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Fintech Wars: Tech Titans, Complex Crypto and the Future of Money
From scandalous scams to overnight riches, fintech is a fascinating world full of fame, fortune and failure.
As one of the world's most lucrative and fast-growing sectors, fintech attracts a wide range of characters, from innovative visionaries to charismatic charlatans. Fintech Wars uncovers the infamous rivalries, scandals and conflicts that have transformed the world, from the stratospheric rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried to the rapid growth of digital banking.
As the founder of a digital bank, James da Costa is a fintech insider. He draws upon his network and first-hand experiences to offer a fascinating look into the intricacies and motivations behind these stranger-than-fiction stories and conflicts. Step into the fascinating, chaotic and inspiring world of fintech with Fintech Wars.
As one of the world's most lucrative and fast-growing sectors, fintech attracts a wide range of characters, from innovative visionaries to charismatic charlatans. Fintech Wars uncovers the infamous rivalries, scandals and conflicts that have transformed the world, from the stratospheric rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried to the rapid growth of digital banking.
As the founder of a digital bank, James da Costa is a fintech insider. He draws upon his network and first-hand experiences to offer a fascinating look into the intricacies and motivations behind these stranger-than-fiction stories and conflicts. Step into the fascinating, chaotic and inspiring world of fintech with Fintech Wars.
- GenresEconomics
272 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2024
20 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
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June 22, 2025"Fintech Wars" by James Da Costa presents a compelling narrative about how unconventional thinkers have redefined the financial world. By tracing the journeys of several pioneering companies and their founders, the book reveals how innovation in finance often arises not from the heart of Wall Street but from the minds of outsiders who see possibilities where others see risk. In a time when money is increasingly moved by tapping screens rather than exchanging paper bills, Da Costa explores the individuals and ideas that turned financial services into a dynamic frontier of technological transformation. Through detailed stories of companies like Capital One, Venmo, Silicon Valley Bank, and Oscar Health, he illustrates the critical role of vision, data, crisis management, and creative problem-solving in building the modern fintech ecosystem.
One of the foundational stories in the book is that of Capital One, whose origin lies in the partnership between Nigel Morris and Rich Fairbank, two business consultants in the late 1980s. At a time when banks used a one-size-fits-all approach to lending, Morris and Fairbank proposed a revolutionary idea: use algorithms and financial behavior data to personalize credit card offers. Their plan found a home at Signet Bank, a regional institution looking to expand its credit card business. The early days of the venture were rocky. Few customers were drawn to their tailored offerings, and internal support waned. Ironically, a global recession created the breathing space they needed to prove their concept. By offering lower rates to customers willing to transfer their balances, they sparked a wave of growth. This success eventually led to the creation of Capital One in 1994.
Capital One’s ascent was defined by its obsessive reliance on data. Everything was tested—interest rates, promotional tactics, marketing messages—resulting in a model known as 'information-based lending.' Unlike traditional banks, Capital One could identify and serve customers that others ignored, often those considered too risky. Their analytical precision enabled them to profitably extend credit to underbanked individuals. Inside the company, Morris and Fairbank complemented each other—one focused on infrastructure and talent, the other on customer acquisition and branding. However, success attracted scrutiny. As Capital One grew, regulators began paying closer attention, especially after financial misreporting incidents affected other firms in the sector. In 2008, the financial crisis tested the company's resilience. Despite suffering enormous losses, Capital One’s risk management systems and preparedness allowed it to survive and even emerge stronger. By combining technology with deep financial understanding, it laid the groundwork for what would later be recognized as the fintech model—long before that term gained popularity.
Another striking example of outsider innovation is Venmo. The mobile payment app’s origin is as casual as it is illustrative of how modern financial solutions often stem from personal inconvenience. In 2009, Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail were attending a music show in Philadelphia and found it frustrating that they couldn't tip the performers easily. This sparked the idea of sending money via text. The two had different but complementary backgrounds—Magdon-Ismail had lived in various African countries, giving him a unique view of monetary systems, while Kortina came from a modest background in New Jersey. Their shared experiences as college roommates led them to experiment with several startups before finally focusing on peer-to-peer payments. A forgotten wallet during a visit helped clarify their concept, and they built a prototype enabling money transfers through SMS.
