Fintech 101 — Discover the 3W’s of Fintech

What if I told you Fintech dates back to half a century? And it’s not a buzz word conjured up in the present, but one of the most disruptive technologies of the last five decades.

Ready to explore the unchartered waters of Fintech?

Then let me take you through a timeline:

So, now you know that right from checking your recent transaction via a banking app to scanning a QR to pay, everything is a classic use case of everyday Fintech.

Indeed, today’s Fintech products and new business models are the results of the latest technologies disrupting traditional financial services such as investments, insurance, trading, lending, and banking.

What is Fintech? How is it categorized?

The term Fintech stands for Financial Technology. The application of programming, analytics, and technology to financial services and banking has brought forth an unimaginable revolution called Fintech. In short, you can say Finance + technology = Fintech.

Moreover, in the last decade, the Fintech industry has gone through a wave of innovation. It has created new journeys for banks and businesses and transformed the way you pay, lend, borrow, save, invest, insure, and so on.

From cashless payments to digital lending, from crowdfunding to virtual currencies, from mobile banking to robot advisors, everything falls under this umbrella. All in all, you can conclude that it has touched almost all the verticals of the financial sector. Its sub-domains include Paytech, Bankingtech, Lendtech, Insurtech, Wealthtech and Regtech.

A Sneak Peek into the Onset of Fintech Globally and in India

Right from 1950, Fintech has gone through many tremendous changes and growth by easing the lives of millions of customers worldwide. However, the latest Fintech boom can be attributed quite well to the new technology advancements and evident global events.

To explain further, let me show you three striking realities that triggered the sky-rocketing growth of Fintech.

• The infamous credit crisis of 2008 forced financial institutions to focus heavily on regulation and triggered innovation. To overcome this lag and to close the existing tech gap, many firms started developing mobile-first, API-enabled, and AI-driven bank solutions.
• The 2016 Demonetization bolstered the usage of banking apps and digital payments. After this incident, the Indian Fintech start-up ecosystem grew at a faster rate and became a strong contributor.
• The 2020 COVID Pandemic has made digital transfers a necessity rather than a convenience. For instance, online renewal payments for insurance has seen a considerable uptick globally.

In simple words, Fintech has made the overall customer experience more straightforward and comfortable.

Why do we need Fintech?

When you observe traditional insurance, lending, and banking firms globally, you discover a common thing these legacy firms have. It is nothing but a vast pool of untapped customers and complicated processes. Fintechs act as a helping hand to serve these overlooked and overwrought customers.

To elaborate, here is a sneak peek of these potential customer clusters:

• Thousands of customers without bank accounts and with smartphones
• Many authentic borrowers with a low credit score or bad credit history
• More professionals wanting to manage their personal finance
• Consumers looking for personalized insurance products
• Many customers trusting robot-advisors over wealth managers and so on

Further, they also simplify the process and make financial services more accessible.

Fintechs today are breaking the mold by developing dedicated digital solutions for them, such as mobile banking, lending without banks, peer-to-peer borrowing/lending, payment APIs, and so on. In short, they are striving to create a much-awaited financial inclusion across economies.

As customer adoption rates are higher than usual, many start-ups and investors today are exploring many facets of fintech inclusion. With countless Fintech enthusiasts around the corner, there’s no wonder why unique lending capabilities and payment technologies are emerging every day.

The Ones to Watch: Fintech

To sum it up, Fintech SaaS has the potential to transform consumer relationship with money. You can also think of Fintech as a Bank-as-a-Service version of traditional banking.

Nevertheless, it can and will set the landscape of future banking and financial services. It is an ongoing journey, and emerging products will always be the result of regulations (banks), innovations (fintech), and customizations (end-user).

Remember, it is more than a technology or a business model; It touches lives and makes incredible advances. If you want to keep track of something disruptive in the future, then Fintech is the one to watch.

Want to know more about fintech, write to us at business@m2pfintech.com.

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