Ask a founder building a financial product today about their infrastructure plan, and you’ll get a very different answer than you would have five years ago. Back then, the question was how to build it. Now it’s whether to build it at all.

‘Build it and they will come’ is no longer the answer. Accessing integrated services on an API driven technology stack is. Bringing ideas to market is a fast-paced landscape with competition across regions of the world. Shortening time to market is key, and the economics and time to build from scratch is a not a perfect solution. To founders far and wide, you can do anything, but you can’t do everything, partner with a technology stack that delivers globally via APIs.

Finance is turning into a software problem

Focus on your expertise; onboarding clients, gathering assets and building the business. Allow the APIs to bring your ideas to life; account opening, account management, money movement, risk control, and order management all provide the required effective and efficient workflow to run your business.

What founders are asking for right now?

Founders dream about building what makes their business different, not recreating the infrastructure underneath it. Founders want to launch, grow, and go global without spending years piecing together vendors and recreating infrastructure that already exists. The question now is less about whether you can build it yourself but more about why you ever would. 

The requests we hear from fintech founders have shifted. Five years ago, many conversations began with basic market access, the necessary licenses or regulated partners, connectivity, and an operating path. Those questions still matter and differ by jurisdiction, but the ask has expanded. What we hear today is about speed to market, flexibility, and the ability to operate globally without stitching together vendors and plumbing that already exists.

That is the gap ViewTrade’s enhanced API portal and technology platform are designed to help close. ViewTrade Technology provides the technology layer. Other services, where applicable, may be provided by other ViewTrade entities, while clearing, custody, and other regulated services are provided by the appropriate entities selected for the client’s operating model. The API does not replace those entities or transfer regulatory responsibility; it makes the underlying capabilities easier to integrate, operate, and scale. It’s less “build vs. buy an API” and more “which kind of company do you want to be.”

Are you building a product, or are you building infrastructure other products will run on? They’re different businesses with different economics. Buying does not mean outsourcing judgment, governance, or accountability. Firms should build where a capability differentiates the customer experience or strengthens their economics and buy or partner where proven infrastructure can reduce time, cost, and operational burden. Build vs buy decisions are deliberate.

How I Expect Fintech Infrastructure to Evolve by 2030?

The best infrastructure in five years won’t be something anyone talks about much, because nobody will have to think about it.

Right now, founders still spend time on things their customers never see, settlement, custody, onboarding flows, regulatory and operational requirements. None of it is optional, and firms remain accountable for their choices. By 2030, expect this layer to work the way cloud infrastructure works today: you consume it through an API, it does its job quietly in the background, and you spend your energy on the product and the customer. Every moment spent on infrastructure problem is time not spent on the customer.

Where I land on this?

A few years ago, build vs. buy in fintech infrastructure often remained a build decision dressed up as a question. Buying solutions were not mature across the stack. That is no longer true, but the answer is not to buy everything. The companies most likely to win will know where proprietary technology creates differentiation, where proven infrastructure can accelerate them, and how to retain accountability either way. Build what makes the business distinct. Buy what does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a new fintech build its own infrastructure or buy access through APIs?

Buying access through APIs is often the faster and lower-risk path for mature, non-differentiating capabilities. Many core workflows, including onboarding, order management, market connectivity, reporting, and integrations with regulated providers, can be supported through specialized technology and service providers. The firm still retains responsibility for vendor selection, integration, oversight, and its regulatory obligations.

What is the API economy in financial services?

The API economy in financial services is the shift of financial capabilities, including onboarding, order management, connectivity, reporting, and integrations with regulated providers, into modular software services. APIs can simplify how those capabilities are assembled, but they do not transfer a firm’s accountability or eliminate the need for appropriately licensed entities where regulated activities are involved.

How is a financial infrastructure company different from a fintech company?

A fintech typically builds a customer-facing financial product. A financial infrastructure company builds the software, integrations, and operational tools that enable fintechs and other financial businesses to launch and scale. The distinction is not absolute, but one generally focuses on the end-user experience while the other supports the capabilities beneath it.

Why does the infrastructure layer matter if customers only interact with the product?

The infrastructure sets the ceiling. A product can do well on its own merits, but how fast it can expand, how many markets it can enter, and how much complexity it can absorb without breaking usually comes down to what’s running underneath it.