Named by blending the Latin word for 'sell' with 'mobile,' Venmo quickly attracted attention for its intuitive, social-first design. Yet despite early user growth and funding, the company faced a serious setback: offering free credit card transactions led to widespread abuse as users earned rewards without actual purchases, burning through capital. With only weeks of funds remaining, Braintree acquired the company, providing the infrastructure and support it needed. A year later, PayPal’s acquisition enabled Venmo to scale massively. Even as it grew under corporate ownership, Venmo retained its unique tone and branding. Unorthodox campaigns, such as mysterious billboards promoting 'Lucas uses Venmo,' helped build cultural cachet. By 2023, with over 85 million users, Venmo had become more than a payment app—it was a cultural shorthand for casual transactions, reshaping how a generation handled money.
Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, represents another form of fintech evolution. Unlike the tech-savvy disruptors of payments or credit, SVB grew out of a conversation during a 1983 poker game between two Bank of America executives. They envisioned a bank designed for startups—entities considered too risky by traditional banks. Based in Santa Clara, California, SVB positioned itself in the center of the tech industry, catering to venture-backed firms and their investors. Instead of chasing immediate profits, SVB took a long-term approach, building strong ties within the startup ecosystem and offering specialized financial services.
For decades, this strategy worked. By 2019, SVB had accumulated \$100 billion in deposits. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a massive increase in venture capital funding. Tech startups, flush with investment, deposited enormous sums into SVB, doubling its deposits to \$200 billion in a single year. This catapulted SVB into the ranks of major American banks. However, its dramatic growth proved dangerous. The bank invested heavily in government bonds, which plummeted in value when interest rates rose. In March 2023, concerns over its balance sheet triggered a modern-day bank run, with customers withdrawing \$42 billion in a single day. Within two days, SVB had collapsed, requiring federal intervention. The irony was stark: a bank built on understanding tech risk fell due to mismanaging a traditional risk—interest rate exposure.
The final case Da Costa explores is Oscar Health, a startup born from personal frustration with the U.S. healthcare system. Co-founder Mario Schlosser, puzzled by the complexity and opacity of insurance during his wife’s pregnancy, decided to build a better alternative. Drawing on his experience designing digital game economies, Schlosser applied the same behavioral principles to health insurance. Oscar rewarded users for healthy behaviors—daily steps, flu shots—with tangible incentives like gift cards. The approach resonated with consumers, earning high satisfaction ratings and helping the company secure a \$5 billion valuation at IPO.
Yet Oscar’s path was not smooth. Policy shifts during the Trump administration threatened its existence, but it survived thanks to strategic pivots and a major investment from Alphabet. Oscar’s story underscores the power law dynamics of venture capital: a few exceptional outcomes can make or break entire investment portfolios. The same logic applies in insurance, where rare events carry massive financial weight. Modern venture firms increasingly provide not just capital but operational support, acknowledging that startup success requires more than funding. Oscar exemplifies how companies can thrive by turning uncertainty into strategic advantage.
In "Fintech Wars", James Da Costa reveals a powerful common thread running through these diverse companies: successful fintech innovation is less about financial pedigree and more about insight, agility, and courage to challenge established norms. Whether it was Capital One using data to revolutionize credit, Venmo simplifying money transfers, SVB betting on startups, or Oscar gamifying insurance, these ventures reshaped entire industries by rethinking how people interact with money. What started as a niche field has matured into a global movement that touches everything from digital wallets in developing countries to algorithm-driven lending in major economies. The future of money, as this book suggests, belongs to those willing to look at the familiar and imagine it anew.
