Banking operations have always been complicated, and its mechanisms are not easily understood by most individuals, as evidenced by history. Nevertheless, this complexity and the banking industry’s opaque nature have catalysed innovation in the reverse direction.
In September 2008, Lehman Brothers’ declaration of bankruptcy was accompanied by doleful expressions on the faces of financial analysts and commentators in the news media. Economists cautioned that if swift and effective measures were not implemented, the aftermath could be serious. The global stock markets plummeted during this crisis, which was the most severe since the Great Depression, and the financial system lost widespread faith.
Although numerous channels of explanation, including warnings, news coverage, films like ‘The Big Short’, and detailed essays have been employed to elucidate the financial crisis, the majority of individuals still find it difficult to comprehend. Generally, people are only cognizant of its immediate and material consequences, which include financial losses, foreclosures, evictions, and unemployment, among others.
Keywords: multiples avenues, The Big Short
The situations that we encountered subjected us to a prolonged era of economic hardship and prompted a shared awareness. Despite our reliance on bank accounts for daily financial transactions, including payments, transfers and deposits, few of us even had bank accounts. Our understanding of how banks function and why they behave in a particular manner was minimal. The intricate and inscrutable nature of the financial system has not aided in enhancing our comprehension.
Keywords: bank accounts, financial activities, financial system
The intention of this summary may be unclear. As a remedy, a new frontier in financial technology, known as Fintech 2.0, has emerged, which aspires to surpass the mere streamlining of existing procedures. Its primary objective is to effectuate a financial revolution that will utterly overhaul the banking industry and ensure that a recurrence of a financial crisis similar to that of 2008 is prevented.
Keywords: Fintech 2.0, financial revolution, banking sector
What Exactly is Financial Technology?
Although the term ‘Fintech’ is commonly employed to denote the use of technology in the financial industry, it is essential to recognise the diverse aspects of this technology and its applications in banks and other financial institutions. Consequently, providing a comprehensive definition of Fintech that encompasses all the various constituent parts and technology applications employed in the financial industry is required for clarification.
Keywords: this technology, banks and financial organisations, definition of Fintech
Banks and financial institutions
In the early years of the 21st century, the term ‘back-end systems’ was employed to allude to the infrastructure that sustained conventional financial institutions like banks and investment companies. Financial Technology (Fintech) has subsequently been committed to two main goals: enhancing the availability of financial services and automating their delivery. To achieve these objectives, specialised software is utilised to streamline and simplify the existing processes.
Keywords: back-end systems, financial services, specialist software
Although Fintech had already yielded substantial benefits, more possibilities still existed. The public’s lack of confidence in conventional financial institutions during the Great Recession coincided with the ascent of the app economy. Since individuals had become accustomed to using applications for nearly every task, employing banking apps was a natural extension. This gave rise to a second phase of financial technologies.
Keywords: Fintech, banking institutions, app economy, banking applications
The banking and investment sector is experiencing an extraordinary metamorphosis, with a plethora of new enterprises revolutionising how we handle our finances. With the advent of contemporary applications, managing our money has become easier than we ever imagined. The most remarkable aspect of these advancements is that the customer is now the focal point, with the various innovative businesses prioritising the user experience. To learn more about this captivating evolution, read below to gain an understanding of how these dynamic organisations are changing the financial terrain.
Keywords: banking and investment industry, modern applications, customer experience, financial landscape, dynamic organisations
Banking and investment industry
Enabling Client Empowerment
Undeniably, the younger generations, including millennials and Gen Z, are largely accountable for the surge of digital media and mobile applications in contemporary society. These generations have exhibited an escalating degree of doubt towards established financial institutions and thus, have developed a preference for alternative modes of payment and managing their finances. Consequently, an increasing number of enterprises are now utilising capital markets to fund their own businesses, given this change in attitude.
Keywords: younger generations, digital media, conventional financial institutions, capital markets
Conventional financial institutions
Diverse enterprises are intriguing consumers with different techniques of managing their finances in several ways. For instance, Klarna, a novel payment service, is seeking to revolutionise the online shopping experience by collaborating with various retailers, each providing customised payment plans, such as 30 days after delivery, 36 monthly instalments or zero payment at all.
Keywords: businesses, alternative methods, Klarna, payment service, online shopping, payment plans
Laybuy enables customers to split the cost of their purchases across multiple payments. Whether shopping in-store or online, customers can submit their first payment at their convenience, and then plan to pay the balance at a later date. Retailers also benefit from this, as it avoids the need to reduce prices to increase sales, allowing them to retain full retail prices for their products. Retailers may be charged a fee for this service as compensation.
Keywords: Laybuy, customer payments, in-store or online purchases, full retail prices, retailers, service fee
Fintech 2.0 enterprises have a notable influence on transforming the investment industry. Opportunities for investment, once only accessible to expert brokers who frequently confounded customers with intricate technical jargon, are now available with a few clicks to everyone.
Keywords: Fintech 2.0, investment sector, investment opportunities, specialist brokers, technical language
Wealthify stands out as one of the best investment service providers whose emphasis is on making investing more accessible to individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of their experience or funds. Account creation and investment strategy selection are possible without an initial deposit, with choices ranging from cautious to daring. After selecting a strategy, you can easily review an estimate of the potential returns based on your individual profile.
Keywords: Wealthify, investing services, accessible, individuals, investment strategy, potential returns
Artivest is an inventive platform that enables investors to access private equity and hedge funds. Users can promptly acquire the essential materials online and commence the investment process in minutes. Additionally, Artivest’s in
Modern FinTech (Financial Technology) is making a significant impact on the process of purchasing a home. Morty, an online mortgage broker, exemplifies this by providing buyers with support throughout the entire transaction. Morty offers assistance from specialised online advisors on-demand, as well as access to credit scores, loans and mortgages.
Keywords: home-buying process, FinTech, Morty, digital mortgage broker, specialist online advisors, credit score, loans, mortgages
EToro is a multi-asset platform for cryptocurrencies, equities, indices, and commodities that proposes an even more innovative alternative for beginners. This platform lends support to those who are beginning to explore financial markets by enabling them to duplicate the portfolios of prosperous traders. Additionally, their acceptance of Bitcoin takes a step towards making cryptocurrency more accessible and prevalent, particularly among younger users.
Ultimately, the showcased use cases indicate that Fintech 2.0 lays its primary focus on affording more control to consumers. There are multiple alternatives available to achieve this on a financial scale, with the foremost goal being to modernise outdated procedures, facilitate communication and lower the entry barriers.
The Future of Finance is Poised to Undergo a Complete Transformation
Currently, most fintech 2.0 organisations are relatively small, but this is expected to change soon. As millennials and Gen Zers distance themselves from traditional banking institutions involved in the 2008 financial crisis, fintech organisations are predicted to gain more popularity. Fintech companies not only provide a novel approach to the banking industry, but they also offer a unique cultural standpoint due to their novelty.
By emphasising the creation of a positive user experience, this revised strategy places consumers at the centre stage. Moreover, the employment of digital channels grants access to those who were once excluded from the financial system, enabling ordinary people to participate in an industry previously dominated by Wall Street’s “wolves.”
Given the current situation, it is evident that Fintech 2.0 embodies a major transformation in the financial services landscape. By learning from earlier economic crises and the public’s distrust towards traditional financial institutions, start-up companies are revolutionising the management of payments, investments, loans and other financial areas. It is apparent that the chief objectives of this revolution are to empower individuals with greater control over their finances and to evade a recurrence of the Great Recession.
