Adventure Capital
Can Big Tech disrupt the global economy?
If you’re like me, you may remember that bygone era when Americans rolled up to drive-through windows and exchanged money with live bank tellers. Then ATMs arrived and forever altered the banking industry. Today, financial services is undergoing another revolution as consumers bypass visits to brick-and-mortar branch offices in favor of mobile and online banking.
To meet changing demands, a new breed of players is getting in on the action. A recent Experian report reveals that a rising number of personal loan balances are going to non-traditional lenders. Unencumbered by outdated legacy software, these new players are using technologies like blockchain, payment apps, AI, and mobile banking to disrupt the staid financial services industry. Thanks to digital transformation, the era of FinTech has arrived.
A Match Made in Cyber-Heaven
Now two of the world’s biggest tech companies are getting in on the action. In 2019, Apple launched Apple Card, a credit card that relies on the Apple ecosystem to process financial transactions. Not to be outdone, Facebook is rolling out Libra, a new cryptocurrency, in 2020. If these ventures gain traction, Big Tech will fundamentally alter the way we spend our money.
