Technology in Finance: What to look out for in 2021?

Nobody knew how 2020 would end when it started. The coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses to adopt digital transformation more than ever before. The number of businesses that have moved online in the past six months alone is more than those in the last decade.

There’s a lot at stake for 2021. The question is whether mainstream technologies such as data analytics and AI will remain a force. Or will we see newer forms of technology dominating the year? Even if time is the sole judge and determinant, here are possible technology trends we believe will dominate 2021:

1. Digital – Only banks

Digital-only banks are extremely beneficial – nobody needs to spend a moment visiting any bank physically, no tedious paperwork to hands, and no queues for testing your patience. This is why they are developing in revenues and numbers worldwide.
Mobile banking apps are not new to the market. Most well-known, established banks around the world have them. Not surprisingly, it was fintech that had traditional banks to innovate in this way. The digital-only approach is the innovation that is being actively and successfully promoted by new-generation financial start-ups.
Visits to banks are going to drop 36% from 2017 to 2022 due to the rise of digital-only banks, and mobile transactions are to rise by 121% within the same timeframe.. Some other benefits include feasible cost management, fast bill payment, reset pins from home, real-time analytics, and fast balance review.

2. Biometric Security Systems.

Mobile banking and other financial services become widely available – they are literally at the tip of one’s fingers. This, in itself, being an unbelievable achievement, at the same time, raises lots of security-related questions. Meanwhile, cybercrime increases day by day.
This means that the fintech organizations will have to rely more on biometric security systems as they are reliable and foolproof. However, the biometrics industry itself is at a transformative stage, and contactless biometric solutions are going to become popular soon.

3. Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

In 2021, we will witness more organizations adopting RPA to handle different backend tasks like security checks, customer on-boarding, account maintenance & closing, trial balancing, credit card and mortgage processing, among others. RPA allows fintech organizations to manage mundane yet necessary tasks efficiently, freeing up the human resources for other important tasks like customer service.

4. Blockchain.

Blockchain technology has brought a level of transparency in financial transactions that once was unimaginable. Transactions have become much more secure since blockchain technology came into the picture and this has allowed the customers to trust the fintech companies that have this technology in place. Blockchain technology will play a key role in transforming the banking sector in 2021.

5. Autonomous Finance.

Autonomous finance is on the top of the list of outstanding fintech innovations. Juggling work with utility bill payments, insurance, cable subscription, etc., can be overwhelming. Autonomous finance takes the burden off consumers’ shoulders and automates the financial decision-making process with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. As more people try to create more time for themselves, they will be delegating recurring tasks to fintech solutions.

Opportunities in fintech are endless as the innovation thrives on the ever-evolving technology. Consumers want to do more in their finances and fintech solutions are rising to the occasion. With a track record of offering useful financial information, payment security, speedy and transparent transactions among others, fintech trends are fast becoming the standard in financial markets.