The fintech shift women are poised to lead over the next five years

As fintech matures from disruption to infrastructure, the question is no longer just about speed and scale, but about what kind of financial system is being built. From embedded finance and AI-driven lending to digital public infrastructure, the next phase of fintech will demand trust, inclusion, and resilience as much as innovation. Against this backdrop, women leaders across fintech are emerging as powerful agents of change.

The Tech Panda asked women fintech leaders a simple but revealing question, what change can women most influence in fintech over the next five years and why? Their answers point to a future where fintech is not only smarter and faster, but also more human, more responsible, and more reflective of the people it serves.

Roshni Aslam, Co-Founder of GoSats, feels the emergence of women leaders in fintech will lead to more innovation, along with equal opportunities for women in general in the next five years, “Finance in general is transforming at an unprecedented rate, majorly because of the advent of new-age technologies and other innovations. However, the most significant transformation that is taking place is that the sector is becoming more open towards new ideas, especially from women, who historically have not been participating in the sector.

“Women are now becoming more accustomed and confident about career prospects in fintech, and this aspect is creating a chain reaction, something that is directly translating towards more women participants in the sector.“

“If we look deeper into this trend, it becomes clear that women are now becoming more accustomed and confident about career prospects in fintech, and this aspect is creating a chain reaction, something that is directly translating towards more women participants in the sector. In the next five years, the global fintech sector is expected to become one of the major sectors for women, who will bring in more innovative ideas on the table. For instance, the sector is already witnessing the rise of fintech startups that are working towards women empowerment as a foundational business model. This shift is establishing a more equal opportunity space for women, both as a workplace and for financial independence in the long term.”

Cynthia Mulvihill, Co-founder and COO of Wealth2B, says, in the next five years, women can and must drive an essential transformation in fintech, “Women must overcome the structural biases that still limit the industry’s true potential and continue to define who has access, who makes decisions, and what problems are considered priorities. These biases are based on assumptions taken as truths, models grounded in incomplete data, solutions designed from uniform perspectives, and agendas that fail to reflect the market’s true diversity. These biases act as barriers that stifle innovation, among other things. The traditional financial industry, marked for decades by a predominantly male perspective, has failed to address this issue, and fintech, having disrupted processes, technologies, and business models, is now in a position to do so.

“Women must overcome the structural biases that still limit the industry’s true potential and continue to define who has access, who makes decisions, and what problems are considered priorities.”

“In this new cycle, female leadership represents a turning point. Our presence enhances the quality of decisions, identifies and corrects biases that technology alone cannot resolve, and provides a more complete and realistic understanding of users’ needs. As more women occupy strategic roles, the industry will not only become more balanced and inclusive, but also more competitive, more innovative, and ultimately capable of addressing challenges that have historically been left off the agenda.”

Suzanne Carla Catter, PhD Computer Science, King Juan Carlos University, External Tech Consultant at  EasyDebt Spain, foresees that the presence of more women can generate tangible change over the next five years in fintech, especially in areas like risk analysis and credit modeling.

“Women often bring broader and more contextual perspectives to data analysis, helping to identify social variables and financial patterns that are traditionally overlooked. This is key now that artificial intelligence is redefining how risk is assessed.”

“The presence of more women can generate tangible change over the next five years. Women often bring broader and more contextual perspectives to data analysis, helping to identify social variables and financial patterns that are traditionally overlooked. This is key now that artificial intelligence is redefining how risk is assessed: more diverse teams build more accurate models, with less bias and a greater capacity to reflect the financial realities of different user profiles. Having more women in these processes not only improves the technology but also makes the resulting financial products fairer and more useful for more people.”

Isabella Fernandez, CRO of Midi, believes one of the biggest emerging shifts in fintech over the next years will be the redesign of financial products around real human behavior, not just translations.

“Women leaders are uniquely positioned to drive this shift because we bring a holistic perspective to how people actually live, earn, and move money. We naturally design with empathy, clarity, and inclusion, which is exactly what the next generation of financial experiences demands.”

“Women leaders are uniquely positioned to drive this shift because we bring a holistic perspective to how people actually live, earn, and move money. We naturally design with empathy, clarity, and inclusion, which is exactly what the next generation of financial experiences demands. The future of fintech won’t just be faster or cheaper, which is changing a lot today, it will be built for the humans behind the accounts.”

Lara Yotti, Director of Community & Events at akka, says “In fintech, the most transformative advance of the next five years will come from moving from designing financial products to building ecosystems where the user feels supported, listened to, and is an active part of a community. Female leadership is driving this transition because we combine rational analysis with a deep understanding of context, emotions, and people’s behavior. This ability is vital for creating financial experiences that not only solve market problems but also generate trust, a sense of belonging, and long-term well-being—essential for customer loyalty.

“When women lead design, development, and strategy decisions, the sector not only becomes fairer, it becomes more competitive.”

“After more than six years in fintech and with a focus on user experience, at Akka we’re very clear on one thing: the competitive advantage of the future will lie in uniting product, data, and community to anticipate needs and offer continuous support. And for that, cognitive diversity is essential. Not because it’s a “nice-to-have,” but because it’s a driver of growth. When women lead design, development, and strategy decisions, the sector not only becomes fairer, it becomes more competitive.”

“Increasing the number of women in technical and leadership roles in fintech will be key to reducing bias in artificial intelligence and creating fairer financial solutions.”

Teresa Lafuente, Head of People at Coinscrap Finance, says, “Increasing the number of women in technical and leadership roles in fintech will be key to reducing bias in artificial intelligence and creating fairer financial solutions. Diversity in STEM teams drives better detection and correction of biases in algorithms, as different perspectives enrich product development. At Coinscrap Finance, we promote female inclusion in technology and leadership to build more ethical and inclusive tools that better reflect the real needs of all users. This not only improves innovation but also strengthens trust and equity in the sector.”

Women’s influence in fintech over the next five years will be less about disruption for its own sake and more about direction, steering the industry toward trust, inclusion, and long-term value. As these leaders shape products, policies, and culture, fintech’s success will increasingly be measured not just in growth metrics, but in real-world impact. The future of finance, it seems, will be built as much on empathy and responsibility as on code.