Who In The *F* Knows?

Banks are taking slow but steady steps toward embracing embedded finance. While I predicted last year that big banks would dive into this space, 2024 has shown me that when they do, the impact doesn’t feel as massive as expected due to the slow, gradual process of change. So, in 2025, I foresee banks taking significant strides, but not a game-changing leap just yet—more like incremental steps towards a much bigger transformation in the future.

We're living in the most mind-bending and fascinating time that has ever existed in the world. Technology is moving at a breakneck pace, regulation is sprinting to keep up, and our international political system has never been more volatile or candidly fascinating to watch.

Who the F knows is the punchline, but there's a lot of really, really fun nuance to watch unfold inside of that from the macroeconomy to global policy.

Hold onto your term sheets, folks! The 2025 Asian startup scene is shaping up to be less about unicorn-chasing and more about those startups that actually gasp make money and have their sustainability ducks in a row. While VCs are honing in with their funding, demanding solid unit economics and clear paths to profitability (how dare they?), the tech giants are swooping in like caffeinated hawks, throwing serious cash at the region. With Nvidia, Amazon, Google and Microsoft heavily investing in this region, and investors finally remembering that ESG isn't just a fancy acronym, 2025 might just be the year Asian startups get their groove back – as long as they can prove they're more than just a pretty pitch deck.

While it’s unclear whether this will be wealthtech’s breakthrough year, strong tailwinds are building, particularly in the D2C space, where AI, open banking, and competition are reshaping client engagement. Neobanks like Revolut are expanding into investments and crypto, making it clear that customers increasingly expect these services, exposing a gap in traditional banking offerings. Wealth management is becoming more intuitive, and embedded finance could play a key role. For institutional wealth, financial advisors and wealth managers now have an opportunity to engage clients more efficiently, potentially reclaiming space in advice, though regulatory frameworks are needed. Blockchain and tokenization also hold promise, with tokenized bond funds leading the way and the potential for cheaper, faster trading, though broader asset tokenization may take time. Ultimately, money is becoming more agile, and this shift could make assets more flexible and accessible, signaling a major development in the industry.

Embedded finance, as we know it, has collapsed, and its failure was inevitable. The implosions of companies like Synapse and Evolve revealed that renting banking licenses couldn’t reshape finance, especially with thin margins and lackluster value propositions. Similarly, while open banking has been touted as a revolution for years, it’s delivered little more than gradual evolution, with limited disruption. However, the U.S. is finally making strides in its own distinctive manner, bringing new promises of open finance that integrate payments, investments, and insurance. This shift, alongside advancements in AI, is paving the way for Embedded Finance 2.0. By 2025, we can expect financial services that are predictive, proactive, and adaptive—powered by AI agents managing cash flow, overdrafts, and transactions. We're moving beyond merely accessing solutions to embedding intelligence into the very fabric of money, enabling it to act on our behalf when needed.