Instead of highlighting the competitive landscape between emerging fintech and traditional banks, there is the potential to collaborate and generate more value. The fintech industry is accelerating innovation in finance industry, but many startups’ progress is hindered by strict regulations, data privacy and security concerns. Many traditional banking institutions are beginning to partner with fintech companies to expand and accelerate their digital plans.

The digital drive is forcing established banks to move from legacy systems to innovative solutions. It’s unlikely that fintech companies can take the stronghold of the market, but traditional banks will have to determine whether they decide to introduce their solutions or partner with fintech companies to maintain the edge over other competitors. If customer expectations continue to rise and demand the types of products and services offered by fintech startups, incumbent finance companies will have to find a solution to deliver new products or collaborate with those that can.

How fintech represents innovation in business

The rise of fintech has caused many finance leaders to adapt their core focus concerning data and digital platforms, utilising data and new services to enhance efficiency and security. Open-source software, SaaS and other architecture have become critical for tech and finance organisations exploring fintech services.

Technological progression and innovation are critical parts of fintech development, and they will likely continue to disrupt business activities within the financial industry. Many traditional finance businesses have been encouraged to be more creative as fintech companies promote new and innovative digital features and continue to gain further popularity across the financial industry.

Fintech represents innovation and is why many traditional finance companies struggle to maintain pace with new trends continuing to disrupt the industry. While fintech companies have the agility and a customer-focused approach to deliver more flexible solutions and a better user experience, the traditional banks have the size and experience, which translates into consumer confidence. Fintech expertise is often used by finance companies to improve and automate procedures and create detailed insights into their clients.

The range of fintech developments has expanded to payments and investing in new business models like blockchain, insurance-tech and data-driven marketing. The finance industry is experiencing a significant transformation on a large scale, predominantly due to technology: cloud computing, big data, robotics and artificial intelligence, and the shift in virtual and open banking and fintech. Product and software management, cyber security, customer experience, and data analytics are skills required not by just the fintech industry but also by any technology business.

There are many benefits that could transpire from a partnership between corporates and fintech. The integration of technology and greater access to data generate better compliance, security and lower privacy risks. Open banking enables third parties to create products and services around the offerings of a financial business. This collaboration would extend the potential of ecosystem-based finance, where banks and other finance companies can work with non-financial companies to create a seamless customer experience.

Finance integration has been a growing trend in the last year, with many finance companies looking to be providers to non-banks and non-financial groups looking to deliver a customer experience or service involving financial products as part of their offering. As the demand for rapid financial transactions has increased, banks and other financial businesses have been integrating fintech products within their standard practices. The ultimate purpose of fintech, aside from its focus on innovation, is to adopt technology to provide customers with financial requirements and deliver the best experience.
———-

Education and Business schools are trying to tackle the rising demands from new finance and other technology-focused market influencers.

Innovation in the tech industry has been disrupting finance for many years resulting in many of the new fintech companies becoming mainstream. Fintech venture funding has accelerated significantly in the last year and caused a spike in new job opportunities. New businesses, invest-tech companies and other neobanks are emerging in financial hubs worldwide. Studies show that leading tech innovators such as Revolut and Stripe appeal to many job seekers. For example, Revolut received over 250,000 applications during Q1 this year for 576 open positions. This number equates to well over 430 applications per job. Fintech companies like Revolut are actively looking for graduate talent worldwide.

The interest in fintech has left universities and other business schools racing to maintain a grasp of the skills and competencies required to fill these roles. Some schools are introducing specialist fintech degrees to attract and train the next-gen of fintech talent. For example, New York University Stern School of Business is launching a one year Master of Science in Fintech. The program will include data programming, blockchain, machine learning in finance and fintech leadership. Course representatives explain that the curriculum ensures people are prepared with the most relevant skills and tools to become instant disrupters in the fintech industry.

