Traditional banking is being challenged as Fintech entrepreneurs and start-ups take matters into their own hands. This emerging market has seen a burst of activity over the last 5 years, global investment in Fintech tripled to $12.21B in 2014. We analysed the Fintech discussion in a previous blog and we wanted to continue with these reports to show how influencer trends map out over time. It was interesting to see how the rankings have changed since last time, as well as seeing new influencers entering and driving engagement within the fintech community on social media.
WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?
We reached out to some of the top 20 influencers to ask them for their views on Fintech. We spoke to Jim Marous (#2), Spiros Margaris (#5), David Brear (#9), Oscar Williams-Grut (#10), Alex Jimenez (#11) and Gary Reader (#19). Be sure to follow them to stay up to date on the best content and resources on Fintech! (click on the names to see their Twitter profiles)
Jim Marous – Owner at Digital Banking Report
“Fintech firms and legacy banks are beginning to realize the benefits of working together to deliver innovative solutions and superior customer experiences to an increasingly digital consumer. Fintech firms see the advantages of leveraging large and loyal customer bases, experience with risk and regulations, a broad product set, established trust and the deep financial pockets of incumbent banking organizations. Alternatively, banking needs the fintech advantages of not having to work with old, legacy operating systems, an innovation agility unheard of in traditional banks, a better understanding of today’s technologies and a laser focus on narrow solutions. The question is whether these new partnerships can preserve the culture of the fintech firms, while allowing legacy banks to be the hub of the consumer’s financial relationship? While not all fintech firms will partner, and some banking firms may build vs. buy, the ultimate winner will be the consumer.”
Spiros Margaris – Senior Advisor to Fintech Forum
“Fintech will change banking like Amazon changed retail forever. Changes will increasingly occur at a much faster pace than we are used to and probably comfortable with. We know that the digitalization of all industries will stop for no one, and we either adapt to it or watch it pass us. However, I am convinced that the future is not about technology alone, but the combination of technology and human ingenuity since both can benefit from the strength of the other and create a truly win-win situation. In the end, we are all well served by thinking and dreaming as big as possible. Even if we falter, we are still further ahead than we were before. Knowing this, I look forward to witnessing the next innovations in the Fintech industry.”
David Brear – Chief Thinker at Think Different Group
“We are in the middle of a building crescendo of pressure on the existing banking establishments, the likes of which they have not witnessed before in loudness or force. These escalating pressures include significant changes in the payments, technology and regulatory environments, all of which are highlighting significant cultural change requirements for the legacy banking establishment. These mounting forces are significantly stoking the flames of competition as well as highlighting the lack of customer centricity in the legacy organizations. Technology advancements and regulations within Europe have created an incredibly fertile soil for innovation in Fintech and the formulation of new banks. These new organizations have no legacy to transform, be that cultural of technological. They have no rights to wrong and are free of the inhibitors that the legacy banking organizations feel the pressure of today. Equally though these new organizations are typically dwarfed by the legacy banking organizations both in terms of their customer base, investment potential and mobilizable staff. Through these unique market conditions, Fintech has become a big business generating well over £25bn a year in the UK alone through different guises. The next 5 years in banking leading to 2020 will be the defining steps for the next 100 years in my opinion. How legacy banks react in the next 12 months to these conditions will seal their fate.”
Oscar Williams-Grut – Reporter at Business Insider
“2015 has been the year of crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending on the consumer side and the blockchain within the finance industry. Next year I predict digital wealth management — such as Nutmeg in Britain and Betterment and Wealthfront in the US — could have its moment. The big issue still overhanging consumer fintech businesses is can they break into the mainstream. Volumes have been growing like crazy in crowdfunding and peer-to-peer but most of that is coming from the same group of people committing more capital to these platforms. User growth is much slower — and that could turn into a problem.”
Alex Jimenez – SVP, Director of Digital and Payments Innovation at Rockland Trust
“Fintech is getting a lot of attention lately, due to the large investments being made by VCs and banks in the start-up space. I see the focus being on the latest technology, but very little on the people side. Time and time again, I see technologists wonder why more people are not flocking to this technology or that technology—mobile payments in the US is an example. Less time is focused on the actual customer experience. (How is a mobile phone payment at the point of sale easier than pulling out a credit card?) Other technologists are frustrated because bankers are not adopting certain technology. Again, very little is made about the culture change that is required to move banking to think about the world in a fintech context. If we don’t address the people side of the equation, some of these investments will be wasted.”
Gary Reader – Global Head of Insurance Sector at KPMG
“The myriad of technology advances such as driverless cars, machine learning, IoT, home sensors and ‘robo-agents’ offer a new world of opportunity for the insurance industry. Harnessing these new technologies can reduce losses and costs while saving lives and increasing customer satisfaction. Reinventing insurance from protection against unforeseen events to loss prevention and insurance as a service creates opportunities for Fintech. From policy comparison engines to tech-enabled health coverage, insurance start-ups are now invading the multi-trillion dollar industry. In order to remain competitive in the face of a disaggregating value chain, insurers will need to reconsider which competencies they need to invest in to retain a strong, competitive position. The question becomes, are insurers agile enough to shift their view of a transforming world and pivot to new business models?”
