Trends & Signals
Fintech
Explore the latest insights, thought leadership, and research from FCAT®
Ask an FCAT Researcher: Jeff Cain on Dynamic Paychecks
October 14, 2024
Direct deposit, it seems, is on the verge of an extreme makeover.
A Q&A on Self-Custody Wallets with Jameson Lopp
November 10, 2021
The following is excerpted from an interview with Jameson Lopp, a bitcoin engineer and the CTO of a crypto start-up, Casa. In this interview, Jameson discusses some of the trends seen in custodial and non-custodial wallets and talks about ways to manage coins without the aid of an intermediary. The interviewer is Parth Gargava, a senior software engineer in FCAT’s blockchain incubator.
Video Games and the Rise of NFTs as a Digital Asset Class
October 26, 2021
Blockchain-based video games promise to accelerate the adoption of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and greatly expand the digital asset ecosystem. By making in-game items NFTs that are embedded in the blockchain, players can take ownership of the digital assets they accumulate while gaming and then sell or trade them for real-world value. Such functionality could restructure the economics of the $175 billion gaming industry and turn legions of gamers into digital asset investors.
How We Do Research
February 4, 2021
FCAT Research is a bet on the value of outside-in thinking, a rigorous analysis of external trends that we believe will have a dramatic impact on our business, our industry, and on the lives of our customers and associates. Our goal is to help Fidelity associates reimagine the future of our business. So where do we look for the most promising trends?
The Future of Finance Might Be Autonomous
December 3, 2020
Until recently, the cognitive load of almost all financial decisions has remained with individual users. But now, the ability to source and collect reams of data, combined with rapid progress in artificial intelligence, lays the groundwork for autonomous finance – freeing individuals from routine decisions, so they can focus on living the life they want.
Embedded Finance: Finance-as-a-Service
November 20, 2020
As the as-a-Service business model keeps expanding from infrastructure to applications, financial services capabilities and products are being re-built to benefit from, and participate in, the platform economy.
Green Fintechs Innovate to Combat Climate Change
November 10, 2020
Just as COVID-19 has inspired a wave of invention across industries, a new breed of green fintechs are tackling climate change via financial innovation in payment, lending, trading, investment, and insurance.
The Promise and Peril of the Latest Tiny Technologies
October 30, 2020
Technologies have been getting smaller, and smarter, for a long time. But recent developments in miniaturization have changed the game. In medicine, nanotherapies – where nanoparticles (larger than an atom or a molecule, but smaller than a bulk solid) deliver a drug to a given location in the body – are within reach. Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine found that drug-coated nanoparticles reduce the buildup of plaque in mouse arteries without causing negative side effects.1 Drones also are shrinking, some as small as a quarter. And advances in materials design mean that sensors and networking capabilities can be baked right into walls and desks for stronger, more energy efficient buildings. Even space exploration is getting small; CubeSat’s mini satellite is a mere 10 x 10 x 10 cm.
Seven Trends Shaping the Future of Fintech
October 1, 2020
In just five years the fintech landscape has shifted from a focus on solving vertical narrow problems, to being driven by broader horizontal trends. We have identified seven of what we believe are the most important trends shaping the future of fintech.