Some recruiters believe it isn’t all about finding candidates with fintech-related degrees. Some agencies prefer to recruit people based on their technical background or qualifications. For non-tech roles, people could potentially join with different skills. From a technical perspective, the skills required for new positions are evolving very quickly. Career industry specialists recommend acquiring a good understanding of blockchain, data science and cyber security as critical areas that set you apart from the competition. Continued learning and exploring the latest developments in fintech is vital to maintaining your competitive edge.

Fintech employers are also looking for technology talent in other fields like payments technology, data analytics and user experience. Finance business experts highlight that an understanding of the financial industry continues to be very important. Fintech employers are seeking professionals with a background in the traditional finance industry, including knowledge in risk analysis and business development, but have the potential to learn new skills virtually. Business schools could support the requirements in fintech by capitalising on this knowledge gap. There is an opportunity to assist people from tech backgrounds to gain a deeper understanding of the financial industry with a dedicated fintech for tech professionals programme. There are very few people in fintech that are capable of excelling in both finance and technology.

The ideal graduate is somebody that appreciates business and technology, and this can be hard to find. There is rising demand for individuals that can programme in multiple languages, but at the same time, graduates with skills in economics and user behaviours are also very important. The focus is now on shaping graduates with broader skills across these areas. Fintech businesses want graduates with strong communication skills and are capable of working confidently with other industry professionals, whether this is in finance or an engineering discipline. The single, most important attribute boils down to their ability to problem-solve. Candidates that can show critical thinking and problem-solving skills are highly desirable. Candidates may be technically capable and have the experience, but if they are difficult to manage or lack the communication skills, then this person may not be a good match for the culture of a particular company.

Embedded finance is rapidly expanding, particularly in recent years. Google reports that searches for embedded finance have spiked in the last two years, partly due to funding for startups introducing new embedded finance solutions and big banks wanting to explore this new market.

Interest in embedded finance is increasing for various reasons. Juniper Research predicts that the market will exceed $138 billion by 2026. Another reason for this growth is that the pandemic has encouraged businesses to rethink their offerings and explore new fintech solutions. While there are opportunities, the development of embedded finance comes with new challenges, particularly concerning data privacy and complying with current regulations.

If a non-financial organisation provides a financial service that enables a seamless customer journey and no platform movement, it is considered an embedded finance solution. The concept is closely related to open banking. British and EU regulations mean big banks and other financial institutions must share consented customer data. Smaller businesses can utilise these data feeds, and as a result, it empowers startups to offer better financial services.

While there are talks in the fintech industry about how successful open banking has been, several startups have tapped into this market over the last few years. Embedded finance expands on the idea of open banking, expanding the service beyond fintech businesses.

Reports from BaaS provider, Vodeno suggest that over 50% of retailers and eCommerce companies in Europe will increase their services or plan to start offering embedded finance solutions in the coming year. Innovation in customer experience is the primary driving factor behind developing embedded finance.

Traditional retailers and eCommerce companies recognise that their customers expect a seamless shopping experience. Processes like taking users to an external payment portal are not acceptable anymore.

The challenge, however, is these solutions can be costly, and many smaller companies cannot purchase their financial solution. Most companies utilise fintech startups for these solutions. Most traditional financial interactions were often controlled by banks. Today banking-as-a-service (BaaS) means all businesses have access to innovative embedded financial solutions that are cost-effective and simple to integrate.

However, there is growing competition from larger industry businesses attempting to capitalise on the embedded finance industry. Big companies like JP Morgan intend to use some of their tech investment budget towards developing embedded financial services. Rival business Goldman Sachs recently announced its banking-as-a-service portal for developers.

Barclays recently announced its Rise Start-Up Academy, a digital skills programme for fintech professionals. The first project for developing new ventures focuses on embedded finance. The pandemic has increased the adoption of embedded finance solutions.

While startups have dominated the industry, incumbent businesses are starting to explore the market. Lower interest rates have made it more difficult for big banks to compete on price. A further factor relates to the global health crisis and how this has changed opinions toward alternative financial service providers.

