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Are large customers migrating towards modern card-issuing models?

Ross Fubini

Managing Partner at XYZ Capital

Yes. It's a slow transition because things are very sticky, but there's an immense amount of interest because they are reacting to their competition, who are sending their customers notifications when their card get swiped and doing other novel things. 

Let’s say you swipe a card, and you told me this expense was a business expense. I can then tell you, based on what you told me about your taxes, that you actually just saved $3.20 when you bought your $6 latte because of your expected tax savings. There are some really clever ideas coming from challengers, and those little things like that are really compelling user experiences. If you can't do things like that, you're eventually going to lose your market to new players, and people are reacting to that across the board.

Financial services is actually the area where that's happened the fastest. Not everywhere. The fuel card guys are pretty slow to react currently, and we'll see if that changes. But if you look at the large banks and even some of the large financial providers, they're no dummies. They're moving pretty quick to modernize their systems, and they're not going to modernize on Fiserv or Marqeta. No shame to Marqeta, but they’re going to move to newer things as long as they're robust and trusted.

This is a classic startup picks-and-shovels approach. Do magical things for new companies. Grow with their success, and eventually, their competitors are going to need to come to you to do those same things.

Find this answer in Ross Fubini, Managing Partner at XYZ Capital, on the biggest opportunities in fintech today
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