Technology and Finance

FINTECH IN 2025
Technology and Finance

Fintech in 2025 The Friend, the Force, and the Fear

Fintech in 2025 The Friend, the Force, and the Fear By Jane Stevens In just a few short years, the fintech revolution has shifted from an innovation buzzword to a central pillar of modern economic life. In 2025, fintech, short for financial technology is no longer the future; it’s the present. From multinational corporations to a single mother transferring school fees via mobile wallet, the reach of fintech is universal and transformative. But with every revolution comes both liberation and uncertainty. While fintech has democratized finance, removed middlemen, and opened up opportunities, it has also introduced new risks: data breaches, overreliance on AI, and the ethical grey zones of digital credit systems. This article dives into how fintech is making life easier for organizations and individuals, the remarkable benefits it delivers, and the very real concerns that lie beneath the surface. The Fintech Ecosystem of 2025 Simpler, Smarter, Seamless Imagine a world where opening a business account takes five minutes, where employees are paid instantly across borders, where farmers in rural Africa get insured against climate risk with a few taps on a smartphone, and where teenagers invest in global stocks from their school desks. That world is now. For Organization 1. Real-Time Finance Management: Thanks to AI-powered dashboards and predictive analytics, businesses today enjoy real-time insights into their cash flows, liabilities, and forecasts. Tools like embedded finance and API-based platforms enable businesses to not just track but actively optimize their finances with minimal human intervention. 2. Streamlined Payments and Payroll: Cross-border payments, once plagued by delays and high fees, are now handled by blockchain-backed systems or neobanks with negligible latency and cost. Payroll systems powered by fintech can disburse wages in real-time, even adjusting taxes and compliance regulations per jurisdiction automatically. 3. Access to Capital: Where traditional banks hesitated, fintech lenders stepped in. Through peer-to-peer lending, invoice financing, and AI-based credit scoring, fintech firms offer faster, often fairer, access to credit. SMEs and startups, once starved for capital, now have alternative finance channels with customized terms. 4. Compliance and Risk Management: RegTech, regulatory technology has grown in tandem with fintech. Automated KYC/AML tools, fraud detection systems, and real-time compliance monitoring help organizations stay on the right side of regulation without building bloated back offices. For the Common Man: 1. Financial Inclusion: In developing countries, fintech is closing the financial access gap. Mobile money platforms have replaced the need for physical banks, enabling millions to save, borrow, invest, and insure without ever entering a branch. 2. Personal Finance Tools: Budgeting apps, robo-advisors, and open banking tools empower individuals to control their finances with unprecedented ease. AI-based assistants can now monitor spending, warn of upcoming bills, suggest savings strategies, or even invest surplus cash intelligently. 3. Access to Microcredit and BNPL: Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and microloan platforms have made it possible for people to access goods and services even with limited cash on hand ideal for emergencies, essential purchases, or building credit histories. 4. Borderless Remittances: Migrant workers no longer need to rely on expensive and delayed remittance services. Blockchain-backed or decentralized platforms offer near-instant international transfers with tiny fees impacting entire families and communities back home. The Fruits of Fintech Tangible Benefits Redefining Finance Fintech has matured into more than just a technological layer; it’s now a socio-economic catalyst. The fruits of fintech are many, but here are the most important: 1. Democratization of Financial Services Traditional financial institutions often catered to the wealthy or the well-documented. Fintech broke that model. Whether you’re an unbanked laborer in Bangladesh or a solopreneur in Ukraine, fintech opens the gates of modern finance through mobile apps and biometric authentication. 2. Enhanced Customer Experience Gone are the days of waiting in bank lines or navigating complex forms. User-first design, AI chatbots, and instant support have made banking feel more like streaming a movie, quick, intuitive, and on-demand. 3. Innovation in Credit Scoring Conventional credit systems relied heavily on historical debt behavior. In 2025, fintech uses alternative data: utility payments, mobile usage, social behavior, and real-time earnings to assess creditworthiness. This has created new pathways to borrowing for those once deemed “risky.” 4. Financial Literacy Through Gamification Fintech firms have increasingly turned to gamification rewards, challenges, and progress trackers to teach users how to save, invest, and manage debt. It’s finance education, disguised as fun. 5. Ecosystem Integration Fintech doesn’t work in isolation. It’s now part of super apps, e-commerce platforms, insurance companies, real estate apps, and even dating apps. Whether you’re ordering groceries or looking for a mortgage, fintech quietly handles the backend—making every transaction smoother. The Scare of Fintech Under the Hood of the Hype Fintech’s glossy interface often masks serious risks that regulators, users, and developers must now confront. 1. Data Privacy & Surveillance Capitalism The more personalized fintech becomes, the more data it gathers. Every click, transaction, and hesitation is logged and analyzed. This deep surveillance raises ethical concerns: who owns this data? Can it be sold, misused, or manipulated? 2. Algorithmic Bias AI and machine learning are only as good as their training data. Several fintech systems have come under fire for discriminating against certain demographics, genders, or regions. The risk? Financial exclusion gets automated and scaled. 3. Overreliance on Digital Systems The convenience of fintech can lead to dangerous dependence. In outages, cyberattacks, or internet blackouts, entire economies can grind to a halt. People may find themselves unable to access funds, pay bills, or prove identity. 4. Rise of Digital Debt BNPL and microcredit systems, while empowering, have also led to rising levels of consumer debt, especially among younger users. With little financial education and easy credit, some fall into debt traps, digital in origin, but very real in consequence. 5. Regulatory Grey Zones Fintech often innovates faster than laws can keep up. Crypto platforms, DeFi protocols, and digital asset firms operate in a murky legal space. Consumers may not always be protected, and systemic risks could emerge unchecked. 6. Cybersecurity Threats With great digitization comes