While there have been significant changes, reports suggest that the average customer remains reluctant to shift their money from traditional institutions. It’s becoming clear that non-traditional financial service providers are acquiring the trust and attention of customers. In response, larger businesses need to be more creative with their products and services. The result has been increased availability of new services, including embedded finance solutions.

Embedded finance enables established financial organisations to reach out to existing clients via different channels. There is a rising demand for embedded finance solutions. Businesses looking to introduce these services have several challenges before moving forward with this option.

For the first time, finance is a vital part of the COP26 climate summit, highlighting the role finance plays in supporting the economy towards net zero. Finextra, an attendee of COP6, listened to the ‘Green Horizon Summit’ by the Green Finance Institute, a daily insight running throughout the conference.

Expert industry speakers from technology, climate change and finance contributed to the latest discussions. These representatives explore how the private sector can support an accelerated move towards net-zero and how crucial reliable data and green technology are to tackle climate change.

After the first day of COP26, several climate-focused commitments were announced by governments. These measures included:

-A plan to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and funding valued at $3 billion for green investments in developing economies.
-Rockefeller and Ikea foundations launched a Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, with a commitment of $10 billion towards renewables.
-India pledged to reach net-zero by 2070.
-Brazil will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
-The UK and India will finance a 140-nation renewable solar grid.

Despite the promises, many agree that more needs to be done beyond public finance. Private green finance opportunities need to increase to ensure capital flows go towards climate and nature-focused investments.

Starting the discussions, representatives highlighted the necessity to facilitate collaboration between the private and public sectors and data was considered the driving force. Industry experts explained that the public and private sectors must work together, and that is why data is so important. We have the resources available, but we need to ensure we use them properly.

The UK Government made it compulsory for large businesses to display data following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), becoming the first G20 nation to announce this step into law. With a diverse number of the existing standard, TCFD will be important in enabling stakeholders to compare overall performance and commitments.

Being carbon neutral since 2007, technology leader Google highlighted its support for TCFD last year. In 2020, Google announced new targets regarding climate action, including becoming the first major business to operate on continuous carbon-free energy by 2030.

The work by google indicates the important role of technology in the transition to net-zero. How can these techniques be applied to other businesses? With more data and the rise of data analytics, businesses can explore the entire supply chain. It is simpler to comprehend the impact of assets. Technology can also be applied to benefit the customer. Last year, Google committed to supporting a billion users in making more sustainable and smarter decisions. For example, when searching for flights, customers can now view the carbon footprint of various flight options.

Other industry experts voice these methods, suggesting that people need the information to make informed decisions. The challenge is now scaling these solutions to tackle the climate crisis we face. We need to incorporate this knowledge with data analysis. If we focus on data, the rest will follow, in terms of generating consistency of reporting and accountability for informed decisions.

Implementing AI to many of these problems shows big potential. AI systems can help facilitate change in businesses worldwide but requires sourcing reliable and consistent data and collaborating closely with other partners. Decision making works most effectively if people are capable of discussing the problems in an informed manner. So, while information is viewed as useful, information concerning what we can all do is transformational.

Finance and technology were highlighted as two vital areas in ensuring our climate goals are met at the last conference. So, what is required from the COP26 climate summit? Firstly, sufficient money must be invested to enable and facilitate the changes required. Secondly, banks need clear information on their decision-making process, in terms of who to support and who to ignore. This entire process is driven by data, so all stakeholders, whether it be an NGO or a customer, remain confident in the entire process.

The demand for skilled leaders in finance has only intensified further since the pandemic. Businesses are seeking more diverse opportunities and require talent with the knowledge and insight of digital transformation. Being capable of integrating remote workers has become a top priority for senior recruitment leaders.

The concept of today’s finance leader has shifted considerably with the rising focus on customers, the increase in digital, investor and regulatory measures. The pandemic has accelerated the need for top talent that can enhance and support businesses through difficult times. Candidates with diverse skills, particularly in digital and transformation are critical right now. For most businesses, future success will be dependent on a business ability to coordinate with remote workers.

