DollarSense
Finance Literacy Workshop

A finance workshop for teens that explores how AI and computer science are reshaping money — with a focus on empowering immigrant and first-gen students.

What You’ll Learn and Join Us!

✓ Understanding credit & your credit score
✓ Saving, interest, and smart spending
✓ Basics of investing (stocks, bonds, risk)
✓ How AI and tech are changing finance
✓ How CS powers banking apps and algorithms
✓ Money tips for immigrant and first-gen studentsRegister via email (free); Zoom links sent 72 hours before the session

Resources and Contact

Email: [email protected]

• DollarSense Slide Deck: Link

• Quiz: Link

Wall Street’s AI Revolution: How Big Banks Are Reshaping Finance

Over the past few years, Wall Street has been going through a quiet but powerful transformation. From New York to London, global financial giants like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citibank are changing how they operate. The shift is happening behind the scenes and also in how they serve their clients.What used to sound like a buzzword is now becoming a core part of business strategy.JPMorgan, for example, has rolled out new tools across teams with over 200,000 employees. These systems are helping traders, analysts, and even compliance teams work more efficiently. Goldman Sachs is focusing on ways to monitor risk, analyze markets, and support clients with better insights. Morgan Stanley has introduced digital tools to help financial advisors make faster and more informed decisions.The shift is not just about working faster. It is also about working smarter. Financial institutions are using advanced systems to process huge volumes of data, automate routine tasks, and uncover insights that would take days or weeks to find using traditional methods.There is real money behind the shift. Some estimates say the banking sector could see over $170 billion in added profit within the next few years. The gains come from improvements in everything from customer service to credit decisions and risk management.But not all the changes are easy. There are concerns about job loss in certain roles, especially where automation replaces manual work. Others are raising questions about fairness, transparency, and accountability in decision-making. With all this progress, there is still a need for strong oversight and clear standards.What is clear is that the financial world is changing fast. This new wave of transformation is not just a trend. It is the new reality.

Fintech Growth Is Reshaping Personal Lending

Over the last decade, fintech has shifted from a niche innovation to a central influence in how people interact with money. What started as a wave of mobile banking apps and peer-to-peer payment tools has grown into a broader rethinking of financial access, credit, and trust. At its core, fintech is not just about new technology. It is about changing how financial systems serve people.Traditional banks were built for a time when physical paperwork, in-person appointments, and long credit histories defined who could qualify for financial services. These systems worked well for individuals with established records and consistent income. However, they often excluded people who were self-employed, newly arrived in a country, or early in their careers. Many of these individuals were financially responsible, yet could not access the same products or rates available to others.Fintech companies approached this problem differently. Instead of relying only on credit scores, they began analyzing a broader set of data, such as income patterns, rent payments, and digital bank transactions. This allowed them to build more detailed pictures of how people actually manage their money. In turn, it opened the door for more personalized financial services that reflected the complexity of modern life.One example is the rise of alternative lending platforms. These services use machine-driven assessments to evaluate loan applications more quickly and, in some cases, more fairly. A person without a traditional credit history but with consistent income and savings habits might now be approved where they would have been denied before. This approach has not only expanded access, it has also helped reduce default rates by aligning credit decisions more closely with real-world financial behavior.Fintech has also made financial tools more intuitive and accessible. Budgeting apps, automatic savings programs, and real-time notifications help users stay in control of their money with less effort. These features are not just conveniences. They can improve financial habits and reduce stress, especially for those living on tight margins.Of course, fintech is not perfect. It raises important questions about privacy, security, and accountability. Algorithms can replicate bias if they are trained on flawed data, and some platforms operate without the same oversight as traditional banks. However, the best companies in the space are not ignoring these concerns. They are working to improve transparency and to build products that serve people equitably, not just efficiently.What makes fintech especially interesting for students and young professionals is the intersection of disciplines it represents. It brings together technology, design, public policy, behavioral economics, and ethics. For those who care about inclusion and impact, fintech offers a space where practical innovation can make a measurable difference in people’s lives.In a world where financial systems shape everything from education access to housing stability, rethinking how those systems work is both urgent and inspiring. Fintech is not the solution to every problem in finance, but it is helping to build new foundations—ones that better reflect the way people live, earn, and save today.

The Quiet Disruption: How Embedded Finance Is Rewriting the Rules of Banking

A fundamental transformation is underway in the world of finance, and most consumers do not even see it happening. They tap to pay for groceries, apply for credit while shopping online, or receive a loan offer through a ride-sharing app. What once required a trip to the bank now takes place seamlessly within non-financial platforms. This shift is the result of a growing force in the industry: embedded finance.Embedded finance refers to the integration of financial services into products or platforms that are not traditionally associated with banking. Retailers are now offering their own branded credit options. Travel platforms are providing built-in insurance. Even social media companies are exploring integrated payment features. As a result, the experience of managing money is no longer confined to banks or financial apps. It is being absorbed into the daily digital environments where people already spend their time.This evolution is quietly but radically reshaping the financial landscape. Control is moving away from legacy financial institutions and toward the companies that own the digital customer journey. These platforms are building financial tools directly into their ecosystems, allowing users to access services like lending, payments, and investing without ever leaving the app. The value lies not only in the convenience but also in the depth of customer data these platforms can leverage to personalize offerings and improve risk models.The infrastructure enabling this shift is being built by a new class of technology providers. Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms are powering the backend functions, offering APIs that allow any company to plug in financial capabilities with minimal friction. This decouples the relationship between the service provider and the underlying financial institution, allowing brands to offer finance under their own names while relying on regulated entities behind the scenes.For traditional banks, this creates both a threat and an opportunity. On one hand, their role in the value chain is shrinking. If they fail to modernize, they risk becoming utilities, relegated to compliance and balance sheet management while customer relationships move elsewhere. On the other hand, banks that act quickly can reposition themselves as enablers of embedded finance by offering infrastructure, compliance expertise, or white-labeled services.The implications are also significant for consumers. The rise of embedded finance could improve access to credit, streamline user experiences, and reduce friction in financial decision-making. However, it also raises important questions about transparency, consent, and accountability. If a retailer issues you a loan, who is responsible when things go wrong? If a social media platform offers investment products, how are those regulated and disclosed? These are not theoretical concerns. They are urgent regulatory questions that policymakers and industry leaders will need to address in the years ahead.There is also a larger shift in mindset happening. Finance is becoming a feature, not a destination. As companies compete on experience rather than products alone, the lines between sectors are blurring. Financial services are being rebuilt from the ground up to serve new contexts, new behaviors, and new expectations.The winners in this next phase will be those who understand that the future of finance is no longer confined to banks. It is embedded, invisible, and deeply integrated into the platforms people already use. That is the quiet disruption unfolding right now. And like most major changes in technology, it will feel sudden to those who were not paying attention.