Topics

The economic, technological, and institutional forces shaping how money moves.

01 — Payments

Payments

Payment choice sits at the intersection of economics, habit, and design. OrangeTower studies which instruments people use, why, and how those choices propagate into the systems beneath them.

  • Cards
  • Cash
  • Wallets
  • P2P
  • Account-to-account
  • Merchant acceptance
  • Payment choice

02 — Financial Infrastructure

Financial Infrastructure

Infrastructure is studied globally: the same economic function is solved by radically different institutional arrangements across countries, and those differences persist for decades.

  • Payment rails
  • Clearing
  • Settlement
  • ACH
  • FedNow
  • RTP
  • Card networks
  • Interoperability
  • Bank connectivity

03 — Fintech

Fintech

Business models are examined alongside the technical architecture that makes them possible, and the distribution channels that determine whether they scale.

  • Business models
  • Digital banking
  • APIs
  • Embedded finance
  • Platforms
  • Technology adoption

04 — Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior

Technology matters when people adopt it. Behavioral evidence is treated as primary data rather than as commentary on top of technical analysis.

  • Convenience
  • Rewards
  • Trust
  • Security
  • Habit
  • Switching costs
  • Demographics
  • Adoption

05 — Market Structure

Market Structure

Structure explains outcomes: who sets prices, who bears risk, and who captures the surplus created when a transaction completes.

  • Banks
  • Networks
  • Processors
  • Fintech companies
  • Merchants
  • Platforms
  • Infrastructure providers
  • Regulators

06 — Emerging Technology

Emerging Technology

Emerging systems are assessed against the constraints of existing infrastructure rather than as isolated innovations.

  • AI agents
  • Machine-initiated transactions
  • Biometrics
  • Authentication
  • Proximity technology
  • Digital identity
  • Programmable payments
  • Tokenized infrastructure