In this third episode, we discuss FinTech apps and how they influence people’s perception & relation to finance. By considering the physical or embodied experience of FinTech apps, we consider their additional effects on individuals. We explore how the glitzy promise of new technology is seen to positively democratise financial wealth for the people; however, this may still result in power inequalities.

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This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with Anna Rohmann about her PhD research on this. 

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Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.