Future Finances

Fintech a term used to merge the words financial technology, it is a new form of technology that pushes the boundaries with traditional financial methods, helping to improve financial activity and the delivery of service, such as mobile banking a prime example of fintech making financial services for the general public. Fintech allows companies to use technology to make financial products or services

Fintech has been a drastic change into the world, by making it easier to make transactions and access your bank account without ever dealing with the traditional process through a bank. For example, Barclays bank offer a service called “contactless cash” which allows you to use your smartphone to withdraw cash (image below) this is appealing to the consumers because it allows them to access their money physically (cash form) without having the traditional form of a debit card.

Banks are becoming more and more digitally advance, for example, Lloyds bank pride themselves as the UK’s largest digital bank. They announced their substantional digital investment, to “ensure capabilities to deliver future success”[1]

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 the CEO of the bank spoke out about the transformation and said that it would enable success in this digital world, due to Fintech becoming the way of banking now it is forcing customers to change their traditional ways, bringing the banks with them. With this change Lloyds bank has made banking easier for the consumers along with reducing the costs as a company although has impacted people’s careers with them not being needed anymore due to the technology being there to support the customer.

An example of Fintech being demonstrated is an account powered by an app called GoHenry for young children in place to teach them the value of money. The child receives a ‘bank’ card which works via visa payments and an app which they can log in to, to see how much money they have earned from doing chores set by their parents through a parental guidance setting on the app. The parents are able to set tasks for the children to do resulting in earning money.  The app is known as the ‘smart’ approach to pocket money for children fitting into the smart technology market and again getting people on board as it is such an easy and manageable way to track how much your child is spending and getting.

Furthermore, I personally believe that as fintech can be seen as disrupting the financial sector through technologies, consumers are adjusting themselves to the new digital age and wanting things like contactless cards and the ability to control their own finances through apps, the banking industry have no choice but to join or be left behind. I feel like this tech is not harming society it is just allowing us to believe we have more ownership over our own money and the way we spend it.

[1] Flinders, K. (2018). Lloyds Bank announces three-year digital transformation. Available: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252435445/Lloyds-Bank-announces-there-year-digital-transformation. Last accessed 1st dec, 2018.