What Are 3 Traits Important for the Success of a Fintech Hub and Job Seekers

三個讓「金融科技中心」在這場各國軍備賽中脫穎而出的特點和他們對求職者的重要性

Do you know where is the top Fintech Hub right now?

Read an insightfulTime article “How London Became a Global Center for Fintech and What U.S. Tech Hubs Can Learn From It” the other day. It’s about London’s competitive advantage and I found the observations in the article are somewhat similar to mine, as I’ve been doing some research on Fintech firms across different markets.

I have therefore summarized 3 traits that are crucial to the success of a Fintech hub in the global race. I’ll explain why they are important for job seekers eying at the international market.

Government Support

First, government support is the key. As a 10-year banking professional, I understand how frustrating it is when the laws seem to kill good ideas in their cradle rather than harness innovation.

Do you think Insurtech startup Lemonade from New York would become a U$4 billion value company (as of Oct 1st, 2021) if the regulator says no to its AI-powered online policy 6 years ago? And we all knowCanary Wharf‘sLevel 39, Europe’s biggest tech-incubator, won’t pull it off without the cooperation between entrepreneurs and the UK government from 2013.

Next, let’s take a look at Asia. We have Singapore enjoying the fruits as Asia’s Fintech hub (in the first half of 2021, Singapore already saw 72 deals worth US$614.2 million under its belt). The Hong Kong government is trying to maintain its glory with Greater Bay Area initiatives. And the 3-year-old regulatory sandbox in Taiwan is mainly the playground of incumbents.

Another policy-dependent item is afavorable job market to foreigners, given it’s imperative for Fintech hub to have a large talent pool.

Over the past few years, the Singapore government has been tightening its immigration policy, which became even stricter since the pandemic outbreak. Though the recent talk from Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested the situation may be changed soon. Meanwhile, London is using the Global Talent Visa effective from Feb 2020 to attract international experts in the post-Brexit era.

Given the most sought-after talents for Fintech companies are tech professionals, countries that aim at moving up the Fintech hub ranking ladder must open up and review their policies for skilled foreign workers fast. For job seekers, now you know where to look.

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Problems Solver

Second, the landscape ofFintech hubs is shaped bydifferent problem-solver types.

Generally speaking, a lot of European Fintechs rose from solving customer-focus problems. There are digital bank unicorn Revolut from London started as an FX and international remittance provider, Stockholm-based Klarna introduced the “Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)” fad, and Berlin’s neobank N26 is popular for offering a wide range of no-hidden-fee banking products.

Our US counterparts are another story, which focuses more on building ecosystems. Square (currently Block) and Robinhood are certainly keen on creating powerful super apps, and both are eager to grasp the crypto boom along with the development in DeFi (Decentralized Finance).

In the Asia market, the first virtual bank license in Hong Kong and Taiwan was issued as early as 2019. However, most companies are still in the early stage of acquiring deposits. In both overbanked markets, it’s too soon to predict whether new players could win customers over with niche online products. Nevertheless, we did see these Fintech firms are adding pressures to incumbents and force them towiden their financial ecosystem. Now the whole industry is speeding up its digital transformation process.

On that note, Singapore’s 4 virtual banks won’t be running until 2022. It’s a cautious move. Since residents in the Lion City are already used to convenient digital services; such as cross-border payment provider Instarem and ride-hailing-turn-payment-solution SPAC company Grab; opening avirtual bank is less of an urgent matter.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what pain points are there, which Fintech hubs can catch up with those demands and turn them into sustainable business ideas. For talents seeking international exposure, start thinking about what kind of impact you want to create in your next career move.

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Fuels for Growth

Last but not least, Fintech hubs’ varying fuels may affect their direction of growth, literally.

In Europe, the financial complexity across borders are the seeds for innovations to form a frictionless operation. UK player Revolut advanced to Singapore and the US in 2019 and 2020successively despite the market downturn, and Amsterdam-born paymentstartup Adyen spent 15 years expanding its operations to over 18 markets.

How about American players? Fintech stars Square and Robinhood both seem to be careful with their international expansion and focus on US soils. Possibly their already strong domestic revenue streams are more than enough to support their business progression (Square posted US$9.5 billion revenue for 2020 and US$959 million for Robinhood).

Some exceptions are top investment banks. For the first time in 222 years, JP Morgan stepped out the border to expand its consumer brand and launched a digital banking app in the UK this September. And Goldman Sachs is finally gearing up its app with wealth management products while doubling down investment in British challenger bank Starling for another$69 million.

Across another hemisphere, capital is the fuel. Lately, Australia-originatedFintechs are marching to Singapore for their abundant capital and tax benefit (there’s a 17% v.s. 30% difference in corporate tax) under the new Fintech Bridge MOU. There’re also Aussies turning their eyes to the Greater China market, cross-border solution provider Airwallex headquartered in Hong Kong 3 years ago from its Melbourne home.

