What to Expect from FinTech in 2016
– Momentum Public Relations –
Financial technology is an area that moves quickly. Since this type of technology directly impacts commerce around the globe, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are a lot of incentives for companies to move this industry forward. While there’s been a lot of exciting advancements in this space over the last few years, 2016 is already shaping up to be an even bigger year for the industry.
To help shine some light on what you can expect from FinTech over the next twelve months, we’ve put together a list of seven trends and forecasts that are likely to stand out the most:
Making Compliance as Easy as Possible
The banking industry has plenty of indiscretions on its record. As a result, the industry is now facing even more regulation issues. These increased regulations are targeted at transactions both online and offline. Because compliance creates a lot of additional work for financial institutions, these requirements present a significant opportunity for companies that can develop FinTech solutions specifically designed around streamlining compliance issues.
Helping Consumers Become Smarter with Their Finances
It’s no secret that plenty of financial institutions have engaged in consumer practices that were misleading or even predatory. However, that doesn’t mean the entire industry is looking for opportunities to exploit consumers. On the contrary, there are a lot of startups and other companies throughout the FinTech space that are working hard to help consumers become even smarter and more empowered with their finances. Many of these efforts are focused at younger consumers dealing with issues like student loan debt or older consumers who have concerns about their retirement planning being adequate enough.
Providing a Wider Range of Payment Options
More businesses than ever before are engaging with consumers and other businesses across the globe. The globalized nature of commerce means that both individuals and organizations are looking for ways to facilitate transactions without long delays or expensive processing fees. In addition to all of the efforts being built around Bitcoin, there are many other financial technologies exploring various ways to make and receive payments on a global scale.
Creating New Channels for Loans
Although it’s possible to start many types of businesses with very little upfront investment, most businesses still need at least some capital to get off the ground or grow. That’s why a very interesting area within the FinTech space is companies that are allowing small businesses to bypass traditional lending institutions and secure the types of loans they need at very appealing rates. There’s also a lot happening around giving individuals more control in regards to obtaining and managing loans.
Improving the Online Shopping Experience
While online shopping has come a long way over the last few years, it’s still not as seamless as most consumers and merchants would like. This is especially true for mobile transactions. Not only are financial technology companies focused on smartphone online shopping, but plenty of companies within this space are looking at how more basic phones in developing parts of the world can be used to facilitate commerce.
Cutting Down How Long It Takes to Get Paid
Both small and large businesses spend a lot of time and resources on activities like collecting invoices and collections. Since those types of inefficiencies can cause cash flow crunches and other headaches, there’s a lot of incentive for FinTech providers to come up with solutions that streamline and speed up the process of collecting payments.
Taking a Stand Against Fraud
As the breaches of several very large companies have shown, financial information and assets still aren’t as secure as they should be. Although standards like EMV are already helping to reduce credit card fraud among in-person payments, the industry still has a long way to go to truly curb the amount of fraud that occurs in relation to both consumer and business finances.