• Hannah Fitzsimons, CEO at Cashflows  


• 15.12.2022 11:30 am
#payments

Innovation in the fintech and payments space next year won’t be stalled by recession. Quite the contrary. In fact, with more merchants and shoppers looking to financial and payments technology for additional convenience, support and security amid testing times, demand for new payment products and solutions will increase exponentially. This level of demand necessitates sustained investment in the space to build upon the success of the past year, and with this we will see greater investment from Big Tech. 

We’re already starting to see Big Tech companies make significant acquisitions of payment companies, with $1.2 billion invested into 14 fintech's last year. This is a trend that is set to continue as payments and fintech is touted as the next focus for Big Tech companies looking for a piece of the payments pie. It’s getting increasingly easier for non-banks and Big Tech companies to offer financial services products through embedded finance, with the goal being to lock customers into vast product ecosystems. Big tech companies will not be completely let loose on the payments industry, as new regulations are being introduced. The UK are establishing a pro-competition regime for digital markets, while the EU are implementing the Digital Markets Act to ensure large online platforms behave in a fair way. Regardless, with considerable influence and capital, we will certainly see further Big Tech movements in the payments space next year. Whether or not this will be a good thing for levels of innovation and competition in the long-term remains to be seen.