What is FinTech and why should you care?

by Startacus Admin

What is FinTech and why should you care?

Sadly not technological  innovations specifically designed for marine vertebrates…   

No, FinTech, is yet another little ‘hashtag’ style linguistic contraction to have come about alongside the digital business / startup age.

Quite simply it means ‘Financial Technology’, but because of the incredible explosion of technological innovations associated with money and financial services, this simple term has come to take on a significance which few could have ever imagined.

Yes, the business, banking, technology,  investment and startup worlds are all abuzz with one inconspicuous little word ‘FinTech’.  

If your business / startup / area of intrigue is not specifically embedded in finance and its related technologies, then the ‘FinTech’ craze is probably passing you by. And why not?

Surely such things are of no concern to yours?

Quite wrong. Here’s Why.

From the CEO of a major international bank, to the greengrocer down the road, FinTech is important, and in the coming years will likely have a major impact on the way we run our businesses on both a day-to-day, and long term basis.   

We recently attended a FinTech conference in Belfast, during which Michael Dooijes, Head of innovations at Rabobank rather boldly asserted that certain new FinTech startups, could have the power to take on the dominance of the traditional banking sector.   

Strong words, but ones that are well within the realm of possibility given that the technologies associated with financial services and banking are developing at a faster and more radical rate than perhaps at any time in history; certainly since the introduction of paper currency in the 13th Century.

What’s interesting for you lot, as startups and SMEs is the possible benefits that all of these financial innovations and technological developments might hold.  

Specifically some of the most radical alterations seen in recent years has been regarding how we both buy and sell goods and services; on the whole the process has become much more immediate, intuitive, flexible, and accessible.  But also the way in which startups and small businesses access finance has altered to a remarkable extent in the past few years with FinTech solutions creating a wide range of alternative finance options!

Benefits and Risks

Crucially, as these FinTech innovations come along, they bring with them a whole range of revenue boosting and time saving opportunities for businesses, but with that comes the risk that if you don't manage to stay as close to the cutting edge as possible, you are in danger of slumping behind your more trend savvy competitors.

A great many businesses will live and die by the way that they adapt to and exploit these new technologies, with those failing to evolve and adapt, eventually finding themselves at the thin end of a very large wedge.

Too stay up to date with all of the latest FinTech news, we suggest you keep an eye on these platforms, and resources.

Business Insider , Tech Crunch , FinTech Financial News,  Forbes , Financial Times , & The Guardian Business News

If you like to keep on top of all the latest technology / business jargon, you might like to take a look at some of these recent posts;

What is MadTech?  

A / B Testing Explained.

25 Startup Terms You Need to Understand.

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Published on: 29th July 2015