Disrupt. Democratize. Leveling the playing field. Equal opportunity. Entrepreneurial. A revolution.

Just some of the words and phrases that are currently used to describe the acronym FinTech, or the new financial technologies disrupting financial services and generally enhancing our lives.

Never Been Cheaper for Entrepreneurs
From crowdsourcing to mobile payments, there has never been as much choice for entrepreneurs as there is now. Crowdsourcing, for example, allows people with big ideas to get funding quickly and easily from anywhere in the world from people they have never met.

Far more agile than traditional banks, fintech firms can pass on huge savings, and innovate and adapt in a way bigger corporations can only dream of.

How Fintech Changed The Customer
The rise of the smartphone has massively changed the behavior of consumers. People now expect to handle financial affairs as easily and conveniently as they do their email or Facebook page. A huge opportunity for businesses, soon no enterprise will succeed without the right fintech services in place.

Institutions that take advantage of this new technology will experience an increase in productivity and a decrease in overhead costs.

2019 promises to be the year we see the culmination of some key technologies —  from blockchain and intelligent AI, to design thinking and the cloud.

Let’s take a look at 9 of the most significant trends to keep up with:

:: Mobile technology. As more and more people use mobile devices, financial services are going mobile. Lucky customers now manage their money without visiting a physical branch!

:: Digital-only banks. The strong trend toward mobile banking has resulted in many digital-only banks with no physical branches. They are particularly popular among millennials, who often use smartphones for financial transactions. These banks provide apps that let customers manage money on the go. No wonder, visits to bank branches are expected to drop in the near future.

:: Biometric technologies. With the digital age, the financial services industry is vulnerable to cyber attacks. Security is now a top priority. One way to prevent fraud is to adopt biometric technology. This technology also makes logging into an app easier and faster.

:: Blockchain: Beyond bitcoin.  The much-hyped technology upon which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built, the blockchain, is a distributed, open ledger that can record payments or other transactions between two parties quickly, in a verifiable and permanent way. More and more fintech startups use blockchain technology because of its transparency.

:: Fintech digital vs paper currency. A new Bitcoin ATM opened in Las Vegas in February, making digital currency more acceptable. 

:: Artificial intelligence. Most experts agree that AI will have a great impact on fintech in the near future. There are various reasons.  AI automates tasks like data analysis, thus helping to save time. It also creates chatbots and robo-advisors.  Artificial Intelligence is at the center stage of fraud detection, customer analytics, and anti-money laundering solutions

:: Artificial intelligence for voice. We will see businesses use A.I. technology to develop new commerce interfaces. Consumers are becoming more at ease using digital assistants and several are now readily available for use in the home. Call centers are an example of where voice will excel, with bots being able to offer help and direct calls quickly and easily.

:: Collaboration: the new innovation. As big banks innovate, and start-ups struggle with regulations and getting new customers, collaboration is a necessity.

::  More Financial Startups, Solutions & ICOs. Fintech is on everybody’s mind. Corporations and startups are pouring money into young fintech companies, many of which prefer Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) as their funding channel rather than traditional forms of funding.

Technology is transforming finance. The established, cautious institutions will indeed change how they do things. Fintech firms are innovative, daring, and increasingly successful. They are thriving, and they represent the future of finance.

Only The Beginning
With the fintech revolution, the banking industry, and its consumers will need to hold on for the ride. It will take some time for this technology to gain enough speed to become widely accepted. Only time will tell what we can expect when we visit our local bank.

RESOURCES

The Complete Beginner’s Guide To FinTech Everyone Can Understand
Fintech
The disruptive technologies driving start-ups and revolutionizing banking, payments, and insurance