Fintech is blossoming in ways that no one expected. From crowdfunding to peer-to-peer lending and big data crunching with Algomi investment software to wage systems for the unbanked, the possibilities are exciting and potentially endless.
Below are just some areas where fintech has found fertile ground and has the ability to change the shape of current systems.
Personal finance and banking
The way people manage their money is changing. The days when a customer had to visit the bank in their lunch hour or fill out lengthy, paper forms is more or less over. Banks have to keep up while, at the same time, providing the personal service that customers say they want. This means harvesting and utilising available data to mine customer behaviours for tips on how they want to experience their banking services. Many of the major banks are responding well with tools such as apps, branch personalisation, and enhanced online banking with customised recommendations.
Mobile payments and transfers
Mobile payments are perhaps the biggest area of growth in the fintech industry. Companies like PayPal and WorldPay have had centre stage for a while now. They created ways to protect the consumer during online transactions.
The developing world is a major market for mobile payment fintechs. Millions of people throughout India, Asia, and Africa are unbanked but still have financial needs. Tapping this market in ways that big banks cannot is a recipe for success.
P2P lending
Peer-to-peer lending is enabling ordinary people to lend other people, small businesses, charity projects, and so on. It has helped to financially empower a huge swathe of a previously disenfranchised population and will surely continue to develop in interesting ways. Some of the leaders in the industry are Zopa, Ratesetter, and Funding Circle.
Better ways to use financial data
This is the category where Algomi investment has really come into its own. They now have 2 buy-side and 2 sell-side software solutions that link with each other in interesting ways. They are cross-platform and compliance conscious so they are meeting some of the major challenges in the big data processing world with their time investment. Algomi are just one of the fintechs responding to illiquidity in the market and they are doing so by making some stunning moves and partnerships.