The market is highly competitive for leading talent in the finance industry. Recruitment leaders have experienced a rise in urgency to find diverse talent in mid and senior-level roles within financial services. The pandemic has accelerated new trends, particularly around DEI and moving towards a more flexible working environment. While we experienced numerous challenges during 2020, the sector has gradually rebounded with strength and continues to be progressing further throughout 2021.

On the whole, financial services businesses have adapted quickly to remote work through the pandemic. Finance leaders have learned the best methods of managing a remote workforce and the importance of engagement and focus with their colleagues. The main challenge for the future will be integrating flexible working into a business for the long term. Now employees have experienced the benefits of working remotely, many wish to continue working like this and have higher expectations, in terms of hybrid and flexible working options. Employers that fail to offer flexible options will likely lose their employees to other businesses that prioritise these offerings to their workforce.

The rise of digital and transformation skills

There is an increasing demand for senior finance leaders with expertise in digital and transformation projects. Because of the pandemic, finance leaders are under further pressure to respond quickly and navigate their business towards more stability and resilience. Before the pandemic, many experienced a significant change in the finance sector due to digitisation. Traditional banks were pushed by emerging fintech to quickly transform their structure, services and their rate of innovation. Some have been effective in moving towards a more digitally-focused organisation, but others have struggled due to a lack of investment will potentially find it challenging to progress in the face of other more competitive and agile businesses.

More technology businesses are inevitably likely to enter the financial market. Fintech innovation will also continue to expand in the coming years. There is a growing activity with payments and open banking where traditional businesses invest heavily into these areas to maintain pace with emerging companies.

As we move into a post COVID world, the job market for senior leaders looks to be very strong. The demand for executive leaders was relatively high in 2020, but many businesses were cautious. The barrier in face-to-face contact and high levels of uncertainty about the future put many positions on pause. In 2021, the market began to clear and led to a significant rise in hiring. The delays experienced in 2020, combined with a strong economy, have resulted in a very prosperous job market.

The flexibility to work remotely has enabled candidates to consider more opportunities, resulting in a talent-driven market. The traditional idea of relocating to a business headquarters and travelling long distances has been replaced with a new era of home base work and travel when required.

When discussing the market with consultants, the industry has become very competitive and has shifted towards a predominantly candidate-driven market. Many businesses that traditionally focus on financial services have expanded into other financial technology, such as payment systems and cryptocurrency due to the surge of investment and advancement in these markets.

The challenges over the past year have placed even more focus on the position of the chief financial officer. The pandemic requires companies to have a dedicated and skilled leader at the CFO level capable of managing the challenges that emerged from the pandemic. It tested businesses in whether they had the necessary processes to accurately measure and have systems that generate insights into management and operations. 

The finance industry is actively looking to harness the insights from several data sources but existing limitations within their IT infrastructure. A new industry standard intends to make it easier for financial services businesses to manage data in the cloud, opening the potential to a surge of new service and product development.

Cloud services facilitate the technical efforts of sharing data by moving the responsibility for developing, securing and maintaining information to cloud-managed service providers. Up until now, the finance industry has had very few ways to verify that cloud providers can meet their strict requirements in terms of governance and security. The new CDMC standard, announced by the EDM Council, focuses specifically on these concerns.

The CDMC delivers a set of measures to ensure cloud environments meet the security and governance required for regulated industries like finance. The standard was developed by a working group in collaboration with Morgan Stanley, Refinitiv and over 20 financial institution leaders and cloud providers. The standard goes beyond data sharing and explores the needs of financial services businesses as they shift their operations into the cloud. Data remains an important area where finance businesses can improve their response to customer requirements. A standard that supports their transition to the cloud will only enhance their capacity to digest and share data with a wide range of customers.
Traditionally, data feeds going in and out have typically been custom created and managed individually. Finance businesses are under growing pressure to innovate and deliver enhanced services due to the growing number of new fintech companies, but they are attempting this with certain limitations.

