Javelin Strategy & Research

Meet Greg O'Gara, Lead Analyst on Javelin’s Digital Wealth team! 💼Career Journey Greg’s career in financial services stems from his unique blend of technology and communication skills. His undergraduate studies in computer science and operations research gave him a strong foundation for finance and consulting. During his three years in the Chairman’s Office at UBS NA (formerly PaineWebber), he developed the ability to combine technical expertise with clear explanations of complex financial concepts, preparing him for roles that require both. 🎲Research Spotlight His recent report, "The Investor's Gamble: Spending, Debt, and Short-term Thrills," explores the growing connection between online gambling and gaming to increased self-directed trading and risk-taking behaviors among younger investors. The report highlights how social media and short-term trading encourage risk-taking behaviors and addresses the challenges for financial advisors, offering strategies to bridge the gap between long-term planning and a short-term investor mindset. Digital Wealth subscribers can access the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eWdBERzE 🏈Beyond Finance People might be surprised to learn that Greg ventured into sports safety by filing a patent for a football helmet design. The helmet uses a magnetic repulsion system to reduce head injuries, including concussions. This unexpected project was a fun way for Greg to apply his technology, writing, and problem-solving skills outside of finance. 🎵Outside of Work Greg is passionate about music and writing. He’s played piano since third grade, composing pieces inspired by movie soundtracks, rock, and pop. A memorable moment was buying his first electric piano from jazz artist and Juilliard graduate, Walter Bishop Jr. Greg has had two essays featured in the Hektoen Journal of Medical Humanities. For exercise, he enjoys working on his farmhouse in the Maryland countryside, where he runs an Airbnb. 💬Any advice for industry newbies? "My advice is simple: stay open-minded, embrace change, work hard, and build strong relationships. Listening is a lost art—so truly hear what others have to say. And never burn bridges. Your reputation and connections will shape your career." Be sure to follow Javelin Strategy & Research to meet another of our dedicated, industry experts next month.

Javelin's Tracy K. delivered a keynote at the TransUnion 2024 Identity and Fraud Summit in Chicago last week. This exclusive event brought together senior leaders to address the growing challenges in identity risk and fraud prevention. Tracy’s keynote, “The Shattered Identity Crisis,” focused on how financial institutions can address identity verification gaps by relying more heavily on anonymized data signals, analytics, and biometrics to authenticate consumers, at account opening and throughout the account lifecycle. Her insights emphasized how businesses can better protect consumers and foster trust in the digital age. #FraudPrevention #IdentityRisk #Fintech

Instant payments are proliferating, and business bankers are searching for a set of “killer use cases” to drive widespread adoption. Many businesses are experimenting with instant payments, yet awareness among the broader market remains low and misperceptions abound. The report examines the design, product, marketing, and educational challenges ahead as FIs roll out instant payments. And it draws on hundreds of responses from businesses to identify key early behaviors and determine the most valuable use cases as the market evolves. Download the full report: https://lnkd.in/e48R9t_u

Cryptocurrencies are making inconsistent progress in the United States. The regulatory environment, at best, sends mixed signals. Consumer attitudes are wary. Even as bitcoin values surge, viewpoints range from outright distrust sowed by scandal and volatility to wholehearted embrace. Institutional investors are moving toward crypto—and in that sense, regulators are beginning to move with them—but widespread adoption of digital currencies as mainline payment vehicles is on a distant horizon. Then there are stablecoins. These programmable digital currencies are coming into their own. Their resistance to volatility and ability to be programmed to respond to certain thresholds in transactions open up a range of compelling use cases. Download the full report: https://lnkd.in/ekKEBbuH

Javelin's Ben Danner shares insights on the evolution of metal credit cards, their sustainability impact, and what’s next for physical cards. 💳 While digital wallets are on the rise, Danner highlights that a significant number of customers still prefer physical cards. Learn why in Nerd Wallet: https://lnkd.in/eeXHNxqZ

Digital wallets are made possible by a chip in smartphones that enables the phones to function like payment cards when they’re tapped on an accepting terminal device. Now those same chips, utilizing near-field communication technology, have been unlocked by Apple and Android to receive contactless data as well, enabling the phone to function as a payment acceptance device. Merchants can now use their own smartphones as payment terminals to accept contactless card payments from customers without the need for a separate terminal or peripheral device. Read now:

There is a seismic shift in financial services as social media platforms become critical sources of investment data for traders and advised clients. Professional and amateur online communities are flourishing, offering tips, opinions, and strategies that are reshaping the investment landscape, if not adding to misinformation and market volatility. There is an urgent need for financial advisors, institutions, and fintechs to adapt to this new reality. Read now: https://lnkd.in/ejt7Ks3D

Users of TikTok and other social media platforms have accelerated check fraud by exploiting known gaps in check fraud detection processes. The viral TikTok Chase Bank “glitch” posts have unearthed consumers’ willingness to commit the age-old fraud of check kiting. This fraud is being committed under the guise that people are in desperate need of money and are simply taking advantage of unknown loopholes in processes at large institutions that have the money to spare. Read now: https://lnkd.in/esPAaamV

The digital-only payer—one who has left behind the physical wallet and its tangible payment forms—is a popular creature in the media, one who fronts declarations that all-digital payments have taken over. But the data points paint a more complicated picture, one that includes a small representation of digital-only payers but many, many more who still leave the house with wallets, cards, and cash. For digital-only payments to truly take over, factors beyond the transaction—widespread digital ID, for example—will have to fall in line. This emergence will be measured in decades—and we’re already a decade or more into it. Read now: https://lnkd.in/eBf8Qwjm

A 10% cap on credit card interest rates—an idea floated in the presidential race—would have profound effects on the credit card market, cutting deeply into how credit cards are priced and provisioned against losses and necessitating moves by the industry that would lock vast swaths of the populace out of traditional credit card products. This Javelin Strategy & Research impact note lays out the scenario and the fallout that would ensue. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eExWzNWg