Numerous trends and technologies are intersecting now that will take payments past a future state of a cashless and paperless transactions, to a completely open, digital world marketplace.

As an emerging technology seeking mainstream acceptance, blockchain continues to build applications and use cases towards solutions that can have an immediate impact on industries in need of innovation, efficiency, and/or disruption.  One industry that easily fits these criteria is insurance.

There are multiple industries and fields around the world in need of changes due to outdated processes and structures.  Numerous startups have taken on this need for last few years, especially in the area of logistics and supply chain, showing some traction in implementing efficient blockchain solutions across the industry.

When fintechs first popped up a few years ago, these startups had a goal of disrupting and displacing banks in the world of financial services.  Banks stood their ground and made small reactive changes, but kept systems and processes mostly the same.  The relationship between these rivals has dramatically changed, with both fintechs and banks now working closely together to impact the future of finance.

Millennials embrace technology, growing up in the age of internet and smartphones apps.  Fintech, the connection between finance and technology, has greatly benefited from millennials' quick adoption rates, representing the highest usage by any age group.  Despite older generations having a higher net worth and increasing their own daily tech usage, the fintech community as a whole has ignored their specialized needs.  2018 is the year that the industry will venture beyond millennials to baby boomers and Gen Xers that have complex financial goals, in order to disrupt traditional wealth management.

As fintechs expand their core offerings towards becoming digital banks, the challenge of customer loyalty in a digital-only, non-customer facing environment becomes paramount. With only a simple download and a few screen taps needed to switch banks - - how do these companies build a loyal community of primary customers?

Blockchain is becoming widely known as the next big innovative technology, impacting the future of how we do business. The issue faced today is that the answer blockchain provides is still searching for problems to solve that customers are willing to pay for. Which problems will be most realistic and profitable to solve for blockchain?

As far as fintech companies go, PayPal is among the first and most well-known for its online payment platform that offers an alternative option to using debit or credit cards.  The company is now looking to go further by targeting an underserved market: millions of “unbanked” clients (adult consumers unable to have bank accounts due to various reasons), with deposit accounts and debit cards.

After years of investment in digital transformation, the top US banks have actually started to pull away with market share while smaller regional banks are left behind, based on a study by Accenture of US banks, in reference to core banking systems, back-office processes, and workforce development.

As the fintech movement continues to evolve from traditional banks to solely digital banks, startups and more established fintechs are launching efforts to become neobanks.

Neobanks are companies that target improving consumer banking through minimizing or eliminating fees and offering advice that customers need (most commonly around budgeting or saving) through a simple digital user experience.

Photo from WSJ.com

“The new digital bank will have buildings and humans layered upon that digital infrastructure .... it needs to convert thinking from having a physical foundation with channels on top, to a digital foundation with access through physical and digital media.”

Chris Skinner, financial industry futurist and author 

Small Business Adopting the Latest Fintech 

- Paying with facial recognition, known as FacePay, is being piloted as a payment solution.  This isn’t part of the movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise, but something that may be coming to a vending machine or kiosk near you.

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Fintechs have a bigger rival in retail banking disruption

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