David Jarvis, CEO & Founder, Griffin
On a global level, there has been an explosion of innovation in the fintech space fuelling investor confidence. In turn, the value of the global fintech market has risen from $127 billion in 2018 and expected to grow to $309.98 billion by 2022.
With record investment levels comes snowballing trends, which begs the question; what is the next big thing in fintech?
- Embedded finance is going mainstream
This year, embedded finance – the seamless integration of financial services within non-financial environments – is set to go mainstream. The pandemic accelerated consumer demand for seamless digital experiences in every aspect of life; from managing money and making payments to accessing credit with minimum hassle. As a result, financial service institutions have been forced to adapt their roadmaps to meet ever-evolving consumer demands. Disruptive companies are at the forefront of recognising this, embedding financial products into their customer experience. This enables brands to further monetise themselves and create satisfied, loyal customers, and if A16Z is anything to go by; every company will eventually become a fintech company.
Now, it is becoming increasingly easier for brands to embed financial services into their products. With this in mind, as the ecosystem matures and a host of new technologies enter the market, it is likely we will see embedded finance become intrinsic to new ventures. Mid-sized businesses, tech startups and even traditional highstreet brands are set to be focusing on updating their customer experience to host financial features within the fabric of their business operations.
- One-click checkout will be front of the queue
Manually inputting contact details and credit card information at point of purchase can leave 69.82% of online carts abandoned. Now, it has been over a decade since Amazon spearheaded the one-click check out, removing arduous shopping cart forms and allowing customers to purchase goods with just one click. Since then, one-click purchases have become a standard convenience within the world of e-commerce and a collection of game changers are entering the space such as Stripe, Apple Pay, checkout.com, bolt, PayPal and more.
Retail is set on a digital pathway with an accelerated shift to omnichannel purchasing methods as consumers buy items through platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Convenience is king, and brands know that by removing layers from the checkout process they stand a better chance of closing the deal.
From this I expect we’ll see digital payment methods spell the death of the physical credit card, giving way to consumer expectations for brands to ditch manual check-out processes. In addition to this, new players will look to go even further with integrated options such as one-click insurance or BNPL schemes.
- Web3 will become accessible and take a first step in safeguarding consumers
It’s no secret that the majority of apps and content on the web is being run by a concentrated group of “Big Tech” companies. Web3 is receiving a lot of noise at the moment, with good reason too. Comparatively, Web3 will be built on a decentralised system with distributed, user-driven ledger technology (blockchain), the same tech that already underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The aim is to decentralise finance and redistribute the market share. On this platform, users will be given “tokens” for participating, used to vote on decisions, and even accrue real value.
Though Web3 is growing in popularity and shows great potential to democratising the web, there is something fundamentally contradictory about its promise. We’ve seen the uproar over personal data being shared with Big Tech companies, yet Decentralised Finance (DeFi) – Web3’s primary financial exchange mechanism – leaves consumers at huge risk. Blockchain inherently makes data public because DeFi is built exclusively on blockchain and does not rely on any financial intermediaries (brokerages, exchanges, banks, etc) for people to exchange funds. This enables direct peer-to-peer transactions, but the lack of oversight or accountability disables adequate user protection.
With such technical barriers to entry for new Web3 users remaining high, new users will frequently struggle to engage with the technology in a positive and safe way. When a person becomes the victim of fraud or any other type of financial crime in the world of DeFi, the algorithms that power the technology don’t have any remit for recourse. As we move forward, I expect Web3 developers will deliver solutions to the three challenges of accessibility, usability, and consumer protection, giving the public the confidence they need to adopt it at scale and create a safe environment for financial transactions.
- Compliance and regulation will set the tone
In 2021, the fintech community saw dramatic growth; as the State of Fintech Report findings show there were 43 fintech unicorns in the third quarter alone – double the number recorded for the same period last year. This comes as no surprise as financial UK tech firms grew by sevenfold last year to £27.5bn. With this, challenger banks and neobanks have been able to deliver the mobile-first user experience that consumers now expect from all transactions. Brands favour these new features and partnerships as a way of side-stepping slow onboarding and compliance processes associated with legacy banks. But whilst fintechs swiftly leap and evolve in line with consumers, others are close to getting their fingers burned. Due to rocketing customer growth, Monzo was feeling the heat from the FCA due to concerns the bank was struggling to stay in line with compliance and know-your-customer processes.
In 2022 compliance will continue to come to the fore, and not just for the sake of ticking a box. Rather, it is a mission-critical pillar for every financial services institution or fintech looking to bring a product to market. Whilst customers expect a speed-driven experience and accountability, regulators are cracking the whip on compliance. The challenge here will be for CIOs and CTOs to meet customer standards without compromising financial crime checks and controls.
What’s next?
The trends discussed above are just the tip of the iceberg, and we will continue to see the fintech sector gain momentum as the industry matures. The rise of new platforms like Web3, cryptocurrency, instant checkout and brands incorporating embedded finance goes to show this year will be pivotal for fintech innovation, and what an exciting time to play a part in it!
