While February is characteristically cold, it was blazing hot with fintech headlines as startups and firms prepare for the year head. At Gate 39 Media we’re interested to see how the fintech ecosystem continues to take shape.

Here are our favorite fintech headlines from February 2017:

• February 23 
  

  Fintech, the Buzzword Finance Loves and Hates: QuickTake Q&A
  

  Ever since a wave of financial technology startups emerged after the 2008 subprime mortgage crack-up, “fintech” has become shorthand for a digital revolution that could sweep away antiquated banking practices. But its definition has become so elastic that it’s hard to know precisely what it is, let alone what it augurs for a global financial industry in dire need of innovation. Bloomberg gives us a primer.

• February 21 
  

  Now you can send money internationally through Facebook Messenger

  Mashable discusses how the social media behemoth has delved further into the world of global fintech and online payments as a new bot, powered by TransferWise, was released on Facebook Messenger and lets users send money to and from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia or Europe.

• February 21 
  

  Fintech is not just fintech anymore

  There is RegTech for Regulatory Technologies; WealthTech for Wealth Management Technologies; InsurTech for Insurance Technologies; and so on. On top of that, fintech has gained subcategories like Lending, Analytics, Digital Identity, Cybersecurity, SME and Student Financing, Payments, Roboadvice, Blockchain Distributed Ledgers, Neobanking, and more. Then there are also some generic technologies around Cloud, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Biometrics and others that are also creating fintech themes and impacts. So what is the real state of play and what are the impacts? The Next Web (TNW) explores this topic.

• February 12 
  

  5 Trends That Are Democratizing Financial Services

  Traditionally, banks have controlled financial services infrastructure, however, startups are beginning to upend that model. There is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach to banking and startups have the agile infrastructure to personalize to individual consumer needs. Inc. covers digitization, AI, big data, security and the sharing economy in financial service innovation.

• February 9 
  

  How Fintech Can Take Off Without Getting Hampered by Regulations

  Fortune explores how it will be possible to fit the new Fintech world into the old regulatory system risks. A difficult feat since the merger of finance and technology at the heart of Fintech is a clash of cultures and identities.

• February 7 
  

  FinTEx Chicago: Questions with Adam Zeck

  FinTEx Chicago talks with Adam Zeck, Co-Founder and CEO of Universal Compute Exchange (UCX), an on-demand spot exchange that makes it possible to “Trade the Cloud” to find out what makes Chicago an ideal home for he and his team.

• February 1 
  

  Finnovation – The Hot Topic with Great Impact

  Financial technology and innovation (finnovation) is a hot topic with great impact on capital markets. When I read my LinkedIn feed this morning, the first 3 articles were focused on “Finnovation,” “FinTech,” and “Blockchain.” So what is all the hype about? Alli Brennan of CQG breaks it down for us in a good overview of how fintech is changing the trading industry. (TABB login)