Wired, November 14, 2019: The Future of Banking Is … You’re Broke
The latest wave of tech-based financial startups have a new angle on the banking sector: They’ll assume that everyone is out of money, then try to monetize their brokeness.
So-called neo-banks, or challenger banks, have been all the rage in Europe and Australia for the past few years. Now they’re starting to get attention here in the U.S., with names like Chime, Varo, SoFi, Current, GoBank and even—heaven help us—booyah!.
These neo-banks have been trying to make money in the usual ways: By taking a cut of credit or debit card transactions, collecting interest on consumer deposits and making loans. Their come-on is that they’re super-convenient, all-digital, mobile alternatives to the big banks. Better yet, they’re focused on their customers’ “financial health,” as one neo-bank CEO told me, and easing the “pain” that people feel around their money.
