We all remember the time when you had to go to the bank to withdraw money. Well, the scenario is entirely different today. The revolution of smartphones has transformed every industry sector. One of the sectors most influenced by technology is the fintech sector.
As of now, the use of payment apps is on the rise. It is one of the factors why fintech startups are receiving hefty investments. As per stats, the total investment received by fintech companies in 2019 was $168 billion, which dropped significantly to $105.3 billion in 2020.
Still, these are hefty numbers that are not going to fall too much anytime soon. As fintech apps like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay are used by most users worldwide, they are surely meant to change the future of banking.
Here are the ways in which fintech app development is affecting the financial services sector.
Fintech apps have become virtual banks
It is a new trend that has garnered massive popularity recently. The core motive behind the rise of virtual banks or direct banks is the total digitization of banking services.
Many direct banks are operating around the world that provides services like:
- P2P payments
- ATM card facility
- Photo ID scanning
- Ability to generate cheques and pay bills
And many more! Some excellent examples of the best online banks are Atom Bank, Axos, Chime, and many more.
Also Read: The Future of Cryptocurrency in India
There are a lot of apps and are easy to use
Fintech apps are not just limited to those used for making payments and money transfers to your accounts. There are many other types of fintech apps that can be used for:
- Personal Banking. These are the apps that banking institutions develop to ensure that customers do not face any hassle while accessing bank services. Most of these apps have a user profile and a facility to check balance, pay bills, monitor expenses, and many more.
- Lending and Insurance. If you need a loan for anything, you don’t have to go to the bank branch these days. Through dedicated banking apps, you can easily complete the loan formalities.
- Stock Trading. If you are one of those who like to invest in stocks, you can do it via various fintech apps like Fidelity, E*trade, Ameritrade, etc. Paytm which is an Indian payments app, also allows stock trading now.
Top-notch customer support
No matter if you run an eCommerce business, a car agency, or a bank, your customer support needs to be top-notch. It is very rare that your customers will not face any issue with your services. So, to help them, it is necessary to have an app that answers their questions.
Phone calls and emails are only effective as long as there is some human interaction from the other end. What if a user asks for help in the off-hours? What happens then?
One of the coolest additions that some of the banks of the world are making to their apps is the addition of chatbots. This is one of the ingenious ideas that is transforming the Finance industry. Banks like American Express, Bank of America, & JPMorgan Chase use chatbots to serve their customers.
The availability of chatbots in Fintech apps can significantly affect user experience and retention.
Growing Security
As the number of online transactions increases, the risk of cyberattacks also increases. Hence, fintech firms must invest in state-of-the-art security measures for protecting user data and money.
As per Deloitte data for 2020, financial institutions spent around 10.9% of their budget on cybersecurity; this was 0.8% more than that in 2019. What do you think that this number is so high and increasing? The increase in fraud rates might be one of the reasons.
And due to this increase in fraud rates, banks and financial institutions are becoming more aware of the security measures like:
- Power cloud infrastructure
- The requirement of AML or KYC is made mandatory.
- Addition of security elements like firewalls.
- Total compliance with the defined rules and regulations.
If you are concerned about the security of your data, you can take some steps on your end, like installing tools like Atlas VPN. It will keep your data safe online while also keeping you anonymous. When it comes to dealing with financial information, you can never be too safe. Thus, as a customer, make sure that you do everything in your power to keep your finances safe and sound.
The advent of new technologies
The development in the fintech sector is not just limited to the described scenarios. The emergence of new technologies has started affecting the fintech apps for further good. Technologies like IoT, AI, ML, AR, and VR are taking the fintech sector to a new level.
An excellent example of this is Google Wear for wearable contactless payments and employee training using VR technology.
Final Words
To conclude, it is safe to say that fintech app development is just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless other advancements that are yet to come. New technologies are sure to take the world by surprise.