Innovation in Financial Services

Abstract

Two respected magazines, Fast Company and Business Insider, published lists1 of the top ten globally most innovative companies in financial services in 2014. They did it almost simultaneously, so both titles had access to the same information universe when preparing these lists. And yet, they are completely different. No single innovator company in financial services appears on both lists. It suggests that this perception — what makes a great, possibly disruptive innovation in the financial services industry — is highly subjective. But those two lists have common features. Almost all the companies have been founded in the United States, one in Israel, one partly in Estonia, and two companies specializing in mobile payments are located in developing countries: M-Pesa in Kenya and Paga in Nigeria. It appears that — at least according to these two magazines — the United States holds almost a monopoly for innovations in financial services.