MAPPING THE FINTECH COMMUNITY
We were very interested in seeing which fintech professionals and brands were driving engagement within the fintech community, so we analysed over 482K tweets containing the word “fintech” and identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter. We discovered a very engaged community, with much discussion between individuals and brands, joining together in conversations looking to improve their quality of service. Below you can see a network map of the online conversation created with our Influencer Relationship Management software IRM. This map shows the number 2 influencer Jim Marous at the centre and the conversations to and from all the influencers in his field. Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail.
If you are interested in learning more about our IRM software click here!
Below you can see another network map created in IRM (Influencer Relationship Management software) showing the #7 Brand Finextra at the centre and the conversations to and from the different influencers in their field. As you can see it is a very engaged community with many conversations. If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!
TOP 100 INDIVIDUALS
We looked at all the individuals engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top 100 influencers in Fintech. Be sure to hit the download now button below to download the full report.
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Organisation | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @obussmann | Oliver Bussmann | UBS | 13.01 |
| 2 | @JimMarous | Jim Marous | Digital Banking Report | 10.28 |
| 3 | @cgledhill | Chris Gledhill | Secco Bank | 8.62 |
| 4 | @eileentso | Eileen Burbidge | Passion Capital | 8.58 |
| 5 | @SpirosMargaris | Spiros Margaris | Magaris Advisory | 6.60 |
| 6 | @FGraillot | Florian Graillot | Axa Ventures | 5.73 |
| 7 | @andi_staub | Andreas Staub | Fehr Advice | 5.23 |
| 8 | @annairrera | Anna Irrera | Financial News | 4.39 |
| 9 | @davidbrear | David M. Brear | Think Different Group | 4.37 |
| 10 | @OscarWGrut | Oscar Williams-Grut | Business Insider Europe | 4.32 |
| 11 | @RAlexJimenez | Alex Jimenez | Rockland Trust | 3.91 |
| 12 | @GCGodfrey | Gemma Godfrey | Moo.la | 3.80 |
| 13 | @alphafishing | Daniel McAuley | Student at Wharton | 3.78 |
| 14 | @kesbutters | Kerry Butters | MarketITwrite Digital | 3.76 |
| 15 | @leimer | Bradley Leimer | Santander | 3.71 |
| 16 | @Frances_Coppola | Frances Coppola | Coppolacomment | 3.57 |
| 17 | @izakaminska | Izabella Kaminska | Financial Times | 3.49 |
| 18 | @janatindex | Jan Hammer | Index Ventures | 3.25 |
| 19 | @GaryReader_KPMG | Gary Reader | KPMG | 2.96 |
| 20 | @@j_t_king | Jamie Thomas King | Digi Give Away | 2.95 |
| 21 | @Chris_Skinner | Chris Skinner | The Financial Services Club | 2.88 |
| 22 | @ChLejoux | Christine Lejoux | La Tribune | 2.79 |
| 23 | @PruAshby | Pru Ashby | London & Partners | 2.61 |
| 24 | @jayshnaidoo | Jayshree Naidoo | Standard Bank | 2.49 |
| 25 | @genemurphy | Gene Murphy | Bank of Ireland | 2.49 |
| 26 | @ValaAfshar | Vala Afshar | Salesforce | 2.44 |
| 27 | @ErolKazan | Erol Kazan | Copenhagen Business School | 2.32 |
| 28 | @Huynguyentrieu | Huy Nguyen Trieu | Citi | 2.19 |
| 29 | @HBaldwinMP | Harriett Baldwin | HM Treasury | 2.15 |
| 30 | @sammaule | Sam Maule | Carlisle & Gallagher Group | 2.08 |
| 31 | @JessInBlue | Jess Williamson | Tech Stars | 2.04 |
| 32 | @oliviergoy | Olivier Goy | Lendix | 2.02 |
| 33 | @mariaaspan | Maria Aspan | Inc | 2.01 |
| 34 | @sbmeunier | Sebastien Meunier | Chappuis Halder & Co | 1.88 |
| 35 | @jdebunt | Jean-Pierre Buntinx | Freelancer | 1.79 |
| 36 | @augustusloi | Augustus Loi | Infocomm Investments | 1.79 |
| 37 | @ambajorat | André M. Bajorat | Figo GmbH | 1.75 |
| 38 | @chancebar | Chance Barnett | Crowdfunder | 1.68 |
| 39 | @MaryMWisniewski | Mary Wisniewski | American Banker | 1.65 |
| 40 | @TomLyttonDickie | Tom Lytton-Dickie | HotPicsHT | 1.65 |
| 41 | @LarsMarkull | Lars Markull | FigoAPI | 1.65 |
| 42 | @anujnayar | anujnayar | Paypal | 1.62 |
| 43 | @sytaylor | Simon Taylor | Barclays | 1.61 |
| 44 | @petervan | Peter Vander Auwera | SWIFT | 1.60 |
| 45 | @jefielding | Jenny Fielding | Tech Stars | 1.55 |
| 46 | @adamnanjee | Adam Nanjee | MaRS Discovery District | 1.52 |
| 47 | @Mellinghoff | Michael Mellinghoff | TechFluence, KOINA AG, FinTechForum | 1.50 |
| 48 | @IRenwood | Ian Renwood | IBM | 1.50 |
| 49 | @brettking | Brett King | Moven | 1.45 |
| 50 | @blockchainbros | Richard | BlockChainBros | 1.43 |
TOP 100 BRANDS
With all the discussion and resources available online, our analysis produced a great set of independent information resources and communities. It was interesting to see influential brands such as DNotes, Fintechna, Bitcoin Garden and Hedgeable leading the debate. Be sure to download the full analysis for free to get an idea of who are most influential fintech brands!
