Language is constantly evolving and brings new words into being on a daily basis. Some we use, some we don’t. Some become buzzwords. Some are hardly uttered. Some are here to stay. Some pass us by in the night. One that is definitely here to stay and has become a part and parcel of our everyday life is the word Fintech. And if you’re not familiar with the word or it’s not a part of your vocabulary, it sure is a vital part of your everyday life! And so we decided to address the question ‘What is Fintech?’ and look at its impact on people’s everyday lives.
Fintech is short for financial technology and has come to be used to describe the ever-growing technology that automates and facilitates our access to financial services.
It is this technology that allows companies to create and provide such innovative financial services that empower people to access and control their bank accounts, loans, insurance and investments on an online platform.
Fintech has actually been with us for a long time – ever since the first credit card was used. But its rapid rise in recent times is all to do with the transformation of the way people are leading there lives through mobile technology.
Yes, we’re moving away from cash to a cashless society but even more significant is the fact that we’re moving away from a cards to a cardless society as more and more people are using fintech technology on their smartphones to make payments, receive payments, and use their money how they want to – whether that be making investments, purchasing cryptocurrency, or accessing loans.
Fintech uses technological tools to help consumers and companies to more efficiently manage their financial transactions, to have direct control over it and for a much lower cost.
Every year, an increasing number of people across the world are moving to fintech when it comes to making and accepting payments and accessing their finances. Finance app installs flourished in 2020, increasing by 15% compared to 2019. Users installed 4.6 billion finance apps globally and spent 16.3 billion hours in-app, up 45% from the previous year (paymentscardsandmobile.com) And that number is growing fast with a generation that are using there smartphones for all financial transactions.
The market has responded by allowing consumers to feel more in control of their access to their money and has disrupted the traditional market controlled by old-school financial services. In fact in February 2020, there were 8,775 financial technology (Fintech) startups in the Americas, there were 7,385 such startups in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and there were 4,765 startups in the Asia Pacific region, according to Statista.com. Such companies strive to provide access to financial services at a fraction of the cost and time required by traditional financial institutions. We are experiencing the democratisation of personal finance. Like your phone, your finances are now in your hands.
As we complete the move to digital banking and digital payments continue to rise, mobile transactions will soon make up 100per cent of our banking transactions. And you will never see a note again… or maybe even a card.
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