Financial tools and products ­­from 401ks to direct deposit ­­play a critical role in how Americans manage their financial lives and plan for both their short­term and long­term financial needs. Market lessons and behavioral studies have shown that people can and will make different choices based on the types of tools and financial interventions available to them ­­ with significant implications for the financial health of individuals and their families. The financial services industry, which itself is experiencing tremendous change and innovation, often sits between companies and working Americans and is an important influencer of these outcomes.

Today, consistent with current concerns around income volatility, we see innovation in the form of income smoothing and instant payment/funds transfer. What will we be talking about tomorrow? In five years? To explore the challenges of the immediate future and the innovations on the horizon, the Aspen Institute held a brainstorming session on the future of financial tools for working Americans.

This session explored key questions about the future of financial technology, including:

• What do you see as the top financial challenges facing working Americans? What consumer insights inform this?
• What new financial challenges do you see in the future? What are consumers’ evolving financial service/product needs?
• How can FinTech uniquely solve these challenges?
• What other types of solutions could be pursued by actors in other sectors?
• What are the regulatory/policy opportunities that allow innovations to scale?
• What are the regulatory/policy barriers that impede innovations to scale?
• Do you see limits for what FinTech can solve?