Muboriz Muborakshoev
Technology and Finance

Muboriz Muborakshoev CEO Of Astel Ventures

Muboriz Muborakshoev Redefining Investment Intelligence Through AI at Astel Ventures By Jane Stevens In the fast-evolving world of finance and technology, Astel Ventures has emerged as a force of innovation, promising to reshape how investment firms, exchanges, and startups conduct research, due diligence, and investor relations. At the helm is Muboriz Muborakshoev , a Central Asian entrepreneur whose journey from humble beginnings to launching a cutting-edge AI company epitomizes vision, resilience, and deep market insight. Astel Ventures was founded to solve one of the most pressing challenges in investment advisory and business development: the inefficiency of manual data analysis. In a typical investment environment, pattern recognition, research, and due diligence are time-intensive tasks that can take analysts three to four days to complete. Astel’s platform reduces that process to just three to four hours. Through the integration of artificial intelligence and big data, Astel empowers its users to perform tasks faster and more accurately, transforming average team members into superhumans of productivity. Muboriz and his team have designed their internal systems to mandate the use of AI across all workstreams. Central to their performance is expertise in prompt engineering, knowing the right questions to ask and the right tools to deploy for each use case. The system doesn’t just assist analysts; it becomes an extension of their thought process, consuming vast datasets, identifying critical patterns, and accelerating decision-making in a way humans alone cannot match. At its core, Astel is enabling organizations to scale operations without increasing headcount. The platform allows existing teams to handle volumes of work that would traditionally require several new hires. This shift mirrors a broader trend among large corporations such as Salesforce, where leaders publicly state they are no longer expanding teams and instead lean into AI for efficiency and cost management. One of Astel’s standout features is its ability to conduct detailed due diligence by analyzing 40 to 50 documents and producing high-quality investment reports in a matter of hours. This speed advantage is critical in a competitive investment landscape where being faster often means winning the deal. Another key capability is relationship mapping. Astel can help clients identify their warmest investor connections in mere hours, a task that would otherwise take weeks, making fundraising and networking smarter and more targeted. Muboriz brings years of relevant industry experience to the venture. Prior to founding Astel, he served as Head of Venture Capital for a global platform that supported fund managers in raising institutional capital. Before that, he held leadership roles in corporate finance and as a commercial director for a firm that connected non-executive directors, investors, and company founders. These experiences were instrumental in shaping his understanding of what works, what doesn’t, and what the market truly needs.  The company’s mission goes far beyond technology. It is driven by a desire to help clients grow, increase economic output, and make better decisions at greater speed. Astel doesn’t just serve customers; it partners with them long term. By continuously gathering feedback and staying close to the evolving needs of users, the team ensures the platform remains relevant, effective, and ahead of the curve. The United Arab Emirates serves as the company’s strategic launchpad. With its influx of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, business-friendly policies, and over $22 billion in foreign direct investment last year, the UAE provides fertile ground for innovation and scale. Compared to the UK or Europe, where regulatory complexity and slower growth can present challenges, the UAE offers speed, access to capital, and a future-focused ecosystem, particularly for sectors like fintech, AI, and sustainability. Despite global advancements in AI, many companies still struggle with outdated, manual processes in their investor relations. Astel addresses these gaps by offering tools that automate the identification of warm investor leads, hyper-personalize outreach, and perform investor profiling in a fraction of the time traditional methods would take. For companies that need to research 100 potential investors, what would normally take several days can now be completed within hours through Astel’s platform, freeing teams to focus on more strategic initiatives. What truly differentiates Astel is its proactive approach to innovation. The team constantly evaluates AI advancements, fine-tunes its prompt engineering, and maintains the highest standards of data quality. Weekly client interviews ensure that every product update is aligned with actual market needs. Looking ahead, Astel Ventures is working on developing an AI assistant that functions like a fully capable investment analyst. This AI would not only execute commands but also offer intelligent reasoning, much like a senior team member. It could question instructions, assess their relevance, and even reject tasks if they don’t align with data-backed logic. That kind of self-regulating AI support is shaping the next frontier of intelligent automation. Ultimately, Astel aims to deliver up to 60 percent efficiency gains in analytical and pattern-recognition tasks across sectors. In a world where being AI-enabled is quickly becoming non-negotiable, Astel Ventures offers a compelling path forward, one where intelligence, both human and artificial, works seamlessly together to define the future of investment.

