About Disrupted Finance
There are many ways to analyze the disruption of finance. But over the years I have always returned to four lenses.
They overlap constantly. But these are the questions that I keep coming back to and the reason I created Disrupted Finance.
1. Business Models, Friction and Demonetization
Most disruptive business are made possible by new technology. But it is important to try to zoom out, and see how that technology translates into a new way of doing business.
For example, commission-free trading was not just a technical win. The tech might have enabled the shift, but the business model is what made it disruptive.
Demonetization is fascinating. Remember this quote?
“Your margin is my opportunity.”
— Jeff Bezos
2. Who Owns the Client Relationship?
To the user, the bank is not really the bank anymore. The app is.
They care about the interface, the experience, and whether it works when they need it to. Trust follows the visible layer. And whoever controls this experience tends to control the relationship.
This is not just embedded finance (though a big part of it in my opinion).
It is aggregators, platforms, white-labeled services…
When distribution becomes the primary touchpoint, how long before it becomes the brand? And if it becomes the brand, how long before it becomes the business?
3. Transparency as Disruption
What happens when hidden systems (and hidden margins) become visible?
Complexity, opacity, and information asymmetry were often baked into banking and finance business models.
But that has been changing. If the internet started chipping away at secrecy… the blockchain is trying to bulldoze it.
But this does not necessarily have to come from blockchain or the crypto world.
Performance Watcher, for example, is a platform that has been on my radar for a while now. Their model and ambition raises many strategic and disruptive questions.
4. AI and the Human Future of Finance
Financial data is fertile ground for AI. Generative AI and LLMs are starting to compete with what we used to think was safe: research, analysis, even strategy.
Think of the old “robo-advisoring” model, but on steroids.
This is already happening and quite faster than I expected. The result is a real existential question for anyone trying to build a career in finance today.
The core question is not what AI can do. It’s what humans should do in a world where AI is suddenly fluent in the language of money. Where do humans still add value? What skills are resilient?
/DF
Through Disrupted Finance, I explore these themes with people inside the industry: the disruptors, the incumbents, and those navigating everything in between.
You can subscribe here.
And if you want to talk, share some insights, you can connect with me here.