CTO Perspective: Top Trends in Fintech 2022

With global fintech funding surging to all-time highs, all areas of financial services are being disrupted by technology. The pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation and the New York FinTech Innovation Lab has a finger on the pulse of the top trends, priorities and pain points in banking, wealth management and insurance.

As we kick off the 12th year of the Lab, we’re looking for early- to growth-stage companies who are redefining the fintech industry with innovative solutions for financial institutions and insurance companies.

If your company is working on cutting-edge technology in any of our major focus areas or beyond, we encourage you to apply to the 2022 FinTech Innovation Lab New York. Applications are due December 1.

What the Customer Wants

We asked senior technology executives and those leading innovation strategies at over 40 major financial institutions about their tech priorities for the coming year. For the 2022 class, we’re looking for companies leveraging technologies in eight key areas:

• Blockchain: Blockchain enablement, distributed ledger technology, digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and multi-cloud key management solutions;
• Cyber-Tech: Cyber resiliency, fraud issues, identity detection, and security solutions;
• Data: Alternative and synthetic data, predictive analytics visualization, unstructured data, governance, privacy, and leveraging new data sources for underwriting and claims (insurtech);
• Digital Client Engagement: Partner and client engagement, customer acquisition, experience, and retention, and product customization;
• Future of Work: Human resources, next generation technology hybrid work environments (metaverse/extended reality), and organizational management;
• Inclusion & Diversity: Financial inclusion (un- and under-banked), internal diversity, and inclusion tools;
• New Insurance Products: Internet of Things, wearables and
• Sustainability: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), climate-related risk and reporting, mitigation, and modeling.

While the above list are our partners stated priorities, if you are developing a new solution that is not on this list but relevant for financial services –and cutting edge — we welcome you to apply as well.

Collaboration is Key

New York is still the place to be for fintech entrepreneurs. This year, we look forward to bringing back in-person networking and collaboration with the Lab’s executive mentors, financial institution and VC partners and alumni network of 89 companies. Companies that are selected for the FinTech Innovation Lab get matched with mentors and gain priority access to feedback from senior executives at major financial and insurance companies — key benefits of our 12-week program.

For an inside look at what you can expect, hear what our alumni have to say about their experience in the Lab.