Key moments in fintech history include the transatlantic cable’s invention and E-Trade’s founding

Electronic trading transformed investing, ushering in a new era for retail investors in which average Americans could research stocks online and then use early platforms like StreetSmart and E-Trade to conduct their transactions

In the early 1990s, stock brokerages knew that online trading would be a great equalizer, creating opportunities for more individuals to buy and sell stocks.

The Nasdaq was founded in 1971, marking the debut of electronic trading

The Nasdaq stock exchange arguably invented electronic trading, making it a key part of fintech history. It's often used as a benchmark for how the tech industry is performing.

Explore a visual timeline of fintech’s history and growth

From the debut of the world’s first ATM in 1967, to Apple Pay launching in 2014, financial technologies have come a very long way in a relatively short historical period. A colorful visual timeline highlights some of the most important milestones along the way.

ETFs were first created as an alternative to mutual funds, combining the diversification benefits of a mutual fund with the ability to trade throughout the day on a stock exchange.

As technology evolved, so did Wall Street

Before the telephone was invented in the mid 1800s, people had to trade stocks in person. But once office telephones and computers became commonplace, banks and other financial institutions didn't necessarily need to have their headquarters near exchanges like Wall Street's New York Stock Exchange.

The process of electronic funds transfer was approved in the US in 1978

An electronic funds transfer is the transfering of money from one bank account to another via computer-based systems. When it was first introduced, it was revolutionary. A video from 1980 aimed to explain the value of electronic funds transfer to consumers at the time.

eCash paved the way for today’s popular crypto investments

Bitcoin is typically cited as the first decentralized cryptocurrency. But some argue that back in the 1990s, eCash was technically the first cryptocurrency, although it wasn't decentralized.

The transatlantic cable allowed for communications between North America and Europe

It had significant impacts on just about every industry, including finance. Specifically, the transatlantic cable made it so that real-time financial transactions could take place across the Atlantic, and allowed for much faster sharing of information that increased global market accuracy.

Crypto's origins date back to 1983

While crypto feels new, it actually dates to 1983, with eCash's creation. However, a lot has happened in the crypto world over the past few years in particular—crypto's market cap surpassed $2T for the first time in 2021, for instance. A timeline of crypto's history details the events in between.

Fintech relies on technology, not physical location, to serve financial customers

Most of the industry's prominent players were created since 2010, and are still in a growth phase. These institutions have broadly disrupted traditional banking and have pushed physical banking locations toward obsolescence.

A stock market timeline

The stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Charles Schwab kick-starts zero-commission era for retail investors

Throughout history, retail investing was often too expensive for many individuals. That’s because investors owed the cost of the trade as well as the commission and fees due to the broker. Charles Schwab revolutionized the retail investing landscape in 2019 when it announced it would slash all fees on stock trading. This quickly prompted other brokerages to follow suit. Read more in this article.

Explore an alternative investments timeline

From what’s known as the first leveraged buyout, when JPMorgan acquired the Carnegie Steel Company, to the creation of the first-ever hedge fund, alternative investments have a long history.

The first US stock exchange dates back to the 1790s in Philadelphia

Only two years after that stock exchange in Philadelphia started, the largest stock exchange in the US to date was created: the New York Stock Exchange.

Sears once tried to become a tech company

In 1984, Sears arguably created one of the first online retail services, called “Prodigy,” in 1984 alongside IBM and CBS. But it was more of a WeChat than an Amazon, offering a variety of other services to users a few years before the dot com era.

Hamilton founded what many regard as the first commercial bank in the United States

In 1784, Alexander Hamilton helped found the Bank of New York, which initially operated without a charter, financed early federal operations, provided what is considered the US government's first loan, and became the first stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The origin and history of stock exchanges

When were stocks first sold? Though debt was first sold in Venice in the 14th century, stocks proper began in the Netherlands. To fund its spice trade across the world in 1602, the Dutch East India Company sold stocks to individual investors, a novel approach to raising funds. It was the Dutch West India Company that founded New York—the site of some of the world’s greatest stock exchanges. Listen to a concise historical overview here.

