regulation has bogged down banks and made them slow to react. Financial institutions aren’t walking away from deals. They are investing in smaller startups that are better equipped to handle the stressors.

Building a Sandbox

One of the biggest failures that we’ve seen in recent memory is the over abundance of “digital wallet” style applications. Payment processors and digital wallets fail to get at the real problem of consumer debt, but there is no immediate payoff to experimenting methods on how to solve these challenges. What’s needed is a safe space built for experimentation.

A sandbox lets smaller startups build without fear. The creator is meant to and the money has already been earmarked for that purpose. With sandboxes, startups may experiment with crypto currency or personal loans with lower interest rates.

Regulation

Part of the demand for startups is the agility they possess. Big Banks must preserve cash and follow certain rules agile startups often don’t wrestle with because of size or niche. Regulation isn’t stopping banks from doing business, but it’s not creating the kind of innovation that the laws may have intended. If big banks work with smaller companies in the future, the interaction between consumers and banks will change dramatically.

Phin Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or Facebook page.