Cloud data platforms handle this challenge by managing the technical complications of sharing and securing data within a business. Cloud providers must display their following to the new standard via an independent group.

CDMC presents several opportunities by accelerating the rate finance businesses can transfer their operations to the cloud. A vital result of this is the potential to apply financial data from various silos, enabling companies to create new revenue streams through innovative products and work together across the new data economy. Multiple data sources translate into easier access and sharing of data between teams and the wider business. Aside from that, it enables the entire industry to be more connected and share data in innovative ways with customers and their partners.

Tackling fraud is a particular challenge, especially as every financially related business is trying to combat this problem by using their data. With the potential to utilise data from multiple sources and the ability to explore activity in banks and payment processors, there’s a lot more potential to identify and tackle fraud.

This model has worked for the security industry, where trusted providers explore activity across participating businesses to detect threats. With a structured system enabling financial data to share in the cloud, a new wave of service providers can handle the pressure of detecting fraud for financial businesses and likely do it more effectively than before. This system requires considerable collaboration, but the CDMC has created the foundations of trust for these services to be delivered.

Another area where data sharing in the cloud can play a significant role is in ESG. Businesses that manage pensions and sovereign wealth funds are under growing pressure to ensure investments meet ethical and environmental criteria that are constantly requested by investors and regulators.

Defining whether a fund has a positive environmental score or performs business ethically can be challenging to determine. Third-party providers are capable of consolidating this information and effectively creating an authoritative voice for the industry. The CDMC standard applies a similar baseline of trust to ensure shared data services are available.

These are examples of how data sharing in the cloud can enable finance businesses to transfer their focus from developing varied IT services towards an innovative system that focuses on progress and remaining competitive. There is a range of third party data providers available in the cloud that can improve predictive analytics and generate a more personalised customer service.

Combining this data can enable finance businesses to improve their predictive analytics and deliver a more bespoke service to their customers, but this requires a relatively seamless data process. Managed cloud services simplify this process, and the CDMC represents a vital step in delivering a more efficient cloud migration system for the finance industry.

Artificial Intelligence or AI has transformed the financial services industry worldwide. In just a few years, the industry has become more dependent on technology supporting data aggregation, security, products and services. The initial launch of AI technology primarily focused on deriving insights. Since then, the adoption of AI has progressed to other areas of the finance industry, including fraud detection, customer identity and other authentication techniques.

The finance industry is continuing to automate and improve various areas of business with robotics and AI. We are likely to continue seeing a shift towards accelerated machine learning in enhancing human impact across the business. AI and ML have already established a better understanding of customer behaviours and preferences, enabling the finance industry to create a more personalised approach at scale and improve the overall customer experience. Moving forward, this element of AI will become even more important in the finance industry. The ability to provide a more custom and personal customer experience is valuable in finance. AI sits at the core of delivering these features. It can be in the form of personal loan offerings based on a range of parameters. Customers no longer need to select off the shelf products. Instead, individuals have access to unique offerings designed especially for them. AI-powered lending plans is another emerging trend. Portfolio management and retirement planning with the support of AI can deliver intelligent investment plans tailored to each individual.

As the finance landscape continues evolving, we will likely see emerging regulations beyond protecting bank data and other personal information. Having the power to detect trends in large data sets, AI can determine unique information based on data, such as online purchases or website visitors. 

The finance industry has the opportunity to select from a wide range of use cases to determine how they can apply AI to their advantage. They also have the data available to leverage the insights and deliver value for their customers and clients. Incumbent businesses will need to adapt and explore their operations, shift away from legacy processes and harness the real benefits of AI. With AI still evolving, early adopters of this industry will likely gain a significant advantage and the necessary experience to succeed. Businesses that fail to adopt these measures until established will risk falling behind their competitors in the future.

