i2C Exec Says FinTech-Bank Convergence Will ‘Redefine’ Financial Services

 When it comes to FinTechs, change and transformation are often the only constants.

That makes the question of what it means to be a FinTech in 2025 more than a theoretical exercise — it’s a critical consideration. And while FinTechs have historically been associated with younger, digitally savvy consumers, that trend is shifting.

“The myth has been busted that older generations, whether we’re talking about the U.S. market or globally, are afraid of digital financial services,” David Durovy, the senior vice president of transformation at i2c, told PYMNTS during a discussion for the series “What’s Next In Payments: What Does It Mean To Be A FinTech in 2025?”

The convergence of legacy financial institutions and FinTechs is also redefining market dynamics. The overlap between big banks adopting FinTech capabilities and FinTechs facing the reality of compliance management and regulatory oversight is creating a hybrid model where the lines between traditional and digital-native financial services blur.

“The traditional legacy players look much more like FinTechs than they did 10 years ago, five years ago, or even 12 months ago,” Durovy said. This means they are embracing cloud-native capabilities and API interoperability. But, he added, legacy architectural constraints are often still not addressed, resulting in enhancements that might only be “skin deep.”

The value proposition of FinTechs has undergone a transformation over the past year, both for consumers and businesses. According to Durovy, the industry’s evolution is not about discovering a “silver bullet” but rather about adapting in a market where stakeholder expectations continue to change.

“There’s a lot of different ways to look at it, but coming at it from the perspective of the consumer lens and what really is different, I think we’ve talked before about the world of risk and oversight and external threats,” he said.

Consumers today are more focused on their financial security than ever before. From cyberthreats to household financial risks, Durovy emphasized that FinTechs must rethink customer engagement and the customer journey itself, highlighting the need for innovative tools and capabilities that specifically address these heightened concerns.

“We need to speak with our customers and our clients in different ways. We need to think about the customer journey potentially in a different way,” he said.

Growth remains a crucial goal for FinTechs, but scaling effectively requires a nuanced approach. This can mean something very different if you are a five-person FinTech startup or if you are leading a 50,000-person legacy payments platform company — understanding operational limits, required investments, and market potential is vital.

“There’s a big difference between ‘I can stretch,’ and ‘I can make do,’ versus ‘I have reached a breaking point,’” Durovy said, stressing the need for businesses — especially high-growth FinTechs — to recognize their critical points of failure.

This strategic foresight extends to technology adoption as well. Durovy advised against rushing into large-scale software solutions prematurely.

“There is often a push very quick out of the gate that we [FinTechs] need to have these tools in place to reach any level of success. … I personally feel that that isn’t always the case,” he said, advocating for a more measured and “Goldilocks” approach to technology investments.

A significant theme in the maturation of FinTech is the regulatory environment.

“Regulatory compliance has changed the entire game,” Durovy said. He described the early days of FinTech as a “wild, wild west” where regulations were either nonexistent or loosely applied.

Today, however, it is vastly different, with clear and often stringent rules guiding new products, services and use cases. The focus for FinTechs will be on setting robust risk management and aligning compliance with evolving regulations.

Durovy pointed to the dangers of ignoring regulatory developments.

“We have to be upfront and honest about what those gray spaces are because we can’t just turn a blind eye as an industry and pretend as though they won’t be regulated tomorrow,” he said.

Partnerships are also increasingly shaping the FinTech landscape. Durovy sees collaborations as a critical component of success. By leveraging partnerships, both large and small players can accelerate market entry, enhance brand awareness and fuel innovation.

“We’re seeing [legacy players] get into new markets because they’re thinking about going to market differently, structuring for success in a different way,” he said.

Looking ahead, Durovy concluded with a look at how i2c itself approaches these industry trends. The company emphasizes flexibility and configurability in its solutions, allowing for a tailored approach to market needs.

“It’s almost like being in a candy store, right? There’s so much to pick from, what do you pick first?” he said, adding that as the industry grows up and grows out, the companies that succeed will be those that define their vision clearly, scale judiciously and partner wisely.

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