This article was written by Andrew Machin, a member of Akvelon’s Business Development Team.
Even though we are still fresh into the new year, global interest and investment in fintech innovation is already proving to be strong. So far, we have witnessed numerous trends working together to drive both the evolution of existing business and the growth of new businesses that are expected to emerge and flourish. See if you are still on the crest of the technological wave, and if you are not missing out on important technologies in your business strategy.
We at Akvelon have gathered some main trends that we are seeing lately:
1. Growing advances of AI-based technologies.
The AI segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate yet through the near future. AI has become a crucial part of the Finance industry’s development in terms of collecting data, analyzing information, and creating customer-centric products.
The global AI-in-fintech market size is projected to increase to $46,881.9 million by 2030, up from $7,702.7 million in 2020, at a 19.8% CAGR between 2020 and 2030. AI is further on its way to becoming mainstream in fintech. It will continue to help make financial services less expensive and more flexible per transaction, increase security, create value for customers with contextual decision intelligence solutions, and drive outperformance through automation. However, the lack of skilled consultants to deploy AI in the fintech market and concerns related to data privacy may create hindrances in the acceptance of AI and thus the overall growth of the fintech market.
At the same time, benefits are enhanced when AI-based solutions are in place – that is when the right technology matches the right demand, at the right time. That is why fintech companies are increasingly demanding professionals in this sphere. Akvelon’s team of experienced AI and machine learning software engineers has already helped several companies in the Finance sector leverage AI technology. Reach out to us at hello@akvelon.com or reach out to me directly on LinkedIn to learn more about the amazing things that AI can do for your business..
2. Rapid growth of Blockchain/cryptocurrency-based finance will continue. Though there will likely continue to be controversial regulatory approaches taken by different countries.
Blockchain technologies are anticipated to have huge potential to transform the fintech sector. 2021 was the year of a shattering record of global investments in blockchain and cryptocurrencies, rising by $30 billion, which is more than five times compared to 2020.
Blockchain & crypto technologies have become an area of growing interest due to new opportunities of their applicability in the future. One of the most promising areas of their use is in supporting collaborative multi-jurisdictional activities. There is especially increasing consideration of how blockchain and crypto will help enable Web 3.0.
There are several areas of increasing concern regarding the collaboration of regulators and crypto firms and platforms. The growth of cryptocurrency activities and development of this technology is limited by the ambiguity of regulations in different jurisdictions. Different jurisdictions use different regulation approaches, adding uncertainty and various risks of development (for example, significant restrictions in China and India). As financial policies and regulations adapt, blockchain technologies in fintech are expected to massively expand.
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3. New security threats in a vulnerable world
Cybersecurity has always been a high priority in fintech, especially regarding confidential customer data. However, the current cybersecurity landscape has exploded in the last year, with a doubled amount of investments compared to 2020. Recent trends such as supporting largely remote workforces, integration with third-parties products, and cloud data storage all have led to an increase in the number and complexity of cyber attacks.
The global instability also forced fintech companies to accelerate their cybersecurity measures to prevent potential cyber threats. The main focus of development will be on the use of AI, machine learning, and automation and on platform-based approaches to cybersecurity as well as the importance of secure DevOps. There will also be increased concern regarding cyber resilience, breach remediation, vulnerabilities testing, and ensuring basic security hygiene to ensure rapid change doesn’t leave risk exposure. Akvelon is on it and we created the Akvelon SecOps Think-and-Do tank, an organization inside our organization. This intellectual setting encourages our security and software engineers to transform individual experiences into collective knowledge, researching, innovating, and piloting ideas for the evolution of security best practices.
4. Cutting-edge technologies in Fintech help solve market inefficiencies
New technologies in fintech have become a growth engine for creating new niches of business at a speed and scalability unimaginable before. Competition with large financial companies also urges both incumbents and fintech startups to integrate and offer new products and services which are too small/not profitable enough to large businesses.
Due to innovative financial services, new business approaches will become viable. Growing advances in AI, API development, low-code and no-code, open source software, serverless architecture, cloud-based technologies, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) – these all help to make financial services less expensive and more flexible per transaction, thus liberating business opportunities.
Some examples include embedded finance, as a part of the user interface of other products, BNPL (buy now pay later) services, mobile banking, payment processing, chat & messenger commerce, and peer-to-peer financial programs.The Akvelon team has helped several leaders in the Finance sector to apply emerging technologies in these areas, improved operational efficiency and cost-efficiency are just some of the immediate results yielded by applying new advances in fintech.
Fintech became a driving force of eCommerce by making it more efficient, convenient and trustworthy. For example, a new niche of great interest is financial services adoption in the Metaverse.
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5. Fintech and ESG Mutual Influence and Shared Future
The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda is taken into account in the strategic planning of any business. The development of fintech technologies should be based on the principles of ethical and sustainable management. In turn, fintech is able to make significant changes in corporate governance and the fair distribution of financial benefits.
ESG can empower finance, and financial technologies can boost ESG.
Why? Because ESG in finance is not just an investment strategy – it’s a life strategy based on the idea that we should “make our capital work for us and our future and not the other way round”.
In conclusion, a focus on technologies, professionalism, strong policies and demand will ensure the continued success of the fintech sector as a catalyst for innovation and evolution of business. Taking advantage of new, upcoming technologies is imperative to keep up with the expected growth and progress in the industry. Make sure you choose the right technology to grow your business and achieve excellent results. We at Akvelon are here to help, so reach out to me directly or drop an email at hello@akvelon.com. Let’s talk about your next Fintech initiative.
This article was written by Andrew Machin, who is a member of Akvelon’s Business Development Team.
