The University of Utah’s FinTech Center is known for attracting financial creators and thought leaders, and this month’s 4th The annual Fintech Xchange is another proof.
Approximately 400 innovators and executives from companies including Visa, Intuit, LoanPro, and KPMG gathered in downtown Salt Lake City from February 4-6 to discuss the headwinds facing the industry, regulatory changes, emerging technologies, and how to stay true to our mission of helping consumers achieve their financial goals.
Fintech Center Senior Director Ryan Christiansen said Utah is a unique place to host the industry each year.
“Utah brings a favorable regulatory framework and innovation infrastructure,” Christiansen said while welcoming conference attendees. “But the insights, relationships and solutions developed here this week will shape fintech nationally. And while we’re proud of Utah’s role as a host, this is fundamentally a national conversation.”
The Fintech Center was established in 2023 as a hub for education, research, and innovation. In the three years since that announcement, 42 students have completed the FinTech minor at the university, the FinTech Ambassador program was launched, the center collaborated on economic research with the Kem C. Gardner Institute for Policy Studies, and this summer the FinTech minor expanded globally, taking students to Paris and Barcelona.
The state’s fintech sector continues to grow, creating approximately 8,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in wages by 2025. Salt Lake County alone is home to nearly 70 fintech companies. And the governor’s office says fintech companies add more than $7 billion to the state’s gross domestic product. Governor Spencer Cox has declared February 2026 as “Technology Month” in Utah to further encourage innovation. And in December, Cox announced a $10 million “pro-human” AI initiative to prepare Utah’s workforce and ensure technology supports human flourishing, rather than replacing it.
During a “hot take” discussion at Fintech Xchange on February 5, complete with hot chicken wings, leading fintech executives pointed to the challenges posed by rapid technology change and the proliferation of financial products such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and the proliferation of gambling apps, and implored the audience to stay true to the industry’s commitment to making financial technology more accessible and useful to consumers.
“Practically speaking, in 2026, the financial services industry will consist of two different parties. There are companies trying to convince consumers to give up and profit from that, and there are companies trying to convince customers not to give up,” said Alex Johnson, founder of FinTech Takes, which produces weekly newsletters and podcasts. “I hope everyone in this room is on the side of encouraging consumers not to give up. That’s where we need to focus.”
Curt Dirks, dean of the David Eccles School of Business, noted that what sets FinTech Exchange apart from other conferences in the industry is the discussion and others like it, noting that America is bringing business executives and higher education thinkers together in a way that creates opportunity and the next generation of leaders.
On February 2, the Academic Senate approved a master’s degree in financial technology that expands the growing field of fintech research in the United States.
“In fintech, we’re talking about digital financial education and literacy tools. We’re talking about ethical data use and AI algorithms that create a sense of a black box,” said Jean Levinzon, director of the fintech program at the David Eccles School of Business. “These are all things that fintechs are focusing on and contributing to.”
With final approval from university trustees and USHE, the new fintech program is expected to be offered next fall.
Photo credit: Austen Diamond Photo + Film.
/Open to the public. This material from the original organization/author may be of a contemporary nature and has been edited for clarity, style, and length. Mirage.News does not take any institutional position or position, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors alone. Read the full text here.
