Top Banking and Fintech Trends for 2021

2020 wasn't promising for us but 2021 is all set to bring in a lot of transformation and innovation. As opportunities open up in the fintech industry, some trends are continuing into 2021. Here are top banking and fintech trends for 2021 that may drive the financial services industry forward.

Digitalisation

What we have seen over a period of time is that a lot of employees rely on digital means to accomplish the tasks assigned. This is why organisations need to have digital tools in place to access the files. What is equally critical is that when the physical documents are converted into digital format, there must be a high level of accuracy. A compromise on data integrity is of no use. All this when taken into account as far as fintech applications are concerned ultimately means that the documents and files safe within a secure infrastructure in addition to making them available through easy-to-use web-based API tools.

Banking partnerships

The pandemic has been tough for everyone. Financial organizations have suffered equally. This is why we got to see a bunch of traditional financial institutions partnering with fintech start-ups. The main objective of the same is to remain competitive and roll out new services successfully. What can be concluded is – the fintech developers will play a pivotal role in helping financial organizations benefit quickly.

Artificial Intelligence

The importance of Artificial Intelligence, no matter what the industry is, cannot be merely put into words. As far as financial institutions are concerned, we have seen the vast implementation of AI. Banks are now looking to incorporate AI in their operations. Well, this is not just about India but on a global level. By virtue of AI, the operational expenses of the banks will reduce drastically in the coming years. AI lays its role in the form of chatbots as well. Addressing customer queries, fraud prevalent tools to verify the authenticity of KYC documents, and other advanced functionalities have become easier than ever. AI has paved the way for improving the accuracy and personalization of financial services.

E-commerce

The extent to which the last year has seen massive reliance on the e-commerce sector is insane. In a nutshell, the pandemic has changed the concept of online shopping, way beyond what was anticipated. Now that we have relied on e-commerce way too heavily, it is very much possible that the coming years would see phenomenal growth in e-commerce. Today, the situation has improved at least to some extent as far as the pandemic is concerned. Despite this, the number of people that consider online shopping as a better alternative comes as no big a surprise. Shopping online is an advantage for banks and other financial transactions for the sole reason that a lot of transactions happen online, thus generating income for the institutions. One thing is for sure – the coming years will see more people engaged in shopping online and taking advantage of the financial services that are made available to them.

Digital banking

This is one of those areas that cannot go unnoticed as far as banking is concerned. With digital banking, people are now in a position to access a wide range of personal financial information and execute important tasks without physically visiting the banks. With customers realizing how easy can digital banking get, advancements are made in Artificial Intelligence (AI), biometrics, open banking, and cybersecurity. 2021 would see more people welcoming digital banking, without a doubt.

All in all, with more people showing an inclination towards Fintech digital solutions for their finances, 2021 will see great opportunities open up in the Fintech industry.