In terms of fintech, AI offers several disruptive opportunities. While these may present a threat to the incumbent banks, there are also many opportunities for traditional banks to partner with fintech. Banks have the added advantage of having an existing large customer base, while fintech has access to new technology and AI features. With the right plan in place, there is a chance to deliver a win-win situation for banks, fintech and the customer. Over the next few years, we will likely see a rise in automated technology interacting with the end-user. With the pandemic showing the importance of remote services, bots and other similar technology will become even more familiar in the finance world. A recent survey by EY discovered that 64% of financial businesses plan to significantly increase the use of AI technology within the next two years. Analysts believe AI will become a vital part of the finance industry, generating new revenue channels and automating processes to enhance the customer experience. No area of the finance sector is likely to remain disconnected from AI in the future. 

The UK financial services industry is experiencing a significant shortage of talent, intensified by the rising demand as a result of the pandemic. 

According to a study by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), job vacancies within the industry increased by nearly 38% between Q1 and Q2 of this year. The findings follow on from the report from the Professional & Business Services Council and the Financial Services Skills Commission discovered that on average, 32% of UK businesses were facing shortages within financial, professional and business services.

According to the APSCo findings delivered by BI specialists Vacancysoft, hiring levels within the financial services industry had already exceeded last year’s by the end of July by nearly 7%. Ann Swain, the CEO of APSCo, explains that the data indicates that despite the many challenges, the recovery from the pandemic is well underway, reflected within the financial services industry, where reports suggest a considerable demand for these skilled services.

Swain highlights that this trend is likely to continue throughout this year but, employers will continue to face talent shortages, which have been intensified further by the rise in hiring levels. As a result, recruitment agencies will play a significant role in supporting employers to find the talent needed to ensure an efficient recovery from the pandemic.

Research suggests that IT professionals continue to be the most in-demand skillset, with over 15,000 new jobs advertised this year, a figure that already exceeds the job count for last year. APSCo discovered that leading business JP Morgan has over 2,200 vacancies this year, equating to an 18.3% increase on the previous year. Global investment and financial services business Citi announced over 1,550 vacancies, recording a 39% increase last year.

The skills shortages and changes in employee demands would collectively create a record change in talent strategies within the finance industry. We are experiencing massive volatility and changes in the industry. Businesses have had to adapt and change much quicker to respond to changes and demands for new talent. Despite these shortages, many are not focusing on prioritising their recruitment strategies. The finance industry must recognise the changing landscape and ensure their plans and offerings to employees match market shifts and industry competitiveness. 

Businesses are either overwhelmed by too much data, limited access to their data or being held back by the technology they use to measure their information. The influence of digital technology in finance has been ongoing for years. The capacity to automate manual tasks by applying innovative technologies has enabled the finance industry to transition from applying conventional measures to a more insightful analysis of a business. 

While more businesses are applying analytics in some shape or form, recent reports suggest that only 14% of finance-related businesses display success in assessing large amounts of data created by systems to generate valuable insights. Finance teams that have utilised tools to enhance their forecasting, improving model scenarios can explore new insights that enhance decision-making. 

Improving Analytics 

Based on responses from senior finance executives worldwide, over 80% of analytics is missing the mark. One of the main reasons for this is that many businesses are not extracting the value and insights from their data. 

The survey discovered that its data is holding many businesses back. Findings suggest that only a little over 10% of organisations consider themselves as ‘data proficient’, capable of actively managing their data and equipped with the necessary tools and resources required to deliver the insights and competitive advantage they need. 

Ignoring the value of operational data

While many businesses have focused on enhancing their analytics, most are missing the real value of insights. To have a complete overview of the business, data from other systems and processes need integration and alignment with financial data to deliver insights and support decisions that enable a competitive advantage. 

