In the past year, the financial technology sector has seen a wave of innovations. Microfinance startups are finding their place inside of automated savings programs, social money sharing, and app-based investing, while legacy financial institutions are testing their own limits, putting payments inside of jewelry, appliances, and other unlikely places. Below are the top 10 organizations that are breaking with traditional notions about what it means to bank.
Click on a company to learn more about why it made the list.
01. Goldman Sachs
For becoming a consumer lender
02. Digit
For turning saving money into a mindless task
03. IEX
For helping human investors compete with computers
04. Ethereum
For creating a more developer-friendly public blockchain
05. Ant Financial
For banking on economic growth in rural China
06. Quantopian
For crowdsourcing investment algorithms
07. Robinhood
For adding premium perks to trading
08. Venmo
For expanding beyond peer-to-peer transactions
09. Visa
For empowering payment via wearables
10. Forerunner Ventures
For investing in the future of commerce
This article is part of our coverage of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017.