I just reviewed an interesting analysis about how the financial industry is really changing, and honestly, the data that caught my attention the most is this: approximately 70% of new financial products launched globally are already being built by fintech companies, not traditional banks. To understand what fintech actually is today, we’re basically talking about companies providing the core technical infrastructure that makes all this possible.

Think about how it worked a decade ago. Visa, Mastercard, SWIFT, and a few other giants controlled the entire financial infrastructure. End of story. Now, there’s a completely new layer built by fintech companies that make financial services programmable via APIs. Plaid connects over 12,000 financial institutions, Marqeta handles card issuance for Square and DoorDash, Galileo processes 150 million accounts. That’s no small feat.

What’s really transforming the game is banking as a service (BaaS). Imagine a two-person startup offering full banking services without needing its own license. Ten years ago, that would have required a team of 200 people and endless regulatory hurdles. Now, it’s possible thanks to platforms like Synapse, Unit, and Treasury Prime. The BaaS market reached $40 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit $74 billion by 2030.

Something important is also happening with real-time payments. Systems like UPI in India, Pix in Brazil, and FedNow in the United States are processing transactions instantly. Global real-time transactions jumped from $118 billion in 2022 to $266 billion in 2025. Companies like Wise are building their own multi-currency settlement networks, reducing dependence on traditional correspondent banks.

Of course, all this has its risks. When Synapse faced financial issues last year, it affected dozens of fintechs and their customers. Regulators are already responding, issuing guidelines on bank-fintech partnerships and risk management. The main risks they identify are operational resilience, data security, and customer protection in these multi-party chains.

But here’s the reality: fintech infrastructure spending grew 28% annually between 2020 and 2025, while spending on legacy banking systems barely grew 6%. That tells you everything you need to know about where the money is headed. Global fintech revenues are expected to grow at an annual rate of 23%, and that 70% figure is probably conservative. In five years, nearly 90% of new financial services will likely depend on this API-driven infrastructure now controlled by fintechs.