Magnav FINTECH FIFTEEN
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Magnav FINTECH FIFTEEN 2025’s Vanguard of Innovation

MAGNAVFINTECH FIFTEEN 2025’S VANGUARD OF INNOVATION In a financial world undergoing rapid digital transformation, the line between tradition and disruption continues to blur. The year 2025 has proven to be a pivotal point in the fintech landscape a moment when AI, blockchain, embedded finance, and neobanking aren’t just fringe concepts or startup jargon but fully integrated elements of global financial ecosystems. Behind this unprecedented evolution are the individuals reshaping finance not only through technology but through vision, strategy, and relentless execution. We call them the Fintech Fifteen a cohort of trailblazers whose influence, thought leadership, and impact are driving the future of financial services across borders and verticals. This carefully curated list of fifteen global influencers doesn’t simply include founders of unicorns or high-profile CEOs. It also embraces the authors, strategists, analysts, and advisors whose behind-the-scenes work is steering policy, regulation, and digital transformation inside some of the world’s most complex financial institutions. These individuals through newsletters, podcasts, public speaking, advisory roles, and direct leadership have built bridges between compliance and code, between Wall Street and Web3, and between financial inclusion and profitability. At a time when trust in traditional banking institutions is being re-evaluated, and technology adoption accelerates amidst increasing geopolitical and regulatory pressure, the role of these influencers becomes even more critical. They are not only interpreting seismic shifts but are actively shaping how governments, corporations, and consumers navigate them. Their work spans continents from Simon Taylor’s pioneering frameworks on AI regulation in the UK, to Olugbenga Agboola’s mission to empower African SMEs through Flutterwave, to Efi Pylarinou’s insights on the convergence of decentralization and institutional finance across Europe and the Middle East. Their influence is multidimensional. Some, like Nik Storonsky of Revolut and Guillaume Pousaz of Checkout.com, are scaling global fintech platforms with staggering speed and ambition. Others, like Ron Shevlin and Jason Mikula, have built reputations as the industry’s most respected critical voices, decoding the real versus the hype in an often overly optimistic sector. Figures such as Anne Boden and Theodora Lau remind us that fintech is not just about speed and scale, but about inclusion, human-centric design, and long-term impact. This list also captures the diversity of roles that shape fintech today. Whether it’s Leda Glyptis pushing cultural transformation inside legacy banks, Lex Sokolin architecting token economies for the decentralized future, or Brett King envisioning Banking 5.0 long before others saw it coming each of these names represents a different pillar of the fintech edifice being built in real-time. The Fintech Fifteen are not static figureheads but dynamic catalysts. They are thinkers who execute and doers who think. They embody a shift from finance that was once opaque and monolithic to one that is increasingly modular, programmable, and accessible. Their ability to merge technical sophistication with business acumen, public communication with policy influence, and entrepreneurial grit with institutional scale is what earns them their place on this list. In recognizing these fifteen individuals, we acknowledge the architects of tomorrow’s financial infrastructure. We celebrate their roles as not just influencers in the narrow sense of social media popularity, but as decision-makers, educators, builders, and reformers. They do not merely reflect the state of fintech, they are writing its next chapter. This is more than a list it’s a statement about where fintech is headed, and who is steering the ship. Welcome to the Fintech Fifteen of 2025 a definitive guide to the people who matter most in the world of financial innovation.

Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine

Simon Taylor Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine S imon Taylor is currently the Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine, an AI-driven payments and compliance platform focused on fraud and regulatory oversight in fintech. With over two decades of experience spanning blockchain research at Barclays to consultancy with 11FS, Simon has become one of fintech’s most respected voices through his writing, speaking, and strategic thought leadership.  His widely read Fintech Brainfood newsletter boasts a subscriber base exceeding 40,000, including financiers, CEOs, VCs, and policymakers, illustrating his deep influence in shaping industry perspectives. Taylor’s commentary consistently emphasizes the intersection of innovation, regulation, and practical adoption, particularly in emerging areas like AI agents in financial services. In early 2025, Sardine released a new white paper developed under Taylor’s guidance: the Agentic Oversight Framework, offering scalable best practices for deploying AI agent technology in regulated banking environments.  Simon is a frequent guest on major fintech podcasts where his communication style, clear, grounded, and forward-looking, allows practitioners to navigate complex topics such as AI governance, AML automation, and fraud prevention. His LinkedIn posts reveal his analytical mindset, with commentary on future-driving trends like “bank-to-pay” rails, stablecoins, and wallet-based rebundling of finance.  Taylor’s influence combines content creation, strategic thought leadership, and technological consulting, marking him as central to bridging fintech innovation with the practical demands of compliance and risk. He plays a pivotal role in translating complex AI developments into actionable frameworks for banks and fintech companies. With a finger on the pulse of regulation and emerging technology, Simon continues to guide both incumbents and startups toward more resilient and intelligent financial services.

Nik Storonsky Co-founder and CEO of Revolut
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Nik Storonsky Co-founder and CEO of Revolut

Nik Storonsky Co-founder and CEO of Revolut  Nikolay “Nik” Storonsky, co-founder and CEO of Revolut, has been a dominant force in global fintech disruption. Since launching the company in 2015, his vision has taken Revolut from a prepaid currency card startup to Europe’s most valuable private fintech, boasting over 50 million customers, significant profitability, and a valuation around $45 billion.  Storonsky’s approach fuses aggressive expansion, product diversity, and market ambition. The company now offers crypto trading, wage advances, stockbroking, mortgages, and global ATM services, underlining his commitment to building a truly global financial app.  In 2025, Storonsky negotiated a high-stakes compensation scheme tied to a future $150 billion valuation, potentially granting him an additional 10% stake in Revolut if growth targets are hit. He recently consolidated control through ownership restructuring, now holding over 25% of the company both indirect and direct, affirming his influence and long-term commitment. Meanwhile, Revolut is pursuing full UK bank status, multiple international licenses, and preparing a likely IPO in either New York or London.  Storonsky’s leadership style is driven, detail-oriented, and fearless, a former derivatives trader who emphasizes execution, data, and efficiency in scaling Revolut rapidly across continents. His ability to grow both revenue and user base while diversifying into multiple financial verticals has made him one of the most influential fintech innovators worldwide

Guillaume Pousaz – Founder and CEO of Checkout.com
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Guillaume Pousaz Founder and CEO of Checkout.com

Guillaume Pousaz Founder and CEO of Checkout.com  Guillaume Pousaz is the Swiss-born founder and CEO of Checkout.com, the global payments infrastructure company launched in 2012. Pousaz has built Checkout.com into a fintech powerhouse, facilitating online transactions for major global companies such as Alibaba, Wise, Ikea, and Remitly, with revenue growth of 45% year-on-year and full-year profitability targeted for 2025.  A self-made billionaire with an estimated net worth in the billions, Pousaz is notable for funding Checkout.com heavily internally until its first external raise in 2019. Since then, he has led the company through multiple rounds of investment while expanding the business globally. Cutting-edge in innovation, Checkout.com is expanding into direct acquiring in new geographies like Canada and Brazil in 2025, moving from being a pure processor to owning deeper market infrastructure. Pousaz also leads with philanthropy through Pousaz Philanthropies, focusing on child safety and education, demonstrating how fintech leadership can extend into social impact. Under his leadership, Checkout.com is reshaping how merchant services operate, offering unified platforms that incorporate analytics, fraud detection, cross-border payments, and local acquiring.  Pousaz’s influence is felt not only through company performance but also in investor circles, where Checkout.com’s growth trajectory is a benchmark among fintech scale-ups.

