Squid Game and the Consumer Fintech Revolution

Think of a fintech company with a debit card. Square’s Cash App. Chime. Robinhood. Stripe Issuing, and users like Ramp and Bench. All of them, virtually without exemption, are brought to you courtesy of a small financial institution that you are unlikely to have heard of (unless you work in fintech or read Terms and Conditions for fun). Durbin exem... See more

Because of this hit, big banks began charging and raising overdraft fees. For a consumer who doesn’t keep a balance, overdrafts became so expensive that it simply didn’t make sense to keep an account with a bank that would charge those. This created two opportunities: 1. Products like Dave, Status, Bridget and Earnin have emerged to provide overdra... See more

As we enter the next decade, however, consumer acceptance of new financial products & services will continue to grow, leaving new demographics open to new products & services. This would have been true regardless, but it seems clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this opportunity.