Fintech is big business around the world. Financial technology is a growing area of expertise for Speed too, particularly in financial services website development and the marketing of financial services. The main priority for most Fintech initiatives is to improve customer experience.
The UK has become a global hub for this activity, and London is home to more than 2,000 fintech companies. Jobs in fintech have grown by 61%.
The speed of change is lightning fast. The first consumer banking app was only launched in 2011, yet today every bank has an app and ‘digital-only’ banks with no branches have hit the mainstream. More than a quarter of the UK population now have an account with a digital bank and 54% of UK adults use mobile banking apps.
Online innovations to boost customer experience
Starling, Monzo and Atom Bank are well established digital-only brands that frequently win customer experience awards. These banks use clever techniques to engage with their audience – for example by allowing consumers to personalise the entire experience. ANNA bank even decided to produce a debit card that miaows.
However, traditional financial providers are fighting back and investing heavily in their technology to make sure they can keep up with the challenger brands. Money Saving Expert compares different apps from digital and traditional players, and has found that apps from Barclays and Lloyds are rated well by customers for useability and features.
Top priorities for Fintech
Making payment easy
Fintech delivers faster, easier payments for people and businesses. Debit cards make it easy to buy online, and 64% of people have used online payments such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay in the past 12 months.
Online Security
With high-profile banking security breaches in recent years, keeping customers’ digital identity secure is one of the main challenges. However, Fintech are pioneering new approaches to verify and manage identity. Facial and biometric authentication are already becoming the norm in consumer banking apps.
Reducing costs
Many Fintech innovations focus on making services more accessible. Not only can customers manage their money and access special tools from the tap of their mobile or tablet, Fintech makes services more affordable by lowering costs. Removing the need for high street branches is a major saving that can be passed on to the consumer.