The lesson learned from these startups is how to find the right fuel and cultivate the right environment to mark a long-standing Fintech hub. This applies to international job seekers as well, as they have to take bigger financial risks (i.e., income tax, flight tickets) when weighing their landing places.

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Final Thoughts

Following the development of 5G, AI, Open Finance, and even Web 3.0, the opportunities for Fintechs are beyond measurable. Ambitious countries are rushing into establishing their own Fintech hub and Fintech ecosystem.

Famous financial centers are not necessarily successfulFintech hubs, and we see new names coming to the spotlight like Berlin and Stockholm. If you have some spare time, you can check the latest ranking for the Fintech hubs, Financial centers, and Startup hubs.

It takes years to build up a successful Fintech hub, where the above 3 traits can make a difference for Fintech hubs to thrive and grow. An additional note, as so many Fintech players are dedicated to building their own super apps, one couldn’t help but wonder who would have the last laugh and which Fintech hub could take it all.

Final advice for talents who want to join the next unicorn. Eye on the international market, analyze each Fintech hub’s competitive advantage, bring out your A-game, and may we all land an offer in the dream company.

Would like to end with the latest quote from marketing guru and best-seller Purple Cow writer Seth Godin:

But in many pockets of our economy, the new jobs and the best jobs aren’t task jobs. They are jobs of initiative. Work that’s taken, not simply assigned. Work that can’t be easily forecast, and work that thrives with a different sort of teamwork.

Are you a FinTech enthusiast? What’s your takeaway from my article? Give me a shout-out below or drop me an email and tell me all about it!

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你知道現在誰是當紅的金融科技中心 (Fintech Hub) 嗎？

前幾天讀了一篇很有見地的時代雜誌文章 “How London Became a Global Center for Fintech and What U.S. Tech Hubs Can Learn From It” (倫敦如何成為世界的金融科技中心，而美國的科技中心可以從中學到什麼)。內容大意是在討論倫敦作為金融科技中心的競爭優勢，文中提出的一些觀點，正巧和我近期研究不同市場金融科技新創公司時的發現不謀而合。

我總結以下三點，這些特點讓部分金融科技中心在各國軍備賽中脫穎而出，對國際求職者來說，亦是相當重要的觀察點。

政府支援

首先，政府的支援是最重要的。身為一個有 10 年經驗的銀行從業人員，我完全能體會那種遇到某些政策將好的點子在萌芽階段就扼殺的無奈感。

你認為紐約的保險新創 Lemonade 若是在 6 年前成立之初，就被禁止販售 AI 計算的線上保單，它還能成為市值達美金 40 億元 (截至 10/1/2021) 的成功企業嗎？而遠在倫敦 Canary Wharf 的 Level 39，在 2013 年若沒有政府和創業家的同心協力，它也無法成為現今歐洲最大的科技孵化器。

讓我們來看看亞洲吧！我們看到新加坡正在享受身為亞洲金融科技中心的甜美果實 (新加坡單在 2021 上半年，就促成了 72 件總價值高達美金 6.14 億元的合作案)；香港政府為了保持其在金融領域的領先地位，正在大灣區積極佈局；而成立已 3 年的台灣金融監理沙盒，目前還主要是既有金融業者的實驗場。

另一個頗受政府政策影響的，是對外國求職者有利的就業市場；而金融科技中心不可或缺的，正是廣大的人才庫。

過去幾年，新加坡政府逐漸緊縮其移民政策，在疫情爆發後更是如此；但日前新加坡總理李顯龍發言表示，可能將對移民政策重新調整。而倫敦 2020 年 2 月起生效的 Global Talent Visa (全球人才簽證)，在脫歐後正大量吸引來自世界各地的產業專才。

有鑒於金融科技產業現在求才若渴的專業，多需要技術背景的專家，想要在金融科技中心排行榜往上爬的政府單位，應儘速開放，重新檢視其外籍高階技術人才的勞工政策。求職者們，現在你知道要從哪裡開始找了吧？

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問題解決者

再來，不同類型的問題解決者，將塑造出截然不同的金融科技聚落。

總的來說，歐洲的金融科技公司大多發跡於提供客戶導向的問題解決方案：倫敦的數位銀行獨角獸 Revolut 從提供外匯和國際匯款服務起家、總部在斯德哥爾摩的 Klarna 開啟了「先買後付 (Buy Now, Pay Later) 」的風潮，而創立於柏林的純網銀 N26 則因能提供一系列無隱藏費用的銀行產品而大受好評。

美國的金融科技就是另一個故事了，他們更注重打造金融生態圈。Square (現已改名為 Block) 和 Robinhood 正加緊馬力建立強大的 super apps ，同時也不忘抓住近年來「去中心化金融 (DeFi) 」帶起的虛擬貨幣熱潮。

