The University of Utah's Fintech Center has a reputation for bringing together financial creators and thought leaders, and this month's 4th Annual Fintech Xchange is one more proof point.
Nearly 400 innovators and executives from companies including Visa, Intuit, LoanPro and KPMG gathered in downtown Salt Lake City Feb. 4-6 to discuss headwinds facing the industry, regulatory changes, emerging technologies and how to stay true to their mission of helping consumers achieve financial goals.
Fintech Center Senior Director Ryan Christiansen noted Utah is a unique place to host the industry each year.
"Utah brings favorable regulatory frameworks and innovation infrastructure," Christiansen said, welcoming those at the conference. "But the insights, relationships and solutions developed here this week will shape fintech nationally. And while we're proud of Utah's role as host, this is fundamentally a national conversation."
The Fintech Center was established in 2023 as an origin space for education, research and innovation. In the three years since that announcement, 42 students have completed a Fintech minor at the U, a Fintech Ambassador program has launched, the center has collaborated on economic research with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, and the fintech minor is going global, taking students to Paris and Barcelona this summer.
The state's fintech sector continues to grow, creating nearly 8,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in wages in 2025. Nearly 70 fintech companies are based in Salt Lake County alone. And fintech companies add more than $7 billion to the state's gross domestic product, according to the governor's office. Gov. Spencer Cox declared February 2026 as "Tech Month" in Utah to further foster innovation. And in December, Cox announced a $10 million "pro-human" AI initiative to prepare Utah's workforce and ensure technology supports, rather than replaces, human flourishing.
During a "hot takes" discussion at the Fintech Xchange Feb. 5, complete with hot chicken wings, leading fintech executives noted the challenges posed by rapid technological changes and proliferating financial products-including artificial intelligence, crypto currency and surging gambling apps-and urged audience members to stay true to the industry's commitment to make financial technology accessible and helpful for consumers.
"Practically speaking, in 2026, the financial services industry is made up of two different parties: There are companies that want to convince consumers to give up and then profit from that. And there are the other companies that want to convince the customers to not give up," said Alex Johnson, founder of Fintech Takes, which produces a weekly newsletter and podcast. "I hope everyone in this room is on the side of getting consumers not to give up. That's the side we need to focus on."
David Eccles School of Business Dean Kurt Dirks notes that discussion and others like it are what distinguishes the Fintech Xchange from other conferences for the industry-the U is bringing together business executives and higher education thinkers in ways that develop opportunities and the next generation of leaders.
On Feb. 2, the Academic Senate approved a financial technology master's degree, expanding on the U's growing areas of Fintech study.
"At Fintech, we're talking about digital financial education and literacy tools. We're talking about ethical data usage and the algorithms in AI that create a black box-like feeling," said Gene Levinzon, Director of the David Eccles School of Business Undergraduate Fintech Program. "All of that is something that Fintech is focusing on and contributing to."
With final approval from university trustees and USHE, the new Fintech programs will be offered next fall.
Photo credit: Austen Diamond Photo + Film.
