The Fintech 5 (+1!) with Jennifer Perry — Managing Director at J.P. Morgan

The Fintech 5 is a series of blog posts consisting of questions and answers designed to help you get to know the people in the Fintech Sandbox community.

Jen Perry is Co-Head of Technology Banking, Innovation Economy at J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking where she leads a team supporting high-growth technology companies, founders and venture capital firms across sectors, including fintech. Some of you may be familiar with her from her appearance at Boston Fintech Week in 2023.

#1.    Jen, what are some of the ways J.P. Morgan works with fintech startups?

The Payments Banking team within J.P. Morgan’s Innovation Economy business works with companies focused on various facets of the payments ecosystem including fintech software, payments-forward applications, insurtech, payroll, billing software and more. The team helps manage these companies’ deposits and day-to-day transfer of money between parties encompassing payment processors, gateways, and financial technology firms, ensuring secure, efficient and convenient transactions globally.

Payments are a critical capability for the firm more broadly, and our team works closely across J.P. Morgan’s lines of business and with third parties to support fintech startups in a variety of ways. We partner with innovative fintechs to launch new payments solutions, foster an ecosystem of hundreds of third parties that integrate with J.P. Morgan Payments, and regularly invest to reinforce strategic partners and acquire key capabilities.

#2.    What solutions does J.P. Morgan offer startups?

Our goal is to support founders and their companies from inception to IPO and beyond. In addition to providing operating accounts and credit cards, we can provide liquidity management, international capabilities, foreign exchange, cap table management and a variety of debt financing options, including venture debt. Our connectivity to J.P. Morgan’s leading global investment banking franchise positions us well to support capital raising and financing, and strategic advisory when a company is considering an exit. For founders and employees, we also offer a full suite of private banking, wealth transfer planning and mortgage solutions to meet their personal banking needs. Ultimately, J.P. Morgan can grow with you through every stage of your company’s life cycle.

#3.    Does J.P. Morgan work with early stage fintech startups?

Yes! Within our Innovation Economy practice sits a team comprised of seasoned banking professionals as well as former founders, investors and startup mentors who understand the needs of pre-seed and seed stage companies. We offer early-stage founders a simple and seamless banking experience, and connections within and outside of the firm to help advance their networks and scale their businesses.

#4.    You lead a commercial banking team. Where do you see the greatest opportunities for innovation in commercial banking?

Over the last several years, fintechs have identified significant opportunities for innovation across the broader financial services industry and have encouraged more traditional institutions to think differently. We believe that banks can learn a lot from fintechs, and vice versa. For example, many banks have placed an increased focus on data science to help better understand their customers and inform digital strategies.

#5.    Which fintech problem or solution are you personally most interested in right now?

We are at a very interesting moment in the broader tech industry, including fintech. I’m eager to see how the next evolution of artificial intelligence will evolve the fintech sector, as well as how companies will maintain environmentally friendly operational practices.

#6.    What is your outlook for fintech startups in 2025?

We are cautiously optimistic that there will be opportunity to raise capital from private investors in 2025, especially for fintechs that can show operational efficiency and a path toward profitability. It will be important for fintechs to truly understand the regulatory aspects of their business and work with partners that can sustain their business long term. Investors are much more judicious than they were just a few years ago, so it’s important that founding teams develop strong support systems that can help prepare them to engage in fundraising or a transaction.

Bonus question! What is the best career or life advice you have received?

As a woman in financial services, a partner once shared with me that while I knew the answers and had a lot to say, people were either not hearing me or listening to me. She noted that it could be a number of reasons – my tone, volume or projection – but that I needed to find a way to make sure people could really hear me. It was hard feedback to receive, but has been invaluable in my professional life.

# # #