What it actually takes to build a regional fintech hub: The Mass Fintech Hub playbook

The business case for a bank to spend time on fintech hub partnerships isn’t obvious. Networking events are easy to justify on a calendar. Actual ROI is harder to demonstrate. And there’s an uncomfortable question underneath it all: are you essentially helping create your own competition?

Ryan Gatti, Head of Innovation at Citizens Bank, frames it differently. “It’s a multi-pronged strategy: first and foremost, we want to be present in the innovation ecosystem and up-to-speed on where the industry is headed and who are the key influencers shaping its direction,” he says. “Next, it’s an opportunity for us to ensure we’re taking advantage of the talent and innovation ecosystem right in our backyard to drive our Next Generation Technology strategy forward – Boston is a hub of innovation. Lastly, as a business, we actively want to serve early-stage companies, their founders, and the VCs that invest in them — so there’s a triple bottom line to how we think about connections like this.”

That triple bottom line — strategic intelligence, talent access, and direct business development — is what makes the time investment defensible to the organization. But it only works if the partnership produces more than conference appearances.

Beyond the networking circuit

The Mass Fintech Hub attracted 4,000+ attendees at Boston FinTech Week this year. Impressive turnout, sure. But events don’t build ecosystems — outcomes do.

Mohammed Dastigir, Head of Fintech and Healthtech Partnerships at MassMutual, is clear about what the Hub isn’t: “The Mass FinTech Hub is not an accelerator like MassChallenge, Plug and Play and TechStars. Instead, we see ourselves as connectors and ecosystem developers. We help FinTechs of all stages make connections with the broader ecosystem, including creating onramps for accelerators that focus on growing startups.”

The connector model has produced concrete results beyond the event circuit. Several Mass Fintech Hub members have hired top talent through career fairs, bootcamps, and mentoring programs. Western New England University launched the first-ever FinTech & AI Accelerator in Western Massachusetts with funding from the State and Hub support. Worcester Polytech Institute launched the first-ever fintech degree programs in the US — from undergrad to PhD — endorsed by the Hub.

And there are direct partnership outcomes. Posh Technologies and B-Cube have established new partnerships through Mass Fintech Hub engagement. Industry partner collaboration has increased, leading to shared startup opportunities for both innovation solutions and investment opportunities.

For Citizens, the Hub functions as strategic radar. “My role at the bank as the Head of Innovation is to help the organization look ahead and around the corner,” Gatti explains. “I spend a lot of my time with VCs, startups and other capital allocators understanding where they’re placing bets and seeing where the world is starting to move so we can stay ahead of things that our customers will need and want in the future. We view our partnership with Mass FinTech Hub as one of the inputs in how we accomplish that goal.”

The partnership calculation for regional banks

Community and regional banks often position themselves as the “local alternative” to big banks. But fintech startups are now competing for that same positioning. So why help them?

Gatti’s answer cuts through the territorial thinking: “From my perspective, it’s less about defending turf and more about expanding what’s possible for our customers. We’re raising the bar together. Many early-stage fintechs look to bank partnerships to prove value, distribute their product and even push their thinking on new technologies and ways to better serve our customers – for us, this is a mutually beneficial relationship as it helps us stay closer to emerging trends, expand capabilities, or improve our customer experience.”

Gatti’s calculation is straightforward: building sustainable growth doesn’t come from building everything in-house. “In many cases, there are strategic advantages to partnering with a fintech or a technology partner that does a piece of the value stack exceptionally well,” he says.

But the partnership evaluation process for large institutions remains complex. Dastigir walks through what MassMutual weighs: “Traditionally, financial services companies have a lot to navigate when evaluating potential fintech partners. Specifically, they need to look at several factors, including potential risks, regulatory compliance, and how a potential partner would fit in with potentially complex integrated systems.”

Partnership timelines vary based on implementation complexity, level of integration needed, the business case being solved for, and data and privacy requirements. There’s no standard playbook. Every deal gets evaluated on its own merits.

What Boston still lacks

Boston’s fintech ecosystem grew 40% year-over-year, but the city still doesn’t crack the top-3 fintech hubs. The honest assessment matters more than the growth rate.

Dastigir doesn’t sugarcoat it: “While Boston has the brains and is a melting pot of diverse founders and ideas from across the world, we don’t always do a good job of ‘bragging’ and showcasing our successes with others. We have an exciting flow of fintech innovation emerging from academia; however, we can continue to work on providing founders and companies in Boston with access to connective capital and storytelling that make ecosystems like New York & San Francisco magnetic.”

The gaps are specific and structural. A 2020 EY report identified five key areas where Boston trails other hubs:

• Capital access: Abundant early-stage capital exists, but less late-stage fintech-focused growth capital compared to NYC or SF. Boston investors tend to be more conservative or sector-diversified.
• Talent concentration: Boston produces top fintech talent, but retention is the challenge. Graduates often migrate to New York or the West Coast for scale-stage opportunities.
• Ecosystem density: Boston’s fintech scene is fragmented—many smaller startups and research-led pilots, but fewer anchor fintech companies driving network effects.
• Regulatory and policy: The region lacks visible regulatory sandboxes or state-level fintech-friendly policy that emerging hubs like Miami or Austin have embraced.
• Interconnectivity and visibility: Success stories exist but aren’t being showcased effectively. The need for a central hub to connect ecosystem stakeholders was clear.

The Mass Fintech Hub launched in June 2021 specifically to address these gaps, operating as a public-private partnership representing industry, investors, academia, startups, accelerators, enablers, and state government.

What’s actually fixable

Some structural disadvantages are permanent. Boston won’t overtake New York’s deep well of capital or San Francisco’s tech talent density. But several gaps are addressable through deliberate ecosystem building.

The Hub has placed heavy emphasis on attracting, developing, and retaining talent in the state through career fairs, boot camps, and mentorship programs for students. The academic infrastructure, with programs like WPI’s fintech degrees, creates a talent pipeline that other regions would like to replicate.

The interconnectivity problem is being solved through year-round programming beyond the annual conference circuit. And the visibility gap is closing: “We are being recognized and engaged by national and global hubs to learn more about what we are doing here and to explore opportunities for collaborating with us,” Dastigir notes.

For regional banks and financial institutions watching from other markets, the Mass Fintech Hub model offers a blueprint: ecosystem building works when it produces tangible outcomes beyond networking, when incumbents have clear business cases for participation, and when the gaps being addressed are specific and measurable.

The 40% growth rate matters less than whether partnerships are actually getting formed, whether talent is staying in-market, and whether the connector model produces more value than an accelerator would. Boston’s still figuring out that formula. But at least they’re honest about what’s working and what’s not.