Stage 3: Ripping you off · Fintech

Ads, fees, dark patterns, and worse defaults as incentives tilt from pleasing users toward harvesting value.

Cash App
3

Block’s consumer wallet: simple P2P on top, but cross-sell into Bitcoin, stocks, and borrowing plus repeated fraud-handling penalties show users carrying the risk.

Fintech Platform Since 2013
PayPal
3

Incumbent digital wallet: fees, holds on seller funds, and upsells push value toward the network and away from edge users.

Fintech Platform Since 1998
Stripe
3

Developer-first payments rails: pricing is real, but docs and APIs still deliver strong surplus to builders versus legacy processors.

Fintech Company Since 2010