The Future of Finance: The Impact of FinTech, AI, and Crypto on Financial Services

We are going through perhaps the most exciting period in the modern history
of financial services. The rapid acceleration of technology is enabling a fundamental reinvention of the structure of the financial institution, while at the
same time inviting the entrance of new competitors with the potential to
upend the traditional order of the industry. As with any revolution, there will
be winners and there will be losers; some will be able to adapt and thrive in
the face of these changes, while others will struggle to reinvent themselves in
the ways necessary to remain relevant. It is impossible for us to know for certain who will emerge victorious from this period of tumultuous change, but
we can examine the forces that have shaped the transformation so far, and
consider what the future might hold. This book is written for those who want
to understand the transformation that technology is driving in financial services and to consider the impact these forces might have on the future of the
industry and on themselves.
We believe that three key areas of innovation are poised to have an outsized
impact on the shape of the financial services ecosystem. These are the fintech
revolution, the advent of crypto-assets, and the rise of artificial intelligence
(AI). In the chapters that follow, we will explore each of these subjects independently, helping the reader to understand the context, background, and
fundamentals of these trends. Grasping these basic concepts in detail is critical
as it provides the foundational knowledge to explore further.
Armed with these basic concepts, we will consider the trends shaping the
future of these areas of innovation. What might the future of fintech look
like? What could be the implications of AI playing a larger role in financial
decision-making? Will crypto-assets make their way into daily use by individuals around the world? We hope that the examination of these and many
more questions will provide useful insights to a wide range of readers, from
the bank CEO debating the strategic direction of her organization to a student considering where to focus studies or start her career.
Finally, while we believe that fintech, crypto-assets, and artificial intelligence could each have a significant and long-lasting impact on the structure
of the financial system, it is the combined interaction of these three that stands
to have the most transformative impact. While the confluence of these three
areas of innovation may still be over the horizon, we devote our final chapter
to the examination of several plausible scenarios for how they could intersect,
in the hope of illustrating their potential combined power.
We hope you are as excited as we are to embark on this journey on the
future of finance!