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Fintech Newsletters- OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK
New fintech newsletters covering topics ranging from neobanks to BigTech to cryptocurrencies to super apps have emerged over the past year. There are newsletters out there doing a good job of reporting what’s going on in fintech. This list includes seven doing a great job of explaining what it means.
A couple of points before we get to the list, though:
- Some of these newsletters have fee-based versions. I’m not endorsing—nor do I have any financial interest in—the paid newsletter if there is one.
- The list is no particular order and does NOT represent the opinions of Forbes. Do NOT make claims like “Forbes ranked my newsletter #3” (or whatever number your newsletter is at on the list) or I’ll take it off the list.
- Apologies to anyone publishing a new fintech newsletter who feels it should be on this list but isn’t.
The Fintech Blueprint by Lex Sokolin
What it’s about: According to Sokolin, “Finance is being pulled apart by the forces of frontier technology. From AI to blockchain and crypto assets, to mixed reality, chatbots, neobanks, and roboadvisors—the industry will never be the same. Its fee pools will collapse, attention platforms will aggregate users, the infrastructure will be digitized, and generations will change.”
Why it’s good: There’s a lot to choose from here—Sokolin does short takes, long takes, and podcasts. Few newsletters get into the depth of analysis that this one does. Sokolin goes deep on the impact of emerging technologies, how Big Tech is recreating industries, the emergence of super apps, the prospects for decentralized finance, and his discussion of whether or not Facebook Messenger chatbots have failed finance.
Fintech Takes by Alex Johnson
What it’s about: Alex Johnson of FICO says Fintech Takes “is a recurring attempt to thoughtfully dissect the most interesting financial industry and technology news and ideas and spotlight opportunities for all of us—banks, credit unions, startups, vendors, consultants—to do better.”
Favorite posts: The Stories We Tell Ourselves About Open Banking. Johnson is spot on when he says “We often fall into the trap of believing that a more competitive, transparent, and portable banking future will be both imminent and an obvious improvement on the status quo, even when the available evidence doesn’t necessarily support those conclusions.” Also check out his discussion of what embedded finance can’t do.
Fintech Brain Food by Simon Taylor
What it’s about: Simon Taylor, co-founder and Head of Ventures at 11:FS, may only be two months into his new Fintech Brain Food newsletter, but he’s been blogging on 11: FS’ site for years. For someone who is among the most influential thought leaders on distributed ledger technology, the new blog appears to be more focused on the more mundane world of neobanks and banking as a service.