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @DNotes | DNotes | 100 |
| 2 | @FINTECHNA | FINTECHNA | 53.92 |
| 3 | @Bitcoin Garden | Bitcoin Garden | 30.32 |
| 4 | @Forbes | Forbes | 18.20 |
| 5 | @Hedgeable | Hedgeable | 10.69 |
| 6 | @Money20/20 | Money20/20 | 9.52 |
| 7 | @Finextra | Finextra | 9.05 |
| 8 | @TechCrunch | TechCrunch | 7.40 |
| 9 | @Citi | Citi | 6.81 |
| 10 | @Wharton FinTech | Wharton FinTech | 6.52 |
| 11 | @Sbootcamp FinTech | Sbootcamp FinTech | 6.10 |
| 12 | @The Economist Events | The Economist Events | 5.84 |
| 13 | @frenchweb | frenchweb | 5.75 |
| 14 | @City A.M. | City A.M. | 5.11 |
| 15 | @American Banker | American Banker | 4.90 |
| 16 | @Innovate Finance | Innovate Finance | 4.86 |
| 17 | @The Economist | The Economist | 4.78 |
| 18 | @Stone & Chalk | Stone & Chalk | 4.68 |
| 19 | @Fintech Week | Fintech Week | 4.38 |
| 20 | @techstars | techstars | 4.33 |
| 21 | @VentureBeat | VentureBeat | 4.22 |
| 22 | @TransferWise | TransferWise | 4.12 |
| 23 | @Nasdaq | Nasdaq | 3.71 |
| 24 | @Startupbootcamp | Startupbootcamp | 3.58 |
| 25 | @markITwrite Tech | markITwrite Tech | 3.52 |
| 26 | @Let’s Talk Payments | Let’s Talk Payments | 3.52 |
| 27 | @UKTI | UKTI | 3.51 |
| 28 | @FinTech HK | FinTech HK | 3.51 |
| 29 | @Finovate | Finovate | 3.43 |
| 30 | @CoinDesk | CoinDesk | 3.43 |
| 31 | @CCEDK ApS | CCEDK ApS | 3.40 |
| 32 | @PWM | PWM | 3.38 |
| 33 | @finteCH zurich | finteCH zurich | 3.32 |
| 34 | @Minh Q. Tran | Minh Q. Tran | 3.29 |
| 35 | @SAN InnoVentures | SAN InnoVentures | 3.01 |
| 36 | @UBS | UBS | 2.98 |
| 37 | @Finance2.0 – FinTech | Finance2.0 – FinTech | 2.82 |
| 38 | @Data Natives | Data Natives | 2.79 |
| 39 | @Bloomberg TV | Bloomberg TV | 2.77 |
| 40 | @Level39 | Level39 | 2.75 |
| 41 | @Prosper Loans | Prosper Loans | 2.72 |
| 42 | @Dataconomy | Dataconomy | 2.72 |
| 43 | @CommonBond | CommonBond | 2.70 |
| 44 | @LaTribune | LaTribune | 2.70 |
| 45 | @payname | payname | 2.67 |
| 46 | @Tech in Asia | Tech in Asia | 2.59 |
| 47 | @France FinTech | France FinTech | 2.59 |
| 48 | @Fintech Switzerland | Fintech Switzerland | 2.57 |
| 49 | @Xignite | Xignite | 2.53 |
| 50 | @The Financial Brand | The Financial Brand | 2.53 |
Influencer Marketing campaigns generate impressive results, the average earned media value (EMV) from US influencer marketing programs was 1.4 times higher in H1 2015 than the overall average in full-year 2014. At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Machine to Machine, Wearable Tech, Internet of Things) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!
Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around fintech. The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations are independent of a user’s number of followers, but we do filter our lists based on how much a user is engaged in the conversation and the influence they drive through their networks.
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FINTECH 2015:
TOP 100 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS
Download this free report which reveals the top 100 fintech influencers and brands