What the Blog? is an Essentials video series discussing what’s next for The Future of Money, and how topics like fintech, finance AI, and digital transformation in banking, are becoming more important than ever before. Editors Isabella Moulton and Martin Jacobsz bring you a snappy summary of articles directly from our expertly curated Future of Money Essentials Newsletters.

Our first article explains that while the FinTech market has continued to thrive throughout the pandemic, with global fintech venture-capital investment soaring from $8.5 billion in 2014 to $36.6 billion in 2018, 95% of digital transformation programmes still fail, due to inflexible company structures and culture. While we often don’t hear about this aspect of FinTech news, it’s important to acknowledge that the biggest barriers to innovation are still rigid business structures and a non-collaborative culture. Other reasons for failure include lack of ownership and “digital transformation” skills at the C-level, too narrow of a focus, lack of customer focus, inability to build a fintech ecosystem, or simply having a skills deficit. Read it here.

Our second pick in banking news outlines that fair and equitable access to financial services is actually a prerequisite for economic security and prosperity. Why? It can improve individuals’ employment possibilities, ability to accumulate wealth and provide the possibility of starting a business. Even so, women all over the world remain un-banked or under-banked; experts are hoping that fintech can enhance financial inclusion and finally close the gender gap so that everyone has access to financial services. Read our blog here.