Technologyisnomorealuxurytodaybutanecessity.

Financeisnoexceptionandnowweareseeing
newvariousFinTechfirmsmushroomingallovertheworld.
Globalinvestmentinfinancialtechnology
increasedmorethantwelvefoldfrom$930millionin2008tomorethan$12billionin2014.Europe
aloneinvestedaround$1.5Billion.Purposeofthearticleistogiveaninsightintothissector.

Financialtechnology,alsoknownasfintech,isaneconomicindustrycomposedofcompaniesthatuse
technologytomake
financialservices
moreefficient.Financialtechnologycompaniesaregenerally
startups
tryingtodisintermediateincumbentfinancialsystemsandchallengetraditionalcorporations
thatarelessreliantonsoftware.Wiki

Withthemobilesbecomingequippedwithpowerfulprocessors,cloudtakingthecontrolofalmostall
backendservices,andBigDatacomingintopicture,thepowerthattechnologyprovidesisknownto
everyone.Thisgivesanopportunitytobuildmultipleinnovationsintheindustrytodothethings
differentlythanbefore.Letsgothroughthevariousinnovationsthathavetakenplaceinthespace:

PaymentSolutions
:WiththeinventofcompanieslikePayPal,AliPay,etchavealreadymade
thetasksofpaymentsonlineabreezeandhasopenedawholeplethoraofoptionsforthe
ecommerceindustry.Now,PayTM,wallets,etcaretakingoverthemarketwhichisfurther
reducingthetimeofmakingpaymentsandthusmakingliveseasier.Evenadigital
currency(Bitcoin)hasevolvedintothemarketandhasgainedawidepopularity.
Ripple
,a
companybasedinSanFrancisco,usesthisideatoproposewhattheydescribeasalowcost,
worldwide,multicurrencypaymentmechanismtheysayisfaster,moresecureandsimplerto
usethananybankingbasedalternative.Thesystemisbasedonsecurewalletsmanagedby
theusersthemselves,andadistributedledgerinspiredbythebitcoinblockchain.
InvestmentsSolutions
:FirmslikeLetsVenturearemakingiteasiertoconnectentrepreneurs
andinvestors.SolutionslikeEquitycrowdfunding(AngelList,CircleUp,CrowdFunder,Fundable,
Ketto,Milaap,Catapult),andpeertopeerlending(LoanMeet,Lendbox,LendingClub,Upstart,
BitBond,Faircent,ilend,Bondora,AuxMoney,Zopa,Biva)areavailableforfurther
investments.Thisenablessmallbusinessandstartupstoeasilyraisemoneyfortheirprojects.
FinancingSolutions
:Therearefurthersolutionslikecrowdfunding,microloansandcredit
facilitiestofacilitatesmallerloans.Theseareappropriateforcomparativelysmallerprojects
andideas.Kickstarterisagoodexampleglobally.OthercompaniesincludeIndieGogo,
RocketHub,Accion,OpportunityFund,AnnapurnaMicrofinance,etc.
CrossProcess
:BigDataandpredictivemodellingarebecomingverycrucialthesedaysto
makewiserdecisions.Banksareusingittocheckiftheyaremakingbadloans,various
investmentfirmsuseittopredictthevalueofanassetandaccordinglyinvesting,etc.The
possibilitiesarelimitless.
Insurance
:StartupslikeLemonadeareofferingtheplatformsforpeertopeerinsurance.
Kaskoisgivingaservicetodigitalbusinessestoofferrelevantinsuranceservicestotheir
customersviaamodularAPI.OthercompanieslikeDomotz,Covi,Buzzmovearealsooffering
innovationsolutionsinthisvertical.

Allinall,thefintechisaboomingsectorandisexpectedtogrowto$45billionby2020.TakingIndias
perspective,Indiacurrentlyhas$450millionworthofinvestmentsintheyear2015infintechsector
andisexpectedtogrowto$2billionbytheyear2020.Asmoneybecomesincreasinglystoredas
digitaldata,moreandmoreinnovationswillariseandtechnologieslikeBigData,IoT,etcwillfurther
disruptthemonopolyofthebankingandvariousotherfinancialinstitutionsthattheycurrentlyenjoy.