Out with the old, in with the new
As we kick off 2025, what words should we banish for this year, I wonder?
Personally, I am over the word transformation. Bruh, haven’t we transformed enough in the past decade? It feels like an overused word fit for over-promised money pits.
For my first FinTech Futures column of the year, I thought it’d be fun to ask some of my colleagues from across the fintech space which words they would like to see banished from the industry in 2025. Here’s what they have to say:
Tammy Bangs, Director of Channel and Financial Services Partnerships, ID Dataweb: “Synergy. I think that word deserves banishment. I had a boss years ago that used that word A LOT and it’s still at the top of my list of corporate speak I detest!”
Kristen Castell, Managing Director, Fintech CAFE: “Ma’am. I think it’s old fashioned and not a compliment to women and kind of rude when men use it. Makes you feel old. In corporate, I always thought war room was an awful term when used for employees getting empowered together to solve a problem. Why is it a war?!”
Sonya Dreizler, co-founder of Choir: “Empowerment. The word is typically used in a context that centres those already in power and implies that they can benevolently imbue with power the people they decide deserve it. Instead, if you are in a position of power, and know that someone deserves more recognition, more responsibility, more authority, and more compensation – then please: listen to them, amplify their ideas, hire or promote them, pay them more, and follow THEIR leadership. If you can’t do any of those things, step out of the way and make space for them to shine on their own.”
Stephanie Foster, Managing Director, ThinkTECH Accelerator, ICBA: “Synergy. Because honestly, it’s just code for: ‘We hope this works, but we’re not entirely sure how.’ It’s the corporate equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers’ for mergers, partnerships, and tech integrations. If I had a nickel for every time someone pitched ‘synergy’ without a clue about the actual plan, I’d have funded my own start-up accelerator by now. Let’s leave synergy in the vaults of 2010 PowerPoints and focus on words like execution, results, or even magic, because at least that’s honest about the level of hope involved.”
Barb MacLean, Podcast Host, Speaker, and Creator of the Fintech Playlist: “Partnership. Everyone is just customers and vendors, and they are almost never partners.”
Millicent Tracey, Independent Public Board Director, Audit Committee Member and Fintech Advisor: “Woke, because it’s totally overused and not even being used in the proper context anymore, so much so that it’s lost its effectiveness.”
Syed Musheer Ahmed, founder of FinStep Asia: “Fintech. Oh, we know that one well!”
Dharmesh Mistry, Banking/Technology Consultant, Author, Advisor and Investor: “Digital, because it’s business as usual.”
Jim Perry, Consultant, Strategist and Speaker: “Transformation. Mostly because when paired with the word ‘digital,’ its meaning becomes vague and overused. To me, the word ‘transformation’ suggests profound, radical change to the core identity of an institution or an individual. It was a word that was far more applicable 25-30 years ago than it is today. There is plenty of change to navigate and new capabilities to establish, but it may not require transformation as much as it demands evolution.”
Matthew Sekol, ESG and Sustainability Advocate and Senior Advisor: “Dead. Why is everything dead? No company moves away from anything quickly to say that this is dead or that is. Dead is dead. Welcome to nuanced reality.”
Jas Shah, Fintech Product Consultant: “Influencer. Because there are too many inexperienced people, whether in fintech or 21 and fresh out of college, calling themselves ‘influencers’ and thinking that is a job in itself.”
Now, imagine this.
A fintech founder, an influencer, and a banker converge at a conference — a perfect storm of disruption ensues. The founder, armed with audacious dreams and a pitch deck titled ‘Workforce Empowerment with Agentic AI NOW!’, turns to the well-dressed banker. “Ma’am,” he says, “Our ground-breaking solution can help accelerate your digital transformation roadmap. Empowerment isn’t just our company tag line. Our value prop is finding synergy between humans and AI. It is not woke — but rather the cornerstone of our socially conscious company culture.”
The influencer (or shall we call him, the finfluencer), who has been live-tweeting the event, looks up from his phone. With a dead serious demeanour, he waves his latest masterpiece in front of the banker and steps onto an imaginary podium: “But have you considered the revolutionary insights in my new bestseller – The Future of Partnership: Even your bank needs a café in the metaverse?”
The irony? The banker had already left for the coffee bar in the conference hall, a popular escape in the sea of AI pitches. Sometimes, the most enlightened conversation is one between humans in the real world — with plenty of caffeine and no neural network required.
About the author
Theodora Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, a public speaker, and an advisor. She is the co-author of The Metaverse Economy (2023) and Beyond Good (2021), and host of One Vision, a podcast on fintech and innovation. She was named one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in FinTech in 2023. She is also a regular contributor and commentator for top industry events and publications, including BBC News and Finovate. All opinions are her own – feel free to debate and comment below!