Fintech Forward
Gain a competitive advantage by developing an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms and technologies that drive successful fintech incumbent and startup businesses.
Learn moreNext-Gen Finance: Innovation shaping the future of fintech
As new technology continues to fuel innovation, how will this impact the rising growth of the fintech industry?
In this episode of the think ahead podcast series, Julian Birkinshaw is joined by Gary Dushnitsky, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School and Paul Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Previse to discuss the advances in technologies from the disruptors driving progress in the fintech sector. They explore the strategies that startups and incumbents can employ to stay ahead in the market, whilst looking at the interplay between distribution and innovation, as well as the dynamics of disruption.
Discover fresh perspectives and research insights from LBS
"Fintech is a booming sector and London plays a huge role, hosting many major startups and incumbents"
Whether it’s for the government, consumers or corporations, things need to be faster, better and cheaper, according to our think ahead panel. Fintech brings the innovation to develop better products, services, and business models – each of which has a huge impact on financial services and its customers.
Fintech is a booming sector and London plays a huge role, hosting many major startups and incumbents. This naturally makes London Business School an obvious place for Gary and Paul’s new online executive course: Fintech forward; strategies for incumbents and startups.
Today, there are 30,000 fintech startups, and the number is rising. But as Gary shares, fintech is not just a part of “startup kingdom”. Whilst there are many innovators, including Revolut and Wise – all with London as their home – there are many established firms innovating in this space, such as traditional banks investing heavily in blockchain.
Everyone has to innovate – startup or incumbent. It doesn’t matter: Innovate or die, as Paul says. The difference between startup and incumbent, as explored in detail in our panel, is that incumbents have longer before they die, if they fail to innovate. Incumbent banks, as Paul continues, are so entrenched in process and historic regulation, that it takes them longer to innovate. But many incumbents are overcoming this challenge, with several case studies of success penned to be investigated in the pair’s new Fintech forward course.
So whilst everyone has to innovate, it’s the tussle between startup companies and the big incumbent firms that makes it a compelling topic of exploration. Unlike the incumbents, startups can innovate quickly and easily, but they don’t possess the distribution and strength of moat that incumbents have in spades. So who wins the battle? Julian, Gary and Paul unpick this big question in this episode and as an exciting, core part of the new course.
"UK regulators are absolutely encouraging fintech innovation and it's one of the core competitive advantages London has globally"
It’s widely accepted that the world changed in 2007 when Apple launched the iPhone, snowballing a fundamental change in consumer expectations and a huge shift in demographics. As Paul explains, younger people have a completely different set of expectations. It’s a great example of how slow incumbents have been in innovating – 10 years ago, traditional banks like HSBC didn’t have a banking app, but new startups such as Revolut and Monzo did. The incumbents deployed the strategy of “wait and see”, but whilst they waited, their younger customers switched banks, wanting faster, more efficient, and tech-savvy financial services. The older generation, however, did wait and today uses a very good HSBC banking app. Though, the younger generation isn’t coming back. It’s this relationship between innovation and customer that is further explored in the course.
Another deep dive is how regulatory authorities view fintech. As Gary and Paul discuss with Julian in the podcast, UK regulators are absolutely encouraging fintech innovation and it's one of the core competitive advantages London has globally. It’s one of the best places in the world to build fintech, as UK regulators are forward thinking and pro-innovation as they want to encourage new business models and competition, according to our panellists.
This is a huge competitive advantage for our market and our industry. Many international incumbents find London an ideal hub to interact with startups, whilst startups find London as their home because of the country’s forward-looking regulators.
Listen to the podcast below to hear more about the innovation of fintech and find out what is covered in the new course: Fintech forward, strategies for incumbents and startups – offering a unique combination of academic rigour, practitioner insight and a host of world-renowned fintech leaders, to provide a compelling overview of how to succeed in the fintech landscape of the future.
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