A history of stock exchanges, from Venitain merchants to modern day

While the idea of stock exchanges—markets where securities can be bought and sold—is mostly synonymous with Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and other modern markets, places to buy and sell financial instruments have a long history....

The first ATM—dubbed a 'cash dispenser'—was installed in 1967 in London

Specifically, the first ATM (which stands for “automatic teller machine”) made its debut at a Barclays bank in London. A timeline of ATM history can help illustrate and visualize other key events in ATM history.

When the New York Stock Exchange was started in 1792, traders would meet both outside on the street and in coffee shops to do business.

A timeline of Wall Street's history

Wall Street's historical timeline starts with Wall Street getting its name in the 1600s and ends with details about the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.

How venture capital firms came to be

The venture capital firm that kickstarted an industry.

Watch former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler's 'Eras Tour' for the agency's 90th anniversary, a look back on the pivotal moments in the agency's history.

A hedge funds timeline, from the 1940s onward

Since Alfred Winslow Jones formed the first hedge fund in 1949, traders have rolled out an increasingly complex array of investment strategies. They all aim to beat increasingly efficient markets and/or to provide ample downside protection against sell-offs.

The world's oldest stock exchange was called the Amsterdam Stock Exchange

What is now referred to as Euronext Amsterdam got its start centuries ago, in the early 1600s. Back then, it was called the Amsterdam Stock Exchange—and it might not have existed without the Dutch East India Co.'s desire to raise funding for its seafaring ventures.

In 1999, Microsoft and Intel’s addition signaled the information tech era for the Dow

Microsoft and Intel became the first information technology firms added to the DJIA. Their inclusion marked a turning point—the digital revolution and tech began to drive the American economy.

The Wall Street Journal: a timeline

The Wall Street Journal got its start as a financial news bulletin for people trading stocks. Since then, it has evolved beyond just financial news. It now ranks among the preeminent global business news sources.

Peter Tuchman, who has worked on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange for over four decades and ranks among the most famous traders in history, is known as the 'Einstein of Wall Street.'

Read about when Nasdaq partnered with the London Stock Exchange in 1992, and other key moments in Nasdaq history

The partnership became the first intercontinental linkage between capital markets, setting the stage for worldwide trading amid increasing globalization. Nasdaq separated from its parent company in 2006, becoming a fully independent licensed national securities exchange. A year later, it added the Scandinavian-based Exchange, OMX.

ATMs drastically expanded access to checking accounts in the 1960s

The invention disrupted the local bank industry, allowing customers to access cash around the clock and when out of town. The innovation also reduced the headcount needed for bank services and created a new revenue stream via ATM fees for noncustomers. This 50-year anniversary retrospective revisits the cash kiosk.

Watch a timeline of Tencent—one of China's earliest tech giants—despite the company's low profile.

Robinhood's pivot from everyday investors to hyperactive traders

The platform was conceived as a hub for first-time investors looking to get into trading. After criticism in 2021, the company pivoted to focus on more regular, daily traders, among whom the company's CEO has now become a cult hero.

Peter Thiel and Elon Musk formed PayPal after merging two dot-com companies

Elon Musk cofounded "X.com," an online banking service, in 1999 with the idea that the web would become a financial repository as internet access expanded and became ingrained in daily life. Peter Thiel cofounded "Confinity" as a digital security service that morphed into a payments system. In 2000, the two merged to form PayPal, and in 2002, they sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5B.

The world’s first publicly traded company was the United East India Co.

In an effort to best Spain and gain access to valuable trade in Asia, the Dutch Republic launched the VOC, or the United East India Co. The company held an initial public offering in 1602, allowing “subscribers” to choose how much they wanted to invest in the new venture. It was open to all residents of the republic, making this the first opportunity for retail investors in the world.

