JPMorgan Chase spends $600m on fintech in 2016: CEO Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase has spent nearly $600 million on financial technology solutions, CEO Jamie Dimon said in a letter to shareholders.

“In 2016, we spent more than $9.5 billion in technology firmwide, of which approximately $3 billion is dedicated toward new initiatives. Of that amount, approximately $600 million is spent on emerging fintech solutions – which include building and improving digital and mobile services and partnering with fintech companies”, Dimon wrote.

He explained that the bank invested so much in technology in order to “benefit customers with better, faster and often cheaper products and services, to reduce errors, and to make the firm more efficient.”

Dimon said that JPMorgan Chase Institute helped in identifying the most pressing financial challenges facing American households over the last two years, which includes difficulty managing income and expense volatility. Using this data, the bank is selecting and supporting innovative fintech companies and nonprofits that are designing solutions to address these challenges.

To that end, he pointed out that JPMorgan Chase’s Financial Solutions Lab, in partnership with the Center for Financial Services Innovation, aims to facilitate the next generation of fintech products to help consumers manage their daily finances and meet their long-term goals.

The lab has so far supported over 18 fintech companies working to improve the financial health of more than 1 million Americans. Dimon cited the example of Digit – an automated savings tool that identifies small amounts of money that can be moved into savings based on spending and income – which has helped Americans save more than $350 million. In addition, lab winners have raised over $100 million in follow-on capital.

“[W]e are successfully collaborating with some excellent fintech companies to dramatically improve our digital and other customer offerings”, Dimon added.