From the abacus, which was developed to facilitate financial computations, to the massive computing systems required to power advanced investment models nowadays, technology and money have always been interwoven. As a result of this consolidation, the financial technology (fintech) business emerged, and these days most financial transactions are completed through mobile devices, giving more individuals banking facilities.
Accessibility is only one aspect of the many ways in which technology has revolutionized the world of finance. For example, mobile investing applications and stockbrokers have completely upended whole industries. Even though, the fintech revolution is ongoing, as well as accompanying a few of the most consequential themes that will impact the future of finance thanks to innovative businesspeople.
Security
Security has become a serious issue for all parties involved as financial products have shifted from in-person to online transactions. A growing number of businesses are included ransomware charges in their regular budgets as a result of the frightening surge in cyberattacks.
As a result, biometric technologies are gaining popularity as a means of ensuring the greatest levels of safety as biometric markers are difficult to forge or hack. While fingerprints have traditionally been used, growing public health issues are turning focus to other forms of biometric authentication that don’t need physical touches, such as iris scans and facial recognition.
Transparent Financial Transactions
Traditionally, banks have protected their customers’ personal information closely in order to maintain a competitive edge. Usually, this means keeping out rivals, but it may also mean that consumers aren’t given complete access to their own information by the bank. The rise of data protection rules that provide consumers the right to access and transfer their information as they deem fit, in addition to the growing partnership between financial technology and conventional banking, have contributed to the revival of the open banking idea in recent years.
Regtech
Authorities and government regulators throughout the globe have already been fighting catch-up by enacting new policies and procedures to address every new innovation in the financial technology industry. As a result, fintech firms face a hodgepodge of laws and rules in the many jurisdictions in which they do business.
Authentication processes, transactional and vulnerability assessments, and reporting systems are the broad categories into which regtech services fall. All regtech tools are designed to make it easier to find and follow the rules that apply to a given situation.
Usage of Cryptocurrencies
In contrast to the early days of cryptocurrency’s existence, traditional financial services businesses increasingly adopted cryptos. For example, PayPal said it would begin enabling all U.S.-based customers to purchase, store, and trade cryptos on its system. According to immediate connect, cryptocurrencies, nevertheless, have proven to be a volatile asset class.
Acceptance of cryptocurrencies by merchants is expected to rise as their usage becomes more widespread. Cryptocurrencies have certain flaws (including safety and unpredictability), and businesses that address these issues will benefit the market.
Mobile Money Transfer
The use of cash has not been eradicated. Yet. However, it is obviously on the wane as the globe moves away from face-to-face interactions and more people start using mobile payment systems. Mobile payment processing has risen in importance in the financial services sector, with the support of both small businesses and large corporations like Apple.
In Conclusion
Payment processing options abound, but despite their popularity, sending money across borders is still a major hassle. Even if Transferwise has received $319 million at a value of $5.5 billion and some other financial technology businesses have funded big amounts of money too, there remains a long way to go before online transfers are as streamlined as their domestic counterparts. The potential for mobile payments grows with the expansion of the remittances sector.
