From Tools to Outcomes:
The missing layer is intelligence

We live in a paradox.

Europeans are saving more than ever, yet they feel financially insecure. They have unprecedented access to financial products, yet they are overwhelmed by choice. They trade stocks and crypto at the tap of a button, yet they struggle to save for a home, plan a sabbatical, or secure retirement.

Fintech has given consumers the tools, but not the outcomes.

The Problem

Across Europe, fintech adoption is real and growing. Millions have opened accounts with neobanks like Revolut. Neobrokers such as Trade Republic have attracted millions more. Consumers are buying insurance through apps, comparing loans online, and experimenting with crypto.

But here's the truth: these behaviours are often misdirected, fueled by FOMO and the constant buzz of social media. People chase short-term gains and dopamine hits, often at the expense of their long-term welfare, both financial and personal. Buying a home, raising a family, enjoying experiences, and securing retirement remain essential, but they get postponed, pushed into the back of the mind, creating a lingering sense of unease.

The result? Anxiety. Fragmentation. A nagging sense that money is in motion, but life goals remain out of reach.

The Reality

The wave is here.

Financial product adoption in Europe is no longer a question. Neobanks, neobrokers, and insurtechs have shown us that consumers will use digital solutions.

Over 100 million Europeans now use digital-only banks. Trust has shifted.
Neobrokers doubled their user bases in the last three years. People want to invest and participate in capital markets.
Digital insurance platforms are scaling across markets. Even complex, deeply emotional needs like security can be met digitally.

Consumers are willing to engage digitally but they are left to navigate siloed domains on their own.

The Missing Piece

What's missing is not another rail.

It's intelligence that guides across rails.

People don't wake up thinking "I need a better neobank." They wake up thinking:

"How will I ever afford an apartment?"

"How can I take a year off to travel?"

"Can I afford children?"

"What happens if I don't save enough for retirement?"

No existing app connects these life questions to financial action across domains. What's missing is the guide, the intelligence layer that turns fragmented tools into a coherent strategy.

The Future

We imagine a world where every person has an AI financial partner:

A guide that knows their goals and aligns their money decisions with them.
A guide that cuts through noise and temptation, turning fragmented rails into progress.
A guide that gives people not just financial outcomes, but the confidence that they are on the right path.

This is not a budgeting app.

This is not another broker.

This is the missing piece of the financial puzzle: guidance toward long-term wealth, aligned with life plans.

The Call

The question is no longer whether consumers will adopt digital finance. They already have.

The question is whether we will leave them chasing dopamine across apps, or finally give them the guide they deserve.

At Finley, we choose the latter.