Top 5 Takeaways from Money20/20 2018

This past week, over 11,500 industry experts and 450 influential speakers gathered in Las Vegas at Money20/20 2018 to share insights and discoveries about the changing landscape in finance, fintech, payments, CX, and more. If there’s one thing we can be certain of after so much new information, it’s that consumers are driving the future of financial services. Here are the top 5 trends we saw coming out of Money20/20 2018:

Missed the chance to meet us at the event? Set up a conversation with one of our data experts. 

1. Customer Experience Is Paramount

In an environment where consumers are more connected than ever and options are endless, customer experience has been the distinguishing factor for users choosing one brand or platform over another. According to Deidre Campbell, Global Chair at Edelman, “customer experience [has risen] to the top [as] the number one most trust-building behavior” for the first time. To maximize positive customer experience and foster genuine relationship building, it will be crucial to seamlessly incorporate the latest technology into existing platforms and be as human-centric as possible.

2. Financial Inclusion Is a Social Imperative

“There is a real financial health epidemic– stagnating wages, volatile income, expenses causing people to rely on unhealthy debt to bridge the gap,” says Scott Sanborn of Lending Club. The sheer number of people who are financially unhealthy, or even worse: financially invisible, is staggering. It exceeds billions, even in more developed economies like the United States. Fintech and financial innovations are crucial remedies to better serve these populations and their surrounding communities. Starting with more transparency and consumer empowerment, a small ripple in financial inclusion can give rise to a big wave in the world’s financial health. 

Starting with more transparency and consumer empowerment, a small ripple in financial inclusion can give rise to a big wave in the the world’s financial health.

3. Digital Identity Is Shaping Online Interactions

As the volume of online activity and transactions performed across all industries continues to rise exponentially, the question of digital identity and security continues to grow more and more pressing. Each year, cases of digital identity theft increase in frequency; meanwhile, nearly one out of five financially excluded adults around the world are denied access because of their inability to prove their identities. Complicating the matter, users take on different personas or identities across various platforms, as identity strategist and consultant Bianca Lopes describes: “Only 4 in 500 use the same photo for LinkedIn as Wechat.” In this rapidly changing landscape, nontraditional methods such as biometrics and alternative data are proving to be incredibly useful in verifying and authenticating identities. Moving forward, these technologies may be the best solutions for securing and and offering broader financial access.

4. Banks Respond to Innovative Non-Banks Extending Credit

With the flexibility and innovation unrivaled by those of traditional banks, non-banks are extending new credit to credit invisibles and small businesses. That means that there are now simpler and more affordable alternatives to lending and borrowing using high-interest credit cards. In response, banks are stepping up and leveraging their larger economies of scale and extensive resources to take part in extending credit to underbanked segments. David Kimball of Prosper and Ken Rees of Elevate expanded on the future of online and marketplace lending, and the implications of competition and innovation in the lending space.

5. Targeting the Unbanked and Underbanked Offers Incredible Potential

In case you missed it, Urjanet founder and CEO Sanjoy Malik spoke at Money20/20 2018 as well. As of last year, almost a quarter of Americans were still classified as “unbanked” or “underbanked,” with limited access to traditional financial services. The global unbanked and underbanked population, however, proves to be highly relevant and valuable, as expanding banking services to them can help bring in $380 billion in new revenue worldwide. Urjanet’s alternative data platform provides a new access channel for consumer-permissioned data at scale to bridge the lending gap. Download our eBook to learn more about how alternative credit data can impact the unbanked and underbanked.

Expanding banking services to the underbanked can bring $380 billion in new revenue.

What was your biggest takeaway from Money20/20 2018? Share it with us on Twitter.

You may also like:

• Understanding the Credit Scoring Landscape
• 7 Money20/20 Sessions We’re Most Excited to See
• From Underbanked to Understood: The Rise of Alternative Credit Scoring

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