What is the future for fintech?

Fintech is known as the niche that is revolutionizing the industry. Using different services online, with a single click or a swipe is becoming easier than ever before. The industry largely benefits from technological advancement, evident globally, as well as the increasing demand for digitalized services from the youth. However, there are still some areas that need to adapt to the global trend. What is the significance of fintech today? Fintech is a term, formed from the combination of two other words - financial and technology. The phenomenon is not particularly new since it has gone a massive transformation from the second half of the 20th century. It essentially came with the birth of credit card and other cashless banking and financial services. However, the modern-day industry is quite a bit different. Financial services are more important to young people than ever before and technology is bringing innovation and change to our everyday lives. Today, almost everyone uses fintech in different ways. Individuals, families, commercial entities or governmental services perform their payments or other financial operations through digitalized platforms. More and more companies in the field of entertainment decide to use fintech-driven digital platforms to perform payment operations. Businesses like NowEscape and others alike that provide booking services to many different types of entertainment prefer using modern-day, smooth and simple ways of sales over some outdated methods. Moreover, the youngest and the most technologically advanced part of our societies, Generation Z-ers have a bigger demand for mobile services, particularly about a variety of financial operations. This comes without a surprise since members of this group represent the biggest spenders we have ever seen. Their purchasing power is estimated at $140 billion in the United States alone. Some of the recently developed areas of fintech include fully digitalized banking services and neobanks, money landing operations, fast payments as well as digitalized insurance policies. All of them are on the path to further expand and innovate even more. The number of fintech users is increasing so fast that some even believe that the cashless future might actually be around the corner. Another significant factor worth mentioning is how fintech benefits those without any physical access to financial services. This is quite visible in countries like India and Kenya, where fintech represents the majority of the banking market. Without any physical bank branches in some rural areas, people receive much-needed services and perform different operations through their mobile phones or online. The future of fintech: what is the way to go? Fintech is naturally, gradually developing in almost every major field worldwide. We have already come to realize that this is the digital future of tomorrow. Banking and financial industries keep introducing innovation, advancing their already-existing mobile apps or online payment systems. It is safe to say that every major bank in 2020 has a mobile banking app, offering a whole range of financial services to its customers conveniently. It also is expanding in the insurance field. Some major insurance corporations are working to launch digital products in the nearest future. But if fintech already covers so much, in what direction should it develop? The truth is that fintech is not yet a global phenomenon. It now is mainly present in developed nations while substituting traditional banking and financial services in developing and emerging economies. However, the picture is different elsewhere. According to the World Bank, only 49,7% of the global population had access to the internet in 2017. This leaves more than half of 7.7 billion people worldwide without any connection. Thus, technological advancement has to reach some of the less-developed areas around the globe before fintech becomes relevant to them. This is a fast process and will not take as long. Moreover, examples of Kenya and India prove that increased access to the internet and fintech revolution can go hand in hand. This boosts the overall use of financial services and boosts the economy. One other thing is that what we already have today is changing fast and the industry should not fail to keep up with further development. Generation Z-ers have higher standards and demands for digital services than any other social group. If one company introduces innovation that is completely new to the public, the others should follow its footsteps. Otherwise, young people will easily change their service provider for a better one without any hard feelings. What they value in fintech are its transparency, simplicity and flexibility. Thus, the industry should do everything to meet every new demand youngsters might have, simply because they are the future of fintech. The last niche that is quite rarely mentioned covers luxury products and services. When it comes to purchasing or maintaining super-expensive items, such as superyachts or private jets, their owners prefer to stick with the traditional means of accounting. As a result, many people representing various different services and companies have to work with a whole bunch of physical documents and receipts. At a glance, many people trust individuals more than technology. This is particularly visible with the items of luxury. However, the truth is that fintech can be more efficient, accurate and beneficial in this multi-billion dollar niche as well. It offers better transparency and can potentially be quite cost-effective for e.g. private jet owners. If they can see the live updates on how their money is being spent on maintaining the jet, the fears will fade away. Fintech already is a well-established concept on the market. However, there is still a lot more to be explored. Whether it is upgrading already-existing services or entering the luxury market, fintech is the future and it should gradually adapt to the market of the future.