Ignoring the Information Systems Strategy 

The development of new technologies has enabled many struggling finance-related businesses to maintain pace. While these new technologies may be useful, successful organisations need a more holistic approach towards their strategy, yet many are not focusing on this. Studies indicate that over half of finance-related businesses are not capable of consistently adding new data sources to improve their understanding of their business, and under half can utilise their non-financial data. However, when businesses discuss their most important tools for analytics, most points towards AI and ML and at the bottom of the list are usually the necessary building blocks required for delivering an efficient analytics system. 

Focusing on the bigger picture The results of the latest studies are consistent with other experiences across the market. Many medium to large businesses are struggling to reach the efficiency and agility required in their processes. This is usually down to dependence on traditional spreadsheets or fragmented systems that are not adequate for the business. 

Innovative businesses continue to improve their analytical insights by unifying their processes to deliver a single version of the truth for their financial results, budgets and forecasts. 

Converting trends in data into actionable insights 

Business leaders are taking the next step by combining transactional data, processes and systems consistently into their analytics. Accessing this type of confirmation from operational systems and combining it with financial data provides these businesses with real-time views into vital trends that support decision-making that impacts future results. Efficient and unified reporting and planning systems require the necessary analytical infrastructure and the right talent. In today’s rapidly changing global economy, having information systems that generate insightful and actionable analytics is no longer a ‘nice to have’ option but a critical element for the future.

The last year came with several uncertainties, exposing vulnerabilities in society and transforming how we do business. With the disruption to face-to-face services, the finance industry was forced to explore alternative, innovative ways to reach out and connect with customers.
Shifting from face-to-face services to alternative plans isn’t easy. Apart from the potential risk of losing existing customers, there are the added worries of complying with certain procedures and ensuring the service offered works for your users. With this in mind, several key challenges are facing the financial technology industry:

The shift in finance – the traditional finance industry has shifted dramatically as a consequence of the pandemic. In 2020, over 3,300 physical banks closed their doors in the United States. At the same time, we have witnessed a surge in challenger banks. At the beginning of 2020, only 4% of millennials and Gen Zs were prepared to use a challenger bank account as a primary one. By the end of 2020, this figure increased to 15%.

For financial providers, this means they will need to adapt and be prepared for a more diverse audience. Gone are the days of providing a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, industry demand suggests that customers require bespoke services. One area to focus on is utilising technology solutions like big data and automation to ensure the services meet customer demands.

As the conventional banking industry changes, emerging industries like cryptocurrency are transforming too. Earlier this year witnessed a significant rise in bitcoin prices and other altcoins. The crypto industry is closely affiliated with blockchain technology and it is in this area where we may witness more changes. From smart contracts to trades, blockchain can offer security to traditional financial services and alternative markets. Reports suggest that by 2030, blockchain will impact global GDP in big ways.

At the same time regulators worldwide are focusing on new legislative solutions to make the financial industry more secure and create legislation for anti-money laundering in regards to blockchain assets. For financial solutions providers, this is the time to explore how services and technologies like this impact their industry and how to work with them in the future.

The Lending industry

At the beginning of the pandemic, many people experienced a financially unstable situation due to loss of employment, furlough or health-related issues. With a continued rise in online services and restrictions easing across the world, there has been an impact on the lending market. For customers, this could involve a shift from desire-focused lending to more needs-focused lending. This shift is associated with a decline in credit card searches and an increase in purchase finance and commercial lending, indicating borrowers are becoming more cautious and selective in their choosing loans and providers.

For traditional and alternative providers, a similar lesson resonates. It is important to consider the changing needs within the consumer market. Whether this translates into creating a smarter, more customer option or transferring to a digital platform, each service will vary. Whichever service you choose, it is essential to find one that works for your clients.

Today, the finance industry is in a transformation stage. Many traditional processes have been proven not to be as efficient or as reliable as previously thought, and the concept of how finance and lending have been changed significantly. The industry is still reshaping for the future and while it still isn’t completely clear what shape the industry will take, it is likely to be focused largely on data, new technology and prioritising the needs of customers.