TIME100 Fintech Game-Changers: The Stories Behind Three Companies Shaping Our Future
What does it take to change the world? Sometimes, it’s a quiet revolution—one that starts in a boardroom, a garage, or a co-working space and ends up altering how billions move, spend, and trust their money. Here are three companies from the TIME100 list whose stories aren’t just about numbers, but about vision, grit, and the will to rewrite the rules.
Fiserv (USA): The Relentless Architect of Modern Money Movement
It is 1984 in the United States. Banking is slow, paperwork is everywhere, and computers are just starting to change business. That year, two regional data processing firms—First Data Processing and Sunshine State Systems—merged to form Fiserv. Their goal? To help banks and credit unions use technology to serve customers better and faster. Over the next decades, Fiserv grows by acquiring other companies, constantly adding new technology and services. By the late 1990s, Fiserv was powering the back-end for thousands of banks, launching innovations like electronic bills and the Premier account processing platform.
Now Fiserv is a known name for building and managing the technology that lets banks, credit unions, and merchants process payments, manage accounts, and offer digital banking.
Secret sauce:
- Aggressive Acquisitions: Fiserv’s rapid growth began with a series of acquisitions, notably Citicorp Information Resources, which brought them into the core account processing market for commercial banks and credit unions. This strategy continued with the acquisition of Information Technology, Inc. in 1995, giving them the widely used Premier account processing platform.
- Early Digital Transformation: Fiserv was quick to launch digital services, including a website in 1995 and fully electronic bills (E-bills) in 1997, positioning itself as a digital leader.
- The Quiet Giant: Today, Fiserv is the silent force behind millions of daily transactions, serving over 100 countries, and reporting 1.75 trillion in annual revenue.3
“Every time you swipe, tap, or transfer in the US, odds are their tech is humming in the background—making modern finance possible. “We touch probably 100% of U.S. households,”
-Neil H. Wilcox, head of corporate social responsibility”
Key Innovations:
- Account Processing Platforms: Premier became a standard for banks.
- E-bills & Digital Payments: Early adoption and rollout of digital billing and payments.
- Integrated Financial Services: Fiserv unified multiple banking services under one roof.
In today’s financial world, if money moves in the US, chances are Fiserv is making it happen—swiftly, securely, and almost invisibly.
TymeBank: The Bank Without a Branch.
South Africa, 2012. Millions are unbanked, and traditional banks can’t reach them. A project called “Take Your Money Everywhere” (Tyme) is born, aiming to use technology to bring banking to everyone. By 2018, TymeBank launched as South Africa’s first fully digital bank—with no branches, just self-service kiosks in grocery stores. Customers can open accounts in minutes, get instant debit cards, and manage money easily. Backed by investors from Asia, Tyme expands to the Philippines and beyond. The bank now has almost R7 billion in customer deposits. This makes TymeBank the fastest growing bank in South Africa based on customer deposits for the 2024 calendar year – growing significantly faster than the country’s ‘Big Five’ banks. 2
“You can walk into a grocery store in South Africa and open a bank account with us in under three minutes,”
– Chief Growth Officer Rachel Freeman, Tyme
Secret sauce:
- Phygital Model: TymeBank combined digital banking with in-store kiosks at major retailers, making account opening fast and accessible for all, including the unbanked where anyone can open an account in minutes—biometric ID, instant debit card, no paperwork7.
- Strategic Partnerships: Collaborations with retail giants like Pick n Pay and Boxer allowed Tyme to reach millions quickly.
- Innovation and Affordability: TymeBank offered affordable banking, instant account opening, and unique products like interest-free advances and high-yield savings, attracting 450,000 new customers monthly.4
A man at a TymeBank kiosk.Courtesy Tyme Group
Key Innovations:
- Instant Account Opening: Customers can open an account and get a debit card in under five minutes at a retail kiosk.
- Merchant Cash Advance: Financing for over 80,000 SMEs, supporting business growth. 5
- Affordable, Accessible Banking: The most affordable banking offering in South Africa, with innovative products like Grant Advance and MoreTyme (BNPL).
TymeBank has achieved remarkable growth, reaching 10 million users in under six years and accumulating $400 million in deposits, becoming the first digital bank in Africa to achieve profitability. It has played a significant role in financial inclusion, with a large portion of its customers previously unbanked, effectively bridging the financial access gap. Additionally, TymeBank has empowered small businesses by disbursing over R12 billion in loans to more than 80,000 enterprises, fueling entrepreneurship and driving local economic growth.5.
And Tyme Group has no intention of collaborating with larger banks, Freeman says. Why? “We’re going to beat them out.”
A hybrid digital-physical approach, strong retail partnerships, and a focus on affordable, accessible products made TymeBank the first African digital bank to reach profitability in under five years. It’s about making banking frictionless for the people who need it most—and showing the world that inclusion and innovation can go hand in hand.
Plaid (USA): The API That Unlocked a Fintech Revolution
San Francisco, 2013. Zach Perret and William Hockey are trying to build a personal finance app, but run into a big problem: there’s no easy way to connect apps to people’s bank accounts. They pivot, creating Plaid—a company that builds the “pipes” connecting banks to apps. Plaid’s technology quickly becomes the backbone for thousands of fintech startups, powering apps like Venmo, Robinhood, and Chime.
William Hockey and Zach Perret- Founders
I don’t want to give ourselves too much credit, but I think we were a meaningful part of helping financial services become as digital as they are today,”
-Co-founder and CEO, Zach Perret
Plaid provides the technology that lets apps and websites securely connect to your bank account (with your permission). This means you can use budgeting apps, investment platforms, or payment tools—all powered by Plaid’s secure connections.
Secret Sauce
- Solving a Core Pain Point: Plaid addressed the critical need for secure, easy connections between financial apps and users’ bank accounts, enabling the fintech ecosystem to flourish9.
- Expansion and Diversification: Plaid expanded beyond fintechs to serve enterprise clients, adding services like onboarding, anti-fraud, and payments9.
- Commitment to Security: Security and privacy were always paramount, earning trust from both users and financial institutions.
Key Innovations:
- Unified Financial Data API: Simplified linking of bank accounts to apps like Venmo and PayPal.
- Multi-Product Expansion: New offerings in identity verification, lending, and onboarding (e.g., Layer, which reduces signup friction by 90%)9.
- Global Reach: Plaid now connects to 12,000 financial institutions and 500 million accounts worldwide9.
Plaid’s focus on seamless, secure connectivity and its ability to evolve into a multi-product platform made it the backbone of the modern fintech ecosystem9.
The Big Picture: Lessons from the TIME100 Trailblazers
- Solve Real Problems: Each company started by tackling a pain point—whether it was fragmented payments, financial exclusion, or data bottlenecks.
- Build Trust, Not Just Tech: Regulatory savvy, partnerships, and reliability are their calling cards.
- Think Ecosystem: The most influential don’t just build products—they build platforms and communities
These 3 companies didn’t just make the TIME100—they made history. The next world-changer could be reading this right now. What’s your idea? What’s your story?
Contributed by Adhwaith Ashok, India Fintech Foundation
