Since everyone is jumping on the eclipse bandwagon today, we thought we may as well, too! After all, it's a once in a lifetime (or in my case, twice in a lifetime) event and it's fun! So bear with us as we walk through a light-hearted look at how this eclipse could affect the financial technology industry today.

Now if you think about it, what other cosmic event has had its own sponsorship??? Yes, Mitsubishi (the manufacturers of the auto named Eclipse - clever) are sponsors of ABC's "The Great American Eclipse" coverage. That didn't happen with the planetary Harmonic Convergence of 1987, and who would have sponsored that anyway? The Harmonica Store (google it, it exists)? In fact, if you do a search on "fintech" & "eclipse" together you get a bunch of gibberish, but even so, there will be some financial impact & some abnormalities from today's cosmic event.

First, there will be fewer cars on the road in certain parts of the country and HORDES of cars in others where the eclipse path will cross. Many schools throughout the nation will also be closed. Payments networks could certainly be impacted by all this, and overloaded in some regions while under-utilized in others. In certain locations, banks & other businesses will also be closed, which also means more digital transactions online will be necessary. And to drive that all home, last week it was reported that St. Louis-based Monsanto would be closed for the day.

Other implications? Trading volume will be one. With many people off for the day - or out of the office as the eclipse passes over their region of the country - there will be a much lower trading volume, affecting markets at large.

So - fintech and the eclipse? The connection is not as far-fetched as you may think. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this fun cosmic event and remember to wear those glasses!!

HAPPY ECLIPSE DAY FROM FINTEKNEWS!!