至於亞洲市場，儘管香港和台灣最早於 2019 年就發放虛擬銀行執照，目前大部分公司都還在競相爭取存款的早期階段。在這兩個銀行氾濫 (overbank) 的市場，目前要判斷哪個玩家能成功開發出利基產品 (niche product) 帶走大批客戶還言之過早。然而，我們已經可以觀察到的趨勢，是這些金融科技新創對傳統金融業者施加莫大壓力，迫使後者不得不擴大金融生態圈，現在整個產業聚落都在加速數位轉型的腳步。

同樣的來看新加坡，新加坡目前的 4 家虛擬銀行都要到 2022 年才會營運；這似乎是比較謹慎的一步棋，因爲獅城的民眾早就習慣便捷的數位服務了，如跨境支付業者 Instarem，和從叫車服務跨足支付應用的 SPAC 公司 Grab，因此他們對虛擬銀行的需求反而沒這麼迫切。

最終的重點，要打造成功的金融科技中心，必須先找出有什麼痛點需要被解決，再確認誰能滿足這些需求，並將它們轉變為可持續的商業點子。對追求國際舞台的求職者來說，應該開始思考，你在下一份工作職場想創造出什麼樣的改變。

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成長動能

最後 ，驅動金融科技中心的不同動能也可能影響其發展方向。

在歐洲，跨境金融的複雜性埋下創新的種子，朝打造一個無摩擦營運模式的方向成長茁壯。我們看到英國的數位銀行 Revolut不畏市場低迷，先後在 2019 和 2020 年進軍新加坡和美國；而從阿姆斯特丹發跡的支付新創 Adyen 則花費 15 年擴大版圖到全球 18 個市場。

那麼，美國的玩家又如何呢？金融科技產業的新星 Square 和 Robinhood 皆對拓展海外市場小心翼翼，主要營運還是集中在美國，或許因為他們在國內已有強勁營收支應其短期成長 (Square 2020 年全年營收高達 95 億美元，同期 Robinhood 也有 9 億美元的成績)。

但也有例外，如美國的投資銀行巨頭們。JP Morgan 睽違 222 年，在今年 9 月終於為了擴展個人業務再次橫跨國境，在英國推出數位銀行 app。而 Goldman Sachs 則是總算要開放財富管理產品以升級其在英國的業務，並同時加碼投入 6 千 9 百萬美元給英國的挑戰者銀行 Starling Bank。

至於地球的另一邊，資金是帶動金融科技中心成長的引擎。最近澳洲的金融科技新創紛紛踏上新加坡，因為後者在新的Fintech Bridge 備忘錄框架下，提供充沛的資金和稅務優惠 (這可是 17% v.s. 30% 的企業稅差異)。也有澳洲同業轉向大中華地區，跨境支付新創Airwallex 3 年前就毅然決定將總部從墨爾本搬到香港。

從這些例子，我們瞭解要找出正確的成長動能跟培養正確的成長環境，才能打造一個可以長遠發展的金融科技中心。而這對國際求職者同樣重要，因為他們在衡量落腳處時往往承受更大的財務風險 (如不同的所得稅制、返家的機票等)。

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寫在最後

隨著 5G、AI 人工智慧、開放金融 (Open Finance)，甚至是 Web 3.0 的發展，金融科技的前景不可限量。有野心的政府單位正積極建造自己的金融科技中心和金融科技生態圈。

有趣的是，過去知名的金融中心未必是當今成功的金融科技中心，後起之秀如柏林和斯德哥爾摩正慢慢走到鎂光燈下。若你有興趣，可以參考金融科技中心、金融中心，和新創中心的最新排行榜。

一個成功的金融科技中心要花費多年時間打造，而掌握上面 3 個特點可以讓金融科技中心脫穎而出、成長茁壯。看到有些金融科技新創正如火如荼地開發他們自己的 super apps，我不禁好奇，究竟誰將是那個笑到最後的人，而哪個金融科技中心又可能贏家通吃呢？

給想加入下一個獨角獸的求職者一點建議：放眼國際市場、分析各個金融科技中心的競爭優勢，拿出你的畢生絕活，然後希望我們都能拿到理想公司的入場券。

最後，讓我引用行銷大師兼暢銷書紫牛作者Seth Godin 最新的分享作結：

But in many pockets of our economy, the new jobs and the best jobs aren’t task jobs. They are jobs of initiative. Work that’s taken, not simply assigned. Work that can’t be easily forecast, and work that thrives with a different sort of teamwork.

(在很多經濟環境下，新的工作和最好的工作並不是任務型工作。他們是主動型工作。他們是被主動接下的工作，而不僅是被指派的任務。他們是無法被輕易預測的工作，而且這類工作會隨著不同的團隊合作成長茁壯。)

你是 FinTech 金融科技的愛好者嗎？這篇文章給了你哪些啟發呢？歡迎在下方留言或透過 email 讓我知道！

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