From explosive growth to regulatory overhauls, we have seen a wave of new developments shaping the future of the fintech industry this year. As the fintech community prepares to descend on Las Vegas for Money20/20, we predict the trends we expect to take centre stage. Tailored customer onboarding for fraud prevention Providing a frictionless onboarding experience while delivering high-level data protection has become a balancing act. Businesses are facing an ongoing battle attempting to fight fraudsters with increased security while maintaining a customer-friendly authentication process. Customers have become accustomed to easy and seamless onboarding. To ensure trusted customers are onboarded and bad actors are deterred, customer expectations must be top of mind for companies when implementing fraud controls. Crypto crime hits an all-time high A recent report by Chainalysis revealed that cryptocurrency-based crime hit an all-time high in 2021. Organised criminal groups and individual offenders are taking advantage of the borderless nature of digital currencies to conduct serious offences, including money laundering, terrorism financing, scams, and tax evasion. Criminal abuse of cryptocurrency not only impacts future adoption and attracts scrutiny from governments but also directly targets innocent users. As legislators look to regulate cryptocurrency, we expect to see the industry proactively work to protect legitimate users from illicit activities. Buy Now Pay Later is changing the economic landscape The rising cost of living has caused many people to redefine what they consider ‘essential’ and look to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to ease their financial burdens. The explosive growth of these platforms has altered how consumers budget and view their future expenses. As the popularity of BNPL continues to rise, the industry is speculating whether it will ultimately replace credit cards and what regulatory frameworks will be introduced to protect consumers. Regulation vs. Innovation In recent years, there has been growing tension between the evolution of technology and the ability of legislators to create, modify, and enforce regulations. Now more than ever, it is essential to consider technological developments through the lens of fraud, regulation, and policy. The fintech industry is recognising the importance of proactively working with regulators to protect consumers while fostering innovation. At the same time, policymakers need to work with the industry to understand the economic impacts that specific regulations could create. Open banking sparks financial innovation Open banking gives consumers more control over their data, enabling them to access and share their data with accredited third parties to gain better deals on products and services. The goal is to generate competition and innovation in the financial services sector to provide businesses and consumers with better products and experiences. This is just the beginning. With more than 80 countries introducing Open Banking, we expect to see it continue to expand into more sectors and become a powerful tool for consumers.