Financial Innovation

Financial innovation involves changing some aspect of the way the financial game is played.

When PayPal allowed us to securely pay for stuff online without having to enter our credit card number all over the place, that was a financial innovation. When companies like GoFundMe revolutionized charitable donations by allowing people to directly contribute to people and causes that mattered to them, that was a financial innovation. When the internet allowed stock prices to update at the speed of cyberspace instead of the speed of rotary phone, that was a financial innovation. When our ancestors created currency and moved off the barter system, that was a financial innovation.

Financial innovations are everywhere. At our banks, on our favorite websites, on our credit card apps, even on our credit cards themselves (remember when they started chipping those bad boys so they were harder to rip off?). If it’s changed or improved some aspect of the way we handle our financial biz, then it’s a financial innovation.