The rapid growth of these activities has attracted the attention of regulators due to the impact and potential systemic risks that HFT companies may unleash on financial markets and market stability. An example of this is short-lived but severe market crashes, such as the ‘Flash Crash’ in the US markets in May 20109.
In summary, FinTech innovation can be observed across multiple financial services, including deposit taking, payments, lending, and investments. An in-depth analysis of the activities rather than of the technologies and/or firms providing these services helps one to understand these developments. New technologies will continue to present opportunities to reshape financial services.