Another insightful year at the JP Morgan Payments E-Comm and Fintech Forum! Feeling inspired and energized by the diverse perspectives shared. Key takeaways include: Scaling innovation: Payments are increasingly a core part of the business and customer experience. Following proofs of concept, meaningful payments-enabled business models must be powered by the right partner; beyond global reach, and above high-availability, the best providers are also innovation partners. First frothy and then fearful, we are now back to reality: In the 2024 Fintech investing landscape, the emphasis has shifted towards revenue growth and profit margins, rather than mere hype. Investors are now prioritizing long-term strategies, with a focus on demonstrating EBITDA growth over the next 5-10 years. Insights from the venture capital and private equity panel indicated that Fintech companies targeting the SMB segment, tokenization, and B2B payments are poised to attract significant investor interest. The implications of Gen AI will likely be profound: AI is moving from theoretical discussions to practical implementations. The pace of innovation has been, and will continue to be, exponential. In 2024, we anticipate the establishment of regulatory guardrails and an expansion of AI-enabled proof of concepts (POCs). By 2025, many of these conceptual use cases are expected to evolve into practical solutions. Client speakers emphasized that success in AI initiatives hinges on several key factors: alignment around a clear vision and strategy, empowered decision-makers, core enabling capabilities such as cloud and data infrastructure, and the development of skills across the entire organization rather than being confined to a specialized center of excellence (COE). One of the major challenges for AI will be data management, with a particular focus on the utilization of synthetic data. Supporting the fighting spirit: I had the privilege of listening to some sports figures share their inspiring journeys. Their stories highlighted how a natural fighting spirit, combined with the guidance of a parent/mentor willing to go the extra mile, can elevate success to extraordinary heights. One particular insight that resonated deeply with me is the notion that the hard work put in behind the scenes—what we might call "practice in the dark"—often goes unnoticed. People see the end result, but it's the relentless effort and dedication in those unseen moments that truly pave the way to greatness. Profit and purpose: A senior leader underscored the importance of leading with purpose, advocating that companies should balance financial performance with making a positive societal impact. He warns that when the pace of external change outstrips internal adaptation, organizations face significant risks, highlighting the need for constant innovation. Thank you to Denise Petitta , Mai Shalvi, Lahni Venable and Michael Little for all the hard work. #JPmorganPayments
James Allington
1mo
Great insights TK- need to get an invite next year! :)
Great feedback on GenAI. I'm just completing the many Dell training courses we are asked to take that focuses on all aspects of moving our customers forward from business/strategic GenAI workshops to focused consulting engagements, to data design and POC /testing in a structured "Use Case" based GenAi Factory. Dell is partnered with Nvidia, AMD, Intel and others to offer turnkey and customized reference architecture based solutions to help customers successfully realize ROI /Monetization plans by Use Case. We are uniquely offering solutions with balanced GenAI infrastructure that suits your use case, on-prem, edge, in colo, or hybrid with public chatbot access using LLM or 'SLMs and teaming'. This is exciting and real! Don't ever think it's fluff or far out on your timeline. It's the competitive edge and customers are focused on Virtual Assistants, Software Development and many more use cases with high ROI.