FinTech trends are changing so fast that it often gets hard to keep up with them. Here are four on the radar
FinTech is a segment that has caught the attention of entrepreneurs, CEOs, and people at various levels of the hierarchy due to its rapid growth. Technology and digitization are the primary facilitators for making financial services more favourable.
However, FinTech trends are changing so fast that it often gets hard to keep up with them. Conventionally, innovations and other fintech trends have been limited by regulatory worries and a traditional method on the part of the government on such contemporary features.
According to the industry experts at market intelligence solutions provider Infiniti, “as technological innovations in financial services advance, the need for transparency in financial systems will also increase.” Here are four FinTech trends on the company's radar.
Payments through NFC
NFC, or Near Field Communication, is already redefining the way payments are made. Several countries are using this technology to enable contactless payments, where people can hold their bank cards up to a reader. It’s also built into most modern smartphones, and what is even more interesting? The technology can even be surgically implanted into a person so that they can make payments just with a wave of their hand. However, there is a long road ahead until humans can be seen walking around with implants. As NFC heads towards full maturity, it’ll be interesting to see the new ways in which we can use it – especially with more and more wearable devices entering the market.
Multi-currency digital wallets
Most of us would have experienced the difficulty of having to exchange currencies at some point in our lives. The rise of new fintech trends has facilitated the disruption of currency exchange systems which, until recently, have been exclusively ruled by traditional players. The past few years have witnessed a steady growth in digital wallets primarily because of the ease and security they offer. Digital wallets store all of a user’s payment information securely and compactly; thus, eliminating the need to carry a physical wallet. For example, CashDash is a mobile app that allows you to buy, collect and return foreign currency. Furthermore, unlike most digital wallets, the app does not require the use of an ‘old school’ credit card.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that makes use of blockchain technology and operates in a decentralized network format. Blockchains are distributed digital ledgers that record a group of transactions in groups connected to each other using digital keys. Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) is one of the essential fintech trends that stakeholders of financial services should pay close attention to in 2018. ICO is an alternative type of crowdfunding that has emerged outside of the traditional financial system. It has proved to be a significant source of funding for several companies, and startups to start their businesses. ICOs are events that usually extend for one or more weeks where buyers are allowed to purchase newly issued tokens in exchange for established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Implementation of AI across the stack
AI is a technology that has marked its presence in most of the industries, and the financial services industry is not far behind. In 2017, we saw fintech trends brimming with developments on the Artificial Intelligence front, and it is expected to get bigger and better in 2018. With the evolution of AI, Fintech companies will be able to make more efficient decisions and find comprehensive solutions to their business problems.
