S6E4. Financial Inclusion and the Impact of FinTech w/ Steve Smith & Ryan Christansen

When it comes to creating more equitable access to economic
opportunities, like buying a house or getting a loan to start a
small business, financial technology innovations are moving the
needle faster than almost anything else. 





Joining us today to talk about FinTech and the role it plays in
economic equality are Ryan Christiansen and Steve
Smith. Ryan Christiansen is the Executive Director of the
Stena Center for Financial Technology at the University of Utah.
In this role, Ryan directs and coordinates the labs, venture
fund, incubator, and student programs at the center.





Steve Smith is one of the co-founders and creators of the Stena
Foundation and currently serves as Chief Engagement Officer,
Global Open Banking for MasterCard. He believes that
financial inclusion and quality education can be a catalyst for
change and can break the chains of generational poverty to lift
local economies.  





Steve and Ryan join host Frances Johnson to discuss how FinTech
innovations can help bridge the gaps in economic inclusion, how
Utah plays a role in the greater FinTech landscape, and building
out the intention and future of the Stena Center. 





Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School
of Business and is produced by University FM.



Episode Quotes:




The small and medium-sized business success in global
financial inclusion





[25:24] Steve Smith: The success of the small and medium-sized
business is really important in the world economy for driving
economic impact and financial inclusion at a higher level. Think
about this: if every small and medium-sized business, to the
extent they hire employees, were more successful and able to hire
just one more employee next year across the world, what level of
economic impact would that have?


You start thinking in terms of that, and then you start thinking
about where the center can play a meaningful role in helping
individuals, families, communities, entire nations kind of lift
themselves from the foundation up, rather than trying to put
band-aids on problem sets that are always repeat problem sets.
So, I think that's where the focus is in fintech and financial
services and really democratizing financial inclusion in very
meaningful ways.





The role of intention at Stena Center





[15:00] Ryan Christansen: What I think is so important about the
Stena Center is intention. So we've had a lot of success, as
we've both talked about in the state of Utah around FinTech, and
there's some other cities around the world or areas around the
country that have had some success. I think what makes it really
special here in Utah is truly that intention.





Small and medium-sized businesses fuels the world
economy





[25:24] Steve Smith: What's really important for the Stena
Foundation is: What are the fundamental building blocks of
economic success and economic mobility—let's call it—that create
enduring economic empowerment? For individuals, I think that you
always have to wrap in small and medium-sized businesses because
they fuel so much of the world's economy. And so, I think the
center is great. A great example of bringing academics together
with industry together with philanthropy, right? So you've got
three verticals that sometimes operate independently and a center
that does best in class, bringing them all together.





On Utah as an epicenter for Fintech





[09:05] Ryan Christansen: It's a really exciting place here
in Utah when you look at it from various aspects. And I'll start
with maybe the universities in Utah. You've got a lot of highly
educated people coming out of the university system that have
been starting these businesses, whether they're technology
businesses or FinTech businesses, and there's really been a long
history of that in the state of Utah...So you've got a lot of
kinds of startup mentality with the educational system, doing a
lot of innovation as well.



Show Links:

Steve Smith | LinkedIn

Stena Foundation

Ryan Christiansen | LinkedIn

Stena Center for Financial Technology