One of the foundational stories in the book is that of Capital One, whose origin lies in the partnership between Nigel Morris and Rich Fairbank, two business consultants in the late 1980s. At a time when banks used a one-size-fits-all approach to lending, Morris and Fairbank proposed a revolutionary idea: use algorithms and financial behavior data to personalize credit card offers. Their plan found a home at Signet Bank, a regional institution looking to expand its credit card business. The early days of the venture were rocky. Few customers were drawn to their tailored offerings, and internal support waned. Ironically, a global recession created the breathing space they needed to prove their concept. By offering lower rates to customers willing to transfer their balances, they sparked a wave of growth. This success eventually led to the creation of Capital One in 1994.
Capital One’s ascent was defined by its obsessive reliance on data. Everything was tested—interest rates, promotional tactics, marketing messages—resulting in a model known as 'information-based lending.' Unlike traditional banks, Capital One could identify and serve customers that others ignored, often those considered too risky. Their analytical precision enabled them to profitably extend credit to underbanked individuals. Inside the company, Morris and Fairbank complemented each other—one focused on infrastructure and talent, the other on customer acquisition and branding. However, success attracted scrutiny. As Capital One grew, regulators began paying closer attention, especially after financial misreporting incidents affected other firms in the sector. In 2008, the financial crisis tested the company's resilience. Despite suffering enormous losses, Capital One’s risk management systems and preparedness allowed it to survive and even emerge stronger. By combining technology with deep financial understanding, it laid the groundwork for what would later be recognized as the fintech model—long before that term gained popularity.
Another striking example of outsider innovation is Venmo. The mobile payment app’s origin is as casual as it is illustrative of how modern financial solutions often stem from personal inconvenience. In 2009, Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail were attending a music show in Philadelphia and found it frustrating that they couldn't tip the performers easily. This sparked the idea of sending money via text. The two had different but complementary backgrounds—Magdon-Ismail had lived in various African countries, giving him a unique view of monetary systems, while Kortina came from a modest background in New Jersey. Their shared experiences as college roommates led them to experiment with several startups before finally focusing on peer-to-peer payments. A forgotten wallet during a visit helped clarify their concept, and they built a prototype enabling money transfers through SMS.
Named by blending the Latin word for 'sell' with 'mobile,' Venmo quickly attracted attention for its intuitive, social-first design. Yet despite early user growth and funding, the company faced a serious setback: offering free credit card transactions led to widespread abuse as users earned rewards without actual purchases, burning through capital. With only weeks of funds remaining, Braintree acquired the company, providing the infrastructure and support it needed. A year later, PayPal’s acquisition enabled Venmo to scale massively. Even as it grew under corporate ownership, Venmo retained its unique tone and branding. Unorthodox campaigns, such as mysterious billboards promoting 'Lucas uses Venmo,' helped build cultural cachet. By 2023, with over 85 million users, Venmo had become more than a payment app—it was a cultural shorthand for casual transactions, reshaping how a generation handled money.
Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, represents another form of fintech evolution. Unlike the tech-savvy disruptors of payments or credit, SVB grew out of a conversation during a 1983 poker game between two Bank of America executives. They envisioned a bank designed for startups—entities considered too risky by traditional banks. Based in Santa Clara, California, SVB positioned itself in the center of the tech industry, catering to venture-backed firms and their investors. Instead of chasing immediate profits, SVB took a long-term approach, building strong ties within the startup ecosystem and offering specialized financial services.
For decades, this strategy worked. By 2019, SVB had accumulated \$100 billion in deposits. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a massive increase in venture capital funding. Tech startups, flush with investment, deposited enormous sums into SVB, doubling its deposits to \$200 billion in a single year. This catapulted SVB into the ranks of major American banks. However, its dramatic growth proved dangerous. The bank invested heavily in government bonds, which plummeted in value when interest rates rose. In March 2023, concerns over its balance sheet triggered a modern-day bank run, with customers withdrawing \$42 billion in a single day. Within two days, SVB had collapsed, requiring federal intervention. The irony was stark: a bank built on understanding tech risk fell due to mismanaging a traditional risk—interest rate exposure.