The first stablecoin pegged to the US dollar launched in 2014

That coin was Tether, also known as USDT. Other key dates in stablecoin history include Circle's launch of USDC in 2018, and, more recently, President Donald Trump's signing of the GENIUS Act in 2025.

See a timeline of American Express' history

Since its founding in 1850, American Express has evolved from a mail delivery service to a multinational financial services company. Small additions to the company over time, such as taking money orders and inventing traveler's cheques, were key drivers of the company's transformation.

The first private equity fund was launched in 1960

At the time, the industry—and the public's understanding of it—was rather limited, and few private equity firms existed until the 1980s. The first leveraged buyout is thought to have taken place in 1955.

Fintech could help democratize access to banking

More than 1.3 billion adults worldwide do not have access to basic banking services as of this writing—but some experts believe that the fintech industry can help with that by targeting groups of people who have historically been underserved by traditional banks.

A beginner's guide to online stock trading

For beginners, the first step to trading stocks online is finding a good broker.

In 1994, Amazon was founded as an online bookseller

Books were just the start, as founder Jeff Bezos' ultimate goal was to create an "everything store," using the internet to transcend the physical limitations of brick-and-mortar retail. The Seattle-based Amazon gradually added CDs and consumer electronics, becoming a dominant e-commerce player in the late 1990s, and one of the few dot-com companies to make it through the bust.

The fintech industry was worth roughly $340B as of 2025

Venture capitalists have been bullish on the industry’s future in recent years, too. Some estimate that global investment in fintech increased by 12,000% between 2008 and 2020.

PayPal was started in 1998 by Peter Thiel

By the year 2002, PayPal went public for the first time—but that was far from the end of its business story. eBay later bought PayPal, then eventually spun it off. PayPal IPO'd for a second time in 2015.

From bartering to banking, temples to electronic transactions, here’s banking has evolved significantly since ancient times

A few historical facts about banking (like that one day, not long ago, certificates of deposit were physical pieces of paper) may not surprise you. But did you know that the church was the original lender? And that Julius Caesar himself invented foreclosure?

How COVID-19 brought new investors into the market

With fees removed from the equation and more time at home thanks to pandemic-related lockdowns, Americans who had never bought or sold stocks before started participating in the market. Charles Schwab dubs this cohort “Generation Investor” and notes individuals from all age ranges took part in this phenomenon. Study up here.

FTX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, collapsed in 2022

As crypto markets declined during the post-pandemic slowdown, Sam Bankman-Fried propped up the markets with billions he'd earned leading FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges. Then, in one of the most rapid financial implosions in modern history, the exchange collapsed as investors rushed to withdraw money.

Dissecting the legend of Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, rose to fame as a crypto visionary and was hailed as a genius. But he had a quick downfall in late 2022 when reports surfaced, implicating him in massive fraud.

Meet Alphonse Desjardins, a credit union pioneer

The first credit union opened in Germany in 1864, but the bank alternative didn’t reach North America until 1901. That’s when Canadian journalist Alphonse Desjardins introduced the concept to his hometown with a starter 10-cent deposit. Desjardins helped launch the first US credit union just eight years later. This engaging timeline highlights Desjardins, his contributions to credit unions, and how the institutions have evolved over the last 100-plus years. Scroll through the timeline here.

The Dow Jones & Company began as a small news service in 1882

Founded in 1882 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, Dow Jones & Company started with hand-delivered market bulletins. Today it’s a global financial news giant, best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal.

Retail investing by the numbers

When average Americans began pouring into the stock market, Wall Street wasn’t sure if its new guests were there to stay. But at the end of 2023, Public confidently declared that retail investors “weren’t going anywhere” after 30 million new individuals began buying and selling stock. Download the report to learn more here.

The term 'startup'—which is typically used to describe private companies in their early stages of operation that focus on innovating new products or services to meet a market gap—can be traced back to a 1976 Forbes article.