Olugbenga Agboola Founder and CEO of Flutterwave
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Olugbenga Agboola Founder and CEO of Flutterwave

Olugbenga Agboola Founder and CEO of Flutterwave Olugbenga “GB” Agboola is the Nigerian-born founder and CEO of Flutterwave, Africa’s homegrown payments unicorn. Since launching in 2016, Flutterwave has processed billions in cross-border and local payments, expanded into over 30 African countries, and achieved a multibillion-dollar valuation.  The company’s Send app is now live in almost every U.S. state, expanding its global footprint. Flutterwave’s prominence earned it inclusion in TIME’s Most Influential Companies list in 2025, showcasing its global impact and leadership in digital commerce infrastructure. Agboola’s recognition includes national awards and influence within the diaspora and global fintech ecosystem. His educational background includes studies at the University of Westminster and MIT Sloan, blending technical prowess with strategic foresight. Beyond Flutterwave, Agboola serves on global advisory boards including the U.S.–Africa Business Center and the Wall Street Journal CEO Council.  Agboola’s vision is rooted in building scalable infrastructure to empower Africa’s SMEs and global remittance flows. His leadership combines market intuition, platform building, and a clear emphasis on inclusion, placing him at the forefront of global fintech innovation and regional impact.

Brett King Fintech Futurist, Author, and Entrepreneur
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Brett King Fintech Futurist, Author, and Entrepreneur

Brett King Fintech Futurist, Author, and Entrepreneur Brett King is a globally recognised fintech futurist, author, and entrepreneur. As co-founder of mobile banking pioneer Moven, he helped seed the mobile and neobanking revolution. King’s influence extends far beyond a single startup; he hosts the top fintech radio show and podcast, Breaking Banks, with tens of millions of listeners in over 180 countries, and regularly advises governments and regulators on fintech strategy.  In 2025, Brett King joined the Global Advisory Board for WebAccountPlus AI Innovation Ltd., teaming up with industry legends to chart next-generation financial infrastructure beyond Open Banking. He frequently shares insights on Banking 5.0 and how AI is reshaping finance—themes he also explores in global conferences and in his writing.  King remains a prolific contributor to industry media and a keynote speaker at major fintech summits. His work bridges future vision, policy influence, and technological innovation. He has authored several best-selling books including Bank 4.0 and The Rise of Technosocialism, offering deep insight into the social and technological transformations reshaping finance.  Brett King’s legacy is rooted not just in predictions, but in actively shaping the direction of fintech. His ability to synthesize macro-trends and communicate their implications for financial institutions makes him one of the most impactful voices in the industry today.

Anne Boden Founder of Starling Bank
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Anne Boden Founder of Starling Bank

Anne Boden Founder of Starling Bank Anne Boden is a pioneer in the digital banking revolution and the founder of Starling Bank, one of the UK’s leading challenger banks. Her journey from traditional banking to fintech innovation embodies the transformative spirit of the sector. Before launching Starling in 2014, she held senior roles at some of the world’s largest financial institutions including Lloyds Bank, Standard Chartered, UBS, and ABN AMRO.  Anne was motivated to launch Starling Bank after observing the inefficiencies and outdated systems that plagued traditional banking. Starling emerged as a mobile-first bank focused on transparency, real-time data, and customer empowerment. Under her leadership, the bank became profitable, reached millions of customers, and launched innovative services for SMEs, personal banking, and embedded finance.  In 2023, Boden stepped down as CEO, marking the end of a groundbreaking tenure but continuing her involvement as a board member. Her book ‘Banking On It’ details the challenges of launching a digital bank in a heavily regulated, male-dominated industry and has become an essential read for fintech entrepreneurs.  Anne’s influence lies in demonstrating that it’s possible to build a bank from scratch with a vision for inclusion, speed, and tech-first service. As the first woman to found a UK bank, she’s an inspirational figure in fintech and beyond, often speaking at global forums and championing diversity and innovation in financial services.

Ron Shevlin Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors
Fintech, Technology and Finance

Ron Shevlin Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors

Ron Shevlin Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors Ron Shevlin is one of the most respected voices in banking and fintech, known for his sharp insights, strategic commentary, and in-depth research. He is the Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors and a Senior Contributor to Forbes, where he writes the popular column ‘Fintech Snark Tank.’  With decades of experience advising banks and credit unions on digital strategy and innovation, Shevlin has developed a reputation for challenging hype and promoting practical approaches to fintech. His work spans topics like embedded finance, banking-as-a-service, neobank economics, and customer engagement strategies.  He is a regular keynote speaker at major financial services conferences and is considered a must-follow thought leader on social media. Ron is also the author of ‘Smarter Bank,’ a book that lays out the principles of customer-centric digital transformation in banking. He is known for blending wit with data-driven insights, helping executives and fintech founders navigate an increasingly complex financial landscape.  Shevlin’s impact on the industry lies not in building startups but in shaping the strategic thinking of those who do. His influence spans traditional banks, emerging fintechs, investors, and regulators, all of whom look to his analysis for clarity, critique, and direction. In a noisy space, Shevlin remains one of the clearest and most trusted voices

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