The final case Da Costa explores is Oscar Health, a startup born from personal frustration with the U.S. healthcare system. Co-founder Mario Schlosser, puzzled by the complexity and opacity of insurance during his wife’s pregnancy, decided to build a better alternative. Drawing on his experience designing digital game economies, Schlosser applied the same behavioral principles to health insurance. Oscar rewarded users for healthy behaviors—daily steps, flu shots—with tangible incentives like gift cards. The approach resonated with consumers, earning high satisfaction ratings and helping the company secure a \$5 billion valuation at IPO.
Yet Oscar’s path was not smooth. Policy shifts during the Trump administration threatened its existence, but it survived thanks to strategic pivots and a major investment from Alphabet. Oscar’s story underscores the power law dynamics of venture capital: a few exceptional outcomes can make or break entire investment portfolios. The same logic applies in insurance, where rare events carry massive financial weight. Modern venture firms increasingly provide not just capital but operational support, acknowledging that startup success requires more than funding. Oscar exemplifies how companies can thrive by turning uncertainty into strategic advantage.
In "Fintech Wars", James Da Costa reveals a powerful common thread running through these diverse companies: successful fintech innovation is less about financial pedigree and more about insight, agility, and courage to challenge established norms. Whether it was Capital One using data to revolutionize credit, Venmo simplifying money transfers, SVB betting on startups, or Oscar gamifying insurance, these ventures reshaped entire industries by rethinking how people interact with money. What started as a niche field has matured into a global movement that touches everything from digital wallets in developing countries to algorithm-driven lending in major economies. The future of money, as this book suggests, belongs to those willing to look at the familiar and imagine it anew.
December 31, 2025
As someone who works in venture, I’ve come across most if not all of the companies presented. Fintech is a complicated vertical and one where having a solid network to ease your way with regulators is crucial, and so many of the founders here (privileged upbringing, Stanford or McKinsey alumni) are anything but rag-to-riches entrepreneurial stories. And that’s exactly why I don’t understand the author’s persistence in portraying them as such. To quote from the book: “David Marcus’s journey into payments and blockchain began at age 23. Faced with financial pressures, he dropped out of college and left his job at a bank to start his first company, an alternative telecom provider in Switzerland.” Finally some advice for the common man!
June 21, 2025
“transformative financial innovation often comes from outsiders who recognize opportunities that others don’t.
From Capital One’s data-driven lending to Venmo’s social payments, Silicon Valley Bank’s tech focus, and Oscar Health’s gamified insurance – these companies succeeded by challenging conventional wisdom and cleverly leveraging new data and technology.
What began as a niche sector has grown into a global industry. Today, fintech covers everything from mobile payments in developing countries to cryptocurrency trading. These groundbreaking companies didn’t just build businesses – they changed how we save, spend, borrow, and invest.”
From Capital One’s data-driven lending to Venmo’s social payments, Silicon Valley Bank’s tech focus, and Oscar Health’s gamified insurance – these companies succeeded by challenging conventional wisdom and cleverly leveraging new data and technology.
What began as a niche sector has grown into a global industry. Today, fintech covers everything from mobile payments in developing countries to cryptocurrency trading. These groundbreaking companies didn’t just build businesses – they changed how we save, spend, borrow, and invest.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2025
A brilliant book about diffeeent Fin Techs, how they came about, what their challenges were and how they overcame them. There’s 10 different chapters, each focusing on a particular fintech. It was especially interesting to hear about Alibaba, SVB and Monzo. Crypto has a large part to play in the book, so it’s worth reading if you want a general understanding about crypto and blockchain actually mean in business terms. A solid 5 star book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2025
Really enjoyed this book! It’s a super readable dive into the crazy world of fintech, crypto, and how money’s changing. It does a great job breaking things down without dumbing it down, and the real-life stories and interviews make it feel like you’re getting the inside scoop. If you’re even a little bit curious about tech and finance, this one’s definitely worth a read.
July 20, 2025
Engaging history of Fintech. Easy and fun to read while getting lots of business wisdom, how each company focuses on various markets and strategies to become as big as they are now. Would like to give a 5, but a certain content, especially each chapter's summary is too generic.
July 13, 2025
the book that made me choose my undergrad thesis topic, really made me curious about how market volatility works in cryptocurrency
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews