Elizabeth Lumley: Fintech’s Top Voice Tells It Like It Is

A formidable figure in the world of fintech, Elizabeth Lumley is recognized as one of the leading global commentators in her field. With over two decades of working in financial technology, her ilustrious career has spanned multiple roles, including Director at VC Innovations, Managing Director at Startupbootcamp FinTechLondon, and Editor at the newswire, Finextra. Shewas also the mastermind behind the highly successful Fintech Talents Festival.

Elizabeth's exceptional contributions to the industry have been acknowledged with numerous accolades, including the coveted Journalist of the Year for Technology and Digital Finance at State Street's UK Press Awards for2022.

Currently working at The Banker as Deputy Editor, Machinelab gets up close and personal with Elizabeth and FYI, she doesn’t mince her words…

Elizabeth, you've been involved in the financial technology industry for over 20 years. What inspired you to pursue a career in this field, and how have you seen it evolve over the years?

I wanted to be a journalist – that was my plan from the time I was 9-years-old. When looking for a job I applied to every junior reporter, editorial assistant position I could find listed on the East Coast of the US. The classified sections of the Boston Globe, NYT, Philadelphia Enquirer, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post mailed to me every week. The publishing house that offered me a job, with a salary that was just about doable to live in NY, was a company called Waters – which published newsletters that covered the data and technology industry that services investment banking. I saw ‘reporter’ and New York – I barely knew what a stock was and had never been on the internet (which wouldn’t appear until a year into the job anyway). It was a learning curve.

How banks deal with data and technology have evolved in an unrecognisable way over the past 30 years. When I started, banks would try and build their own operating systems, in house. Now, they use off-the-shelf software, Saas and cloud. That’s huge for a bank.

As a commentator on fintech, what trends do you see emerging in the fintech space that are particularly exciting or transformative?

Ah, we were promised flying cars. Listen, fintech has been transformative – but more in how products are developed. Open-source computing, open APIs, cloud etc… all that means is that products can be built much quicker than before. Have we, as an industry, actually changed anything for customers? Where are the new services, new markets, where is the fairer and more democratic finance?

I am so disappointed at how lacking in imagination much of fintech really is.

Do you believe that the fintech industry is becoming more inclusive and diverse, and if so, what do you think is driving this change? In addition, have you noticed any significant changes in the fintech industry regarding gender representation and diversity during your time in the industry? I know this is a loaded question!

Ha! Traditional banks are so much better than this – but that may be because they are subject to more oversight. When I left journalism to work with startups I thought I had experienced sexism. I had not even scratched the surface. I have had men say, to my face, in a crowded room that women ‘cannot be trusted’ to found companies. I have been screamed at, twice, that female founders DO. NOT. EXIST. There is a HUGE diversity problem with fintech and startups in general. And it is not because diverse founders do not exist – they do and they are plentiful. It is because the people with the money to fund these startups are not diverse – and they feel zero compulsion to look outside their worldview or bubble.

As the fintech industry continues to grow, what challenges do you see emerging for startups and investors in this space? How can these challenges be addressed?

Fund women. Fund people of colour. Fund people who grew up in a different culture or country from you. Fund people who did not go to that school etc. Just do it. I have no time for anyone who doesn’t start from that point.

How do you think fintech can contribute to financial inclusion and serve underserved populations around the world? What role do you see technology playing in achieving these goals?

The answer lies in changing traditional business models. The tech is just a tool to deliver products. Financial services needs to change at the source.

We recently interviewed Chris Skinner, who spoke at length about using fintech for good in creating a fair and sustainable planet for future generations: what role do you see fintech playing in contributing to the global sustainability agenda?

Google how much electricity crypto mining uses. I have a lot of admiration for people who are generally trying to do good and make a difference in the world. But ‘good deeds’ don’t change the world. Money does. Green energy, sustainable policies need to start making more money. Banks don’t take a moral judgment over whether they are funding an oil field or a wind farm. Make the wind farm the better bet.

Until the money talks, all other talk is just virtue signalling.

In your opinion, what are the most promising fintech solutions for promoting sustainable development, and how can these solutions be scaled up to make a meaningful impact?

If you can find me one that doesn’t get politized, squashed, or are 99% PR, let me know.

With the rise of new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, what do you see as the future of fintech, and how do you think these technologies will shape the industry?

Blockchain used correctly, will be as interesting as you telling me you use an Oracle database. It is a back office technology (a good one) but it is back office. AI that we as humans control and support human activities will be a game-changer. AI that causes chaos or gets anthropomorphized when it shouldn’t is just a clickbaity, media distraction.

What advice do you have for aspiring fintech professionals who want to make a difference in this field? What skills and qualities do you think are essential for success in fintech?

Believe in the idea that everything and anything can be changed. Gather groups of likeminded people around you – in person and on social media – that help when you feel you might be going mad! Money is extremely important – those that have it have power. There are groups who are actively denied access to that power – those people are mostly the poor and a huge percentage of that group are women. The world will never change until the hordes of mediocre men who control way too much money and power are reduced in number.

You're currently working with the Financial Times as a Deputy Editor for The Banker, what has it been like working in the media industry so far? Do you think the media model has changed and is continuing to change?

Ha! You want to talk about digital disruption, talk to a journalist. Digital has completely changed media – and not always for the better. The best media offers its audience what it needs, not what it wants. Digital algorithms only care about wants, not needs. My paper is behind a paywall – you pay for quality; you get lies for free.

That said – the fact that many journalists were slow to take advantage of new channels and new content for decades has always been a mystery to me. Because trained and qualified journalists hid behind paper publications and shied away from online video, podcasts, social media for years. The untrained, the deliberately manipulative, agents where social truth is not a top priority, took control of many of these channels and society, as a whole, is feeling it right now.

Proper journalists are playing catch up.  

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