At the highest level, financial services exist to help people and organizations move money, store money, borrow money, invest money, manage risk and raise capital.
This simplified landscape isn’t a strict industry classification (some domains overlap), but it’s a useful starting point.
| Domain | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Banking | Deposits, accounts, loans, mortgages, corporate banking |
| Payments | Cards, transfers, merchants, cross-border payments |
| Insurance | Life, health, property, claims, underwriting |
| Investments | Wealth management, asset management, funds |
| Capital markets | Trading, securities, investment banking, exchanges |
| Pensions | Retirement savings, pension funds, administration |
| Financial infrastructure | Clearing, settlement, custody, core systems |
| Regulation and risk | Compliance, fraud, identity, financial crime |
Technology and FinTech cuts across every domain above: digital products, data and AI, APIs, SaaS platforms, cloud and automation.
A more formal classification comes from the World Trade Organization, which covers insurance, banking, lending, payment services, securities, asset management and related financial services.
Next: Financial services subdomains and actual problems · A better way to look at the FinTech space · The technology value chain
Related: Financial services