The financial sector has evolved significantly over the past decade. Looking back, you’d realize how fast science and technology have evolved – influencing every facet of human endeavors. Today, the finance sector is unarguably one of the primary beneficiaries of technology; giving rise to the advent of Fintech, which is the colloquial term for Finance Technology.
Technology has usurped traditional methods of delivering financial services, as it offers high-end, swish, and click-of-a-button solution to financial service providers and recipients. Hence, FinTech affords service providers the opportunity to expand their customer base(s), while delivering quality service in quick time.
Below, we bring you a compilation of 5 notable FinTech innovations that were invented and/or gained prominence in the past decade. Read on!
1. Cryptocurrency
First on our list and perhaps the most significant Fintech innovation in recent times is the advent of digital currencies, otherwise known as Cryptocurrencies.
Digital currencies have been around for some time, but only gained prominence and acceptance in the past few years. People now transact and generate income by trading in various cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.
2. Mobile Payments
One of the most significant innovations in the financial sector is the emergence and development of mobile payment platforms. Though mobile payments have existed for a while, it’s evolved over the years, leading to more efficient and satisfactory use.
Payment using mobile payment platforms has become effortless, instant, efficient, and most cases, free. This has led to less dependency on raw cash, which has consequently improved the ease of doing business for all stakeholders.
Through mobile payments, bank transactions are much easier and secure, as users usually have a unique password and/or a one-time password (OTP) to securely complete each transactions.
In most cases, all you need is a mobile device and registered cell phone number and you are good to go.
3. Online Wallet Saving System
Imagine the need to carry a large pile of cash that won’t fit in your wallet. Then, imagine the convenience of carrying twice that amount in a wallet yet not feel the weight of a penny. That’s what the Online Wallet Saving (or e-Wallet) system offers!
In addition to making payments easy through the mobile payment system, FinTech also provides an avenue for saving money online and completing transactions from anywhere.
An e-Wallet affords you the opportunity to save money online, while providing you privileged access to facilitate the initiation and completion of transactions online, at any time and from anywhere.
The primary benefit of the online wallet is that it eliminates the necessity to move around with huge pile of cash. This helps to secure users’ money.
Go here to set up an e-Wallet account today.
4. Quick and Easy Loans
Gone are the days when securing loans seems herculean, even for credit worthy individuals and organizations. Today, credit worthy bank customers and even an average Joe have access to credit facilities. What is more interesting is; there are now thousands of financial institutions whose primary line of service is provision of loans, though usually at high interest rates.
With Fintech, customers can easily apply for loans, get credited and liquidate their loans from the comfort of their laptops or mobile devices.
5. Digital Banking System
Last on our list of top FinTech innovations is digital banking. Today, most traditional bank practices have been digitized; offering digitized services in a bid to provide more efficient stress-free banking ex[erience to customers.
With an online banking app, customers can carry out transactions and interface with the bank representatives from the comfort of their laptops or mobile devices.
Conclusion
Financial Technology has indeed improved the ease of doing business, through its numerous innovations. It should be noted that these innovations are not exhaustive. However, the above represent notable Fintech innovations that were invented and gained prominence in recent times.
These innovations, without doubt, have been of immense benefits to their innovators, in terms of prestige and income. However, the end users’ are the biggest winners, as the improved productivity and consequent ease of doing business enjoyed by these users are simply not quantifiable.
