Gazmend Selmani is a technology solutions architect and the founder and chairman of the board at PBC Group.
getty
The fintech (financial technology) era is blooming everywhere. Every country has its pioneers in creating banking ecosystems and offering financial services at almost zero cost in a fully automated technology. According to the International Trade Organization: “The UK is the third largest destination for FinTech investment, after the United States and China. The FinTech sector in the UK is comprised of over 1,600 firms, and that number is projected to double by 2030. The sector contributes and estimated $9.18 billion (£7 billion) and over 60,000 jobs to the UK economy.” Southeastern Europe is also investing heavily in digitizing financial transactions and payments among instant lending; for example, 49% of an e-wallet based in Greece was bought recently by JPMorgan.
So, no doubt, the disruption of traditional banking has begun. But, what do fintechs do? I like to explain that they mainly have optimized and simplified digital payments and money transfers. Some have started issuing loans for payment purposes, as well. The principle of opening digital banking accounts through the know-your-customer (KYC) option facilitated a lot in covering unbanked people and increased the digitalization of financial transactions. The ease of getting loans has helped economies through increasing expenses and helped people to finance their needs and wishes. But, that’s probably not all that fintech companies are going to deliver.
As a technology solutions architect with 18 years of experience in designing cutting-edge software solutions for different public sectors—driven by digital transformation, cost reduction and performance optimization and business intelligence—I have a great passion for research and development and inventing solutions which generate new benefits for stakeholders.
New Payment Solutions
Lately, many new payment solutions have been knocking at the door in fintech. Now, toolless payment solutions are not a reality seen only in scientific movies. Some solutions replace tools like cards, phones, smartwatches, wearables and similar options with biometric signs—where they are allowed to be used. Some in the industry, including my company, IBAS World, are working on solutions that realize digital payments even without the biometric signs.
Buy now, pay later is another solution that seems to be blooming everywhere. This is a suitable solution for buyers to get financing with few installments at any cost. There are many providers worldwide offering this service, including PayPal. New payment options are helping merchants as well by increasing their sales.
How Industry Leaders Can Stay Competitive
In my view, we have to be thankful for such amazing progress in the financial world. Thanks to these solutions and the people behind them, millions of people worldwide can realize their digital payments simultaneously, even if they forget their wallets, cards or smartphones—or run out of battery. New payment solutions are expected to decrease the number of plastic cards produced and have a positive impact on the environment and sustainability goals, in addition to contributing to cost reduction.
For the business leaders and entrepreneurs in the fintech who want to stay competitive, I recommended to start thinking of environmentally friendly solutions that are suitable for your clients in the sense of costs and practicalities.
Building solutions that offer more for less among end-to-end digital transformation will also be helpful in the future. Additionally, it’s important for fast-growing fintechs to recruit passionate and experienced employees and make them happy—this can help you to overpass any obstacle that may arise during daily operations.
The financial world is evolving. The “invisible hand” moves things forward and brings innovative banking and attractive solutions to the world. For the most part, I’ve noticed these solutions are very welcomed as they are safe and benefit consumers in various ways. Digital banking within the fintech world can deliver the same security level as traditional banks. In addition, fintechs are obliged to firmly apply the same legislation that banks have to, including the technology security standards. Whenever a certified independent auditor concludes that an institution achieves the PCI DSS standards, I think there is no doubt that the technology security level is in the class of an established bank or institution.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
