Will Trump 2.0 rewrite the rules for FinTech and AI in banking?
By Gloria Methri
As President Donald Trump begins his second term, the banking and FinTech sectors are preparing for regulatory changes that could significantly impact AI-driven innovation in financial services. With a likely shift toward a more flexible regulatory stance, banks and FinTechs may find new opportunities to grow, innovate, and compete in an evolving financial landscape.
Building on Trump’s recent policy moves, including the executive order on digital assets, the administration is signalling its intent to modernise regulations and create a conducive environment for innovation in financial technology.
The executive order sets a precedent by aiming to bring clarity to the regulatory treatment of digital assets, ensuring both transparency and adaptability for emerging technologies like blockchain and decentralised finance. This move mirrors broader expectations for a more flexible regulatory stance, which could unlock new opportunities for banks and FinTechs to innovate, grow, and compete in an evolving financial ecosystem.
Peter Serene, Managing Director of Commercial Banking at Curinos, underscores the potential for this administration to adopt less restrictive regulations, which could lead to increased mergers and acquisitions, FinTech charter approvals, and a slowdown in rulemaking from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This regulatory easing, coupled with stimulative economic policies, could fuel competition and growth in the sector.
The Impact on Innovation
The Trump administration’s pro-innovation stance, reflected in the executive order, could catalyse advancements in AI-powered solutions and personalised banking services. For banks and FinTechs, this is an opportunity to accelerate the race to acquire primary customer relationships. Serene emphasises that the ability to develop distinctive value propositions, refine product offerings, and leverage cutting-edge technology like AI will be crucial for staying competitive.
“This really boils down to the race to acquire primary customer relationships,” Serene explains. AI tools, for instance, can enable personalised financial solutions, streamline processes, and enhance customer engagement—all of which are critical in a competitive market.
The executive order’s focus on digital assets sets the groundwork for a more innovative and secure financial landscape. Banks and FinTechs now have a more transparent regulatory path to integrate digital assets and blockchain technology into their offerings, opening up new avenues for customer engagement and operational efficiency.
To capitalise on these shifts, Serene advises financial institutions to “tune up the acquisition engine.” This involves clearly defining strategies for targeting customer segments, building products tailored to their needs, and adopting distribution approaches that balance market dynamics with profitability.
Institutions that act swiftly to adapt to these changes, mainly through investments in AI and customer-centric strategies, are poised to gain a